Jakarta. Indonesia’s textile heritage is, without a doubt, well known around the world. One can simply take a look at internationally renowned fashion designers, such as Dries Van Noten, who often draw inspiration from vibrant Javanese batik motif or ikat fabric with nature-inspired patterns from the Nusa Tenggara region.
These traditional fabrics sometimes do not come cheap, a testament to their high workmanship value with techniques that were handed down through generations. A sliver of ikat fabric with intricately colorful details, for instance, must be carefully weaved one strand of yarn at a time and can easily take up to a year to finish.
But among Indonesia’s younger generation, traditional textile is still often regarded as something staid, worn only by the likes of older businessmen and government officials — or when the dress code or a formal event, such as a wedding, calls for it.
“We want to change that premise by offering a more modern form of batik and natural-dyed products so young people can appreciate our country’s tradition without having to look like those people,” says Direz Zender, who co-founded Bluesville clothing line with his two partners Osi and Dana.
Although he didn’t study fashion in university, Direz’s enthusiasm for denim — which often utilizes indigo coloring — spurred him to research natural dyeing processes and traditional cloth making in Indonesia.
“Many Indonesians don’t realize yet that natural dyeing is part of our country’s [cultural] richness,” he says.
Established in 2011, Bluesville now boasts indigo-dyed men’s clothing as its primary line of products. The brand typically uses natural coloring extracted from Indigofera tinctoria, a plant introduced by Indian traders who visited Indonesia centuries ago.
“It is the only plant in the planet capable of creating this rich shade of blue. The uniqueness of it also relies on how people treat it. In Java, for example, women cannot make indigo dye vat during their period because they believe [their condition] will destroy the pureness of the vat,” he adds.
The vivid blue tints of indigo dyes provide Bluesville with limitless possibilities in designing their menswear line. For their spring-summer 2015 collection, the brand combines various fabrics in differing shades of indigo blue. Designers experimented with paneling and patchworks, which were applied on items like long-sleeved button-down shirts, kimono-like outerwear and twill cotton pants.
In addition to natural indigo, Direz also incorporates batik patterns in Bluesville’s designs.
“We make our patterns with the most traditional batik technique by using canting [a traditional pen-like tool] for the application. This takes a lot of time, but it results in characters that other techniques can’t achieve,” he says.
In producing their textiles, Bluesville works together with a number of artisans from Central Java at their workshop. “We are lucky to have our own workshop so we can nurture these batik and dye artisans. We also worked with some traditional weavers from Central Javan cities, such as Pekalongan and Solo,” adds Direz.
Explaining the influence for his textile designs, Direz claims he draws inspiration from Indonesia’s history to resurrect unique patterns and symbols. He says: “Our focus is to make design and patterns that have traditional meanings but can be transformed into more relevant forms of clothing. This means preserving the traditional ways and bringing them to a wider audience with a modern approach.”
Colorful streaks of pattern
If Bluesville’s offerings are dominated by deep indigo hues, it is the opposite for Fika Julia, a textile designer who started her own clothing brand in early 2014.
While studying for her master’s degree in textile design at Britain’s Birmingham City University, Fika felt inspired to create something colorful amid the city’s gray skies.
“While I was doing my final project, I really missed the sun and Jakarta’s tropical weather. I hated how the British people there always wore coats in dark colors,” she quips.
For that project, she researched woven fabric from Sumba Island in East Nusa Tenggara, resulting in her first-ever motif collection called “Sumba Summer Series.”
“Sumba fabric stands out mainly because of its motifs. There are animal motifs, for instance, in the form of a horse, which has a symbolic meaning for the Sumba people. I borrowed that element and added some other motifs to support the tropical theme, such as palm trees and coconut leaves,” Fika explains.
Characterized by their eye-catching and radiant colors, these motifs are digitally printed on materials like cotton, linen canvas and chiffon for her eponymous brand FikaJulia.
“I have created a variety of products for my brand: tote bags, scarf, dresses, cushion covers and coasters. I also plan to start making interior products after this,” she says.
FikaJulia’s whimsical offerings have so far been featured in various pop-up market events in Jakarta. Last April, she also organized a solo exhibition at Suar Artspace, an art gallery in South Jakarta, where textiles from her Sumba series were exhibited.
When not working on her brand, Fika also dips her designer toes in the indigo-dyeing craft. She occasionally conducts workshops on shibori, a Japanese dyeing technique in which fabric is pleated and bound before dipped into indigo coloring in order to create kaleidoscopic patterns. The designer has also teamed up with Kanawida, another brand specializing in indigo-dyed clothing, for a collaborative fashion project that was showcased at Swarna Fest in Bali late last year.
“The concept behind that collection is sustainable clothing, so we tried to avoid excess fabrics or the use of buttons and zippers,” she says.
Looking at the emergence of young textile makers like herself, Fika is brightly optimistic, saying, “I think the textile world in Indonesia is growing now, especially when supported with a fast-rising creative industry. The issue some of us face here might be the lack of a proper production venue, be it for digital printing or silk-screening. Still, we are very encouraged to create our own textiles.”
For more information on Bluesville, visit thebluesville.com; for more on FikaJulia, check out @by_fikajulia on Instagram.
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