A batik renaissance

INDONESIA is experiencing a batik revival, with plenty of young designers who are reinventing the textile in different ways and marketing their creations directly to consumers on social media – skipping the traditional wholesalers. As a result, young generations of Indonesians are embracing the ancient fashion tradition and wearing it frequently on formal and casual occasions.

These are the observations of Lee Chor Lin, curator of the new batik show titled Batik Kita: Dressing In Port Cities at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) of Singapore. The show features more than 100 batik and batik-inspired fabric and garments, tracing its evolution in the past 100 years or so. A wide range of artefacts, from a century-old ceremonial waist cloth (or dodot) to achingly hip new interpretations, are on display on the museum’s second floor from now till Oct 2.

Lee says: “In 2009, batik was recognised by UNESCO as a ‘masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity’, and that helped create the revival of batik in Indonesia. The country has even marked Oct 2 as National Batik Day, when many Indonesians wear batik to honour the tradition.