The new face of batik

In Malaysia, batik culture is not bound by tradition like in other countries. Here, designers can design what they like — something stylish and classy that will appeal to the international market.

Aaron George and Raymond Von Jolly designed the dress being worn by Corinne Adrienne (below, right)

THE idea of attending a batik exhibition is enough to induce a yawn from me. Think batik, think “aunty” and “uncle”. But when publicist Bill Bora, 39, called to announce that he was organising one at The Weld, I was intrigued.

After all, the man is known for his Midas touch.

“I promise you, no baju kurung, no sarung, no pareo. It’s batik with a difference,” Bora assured. “Just come and see lah.”

So here I am at the Batik Showcase 2006, and who should I meet but actress Corinne Adrienne (of Spinning Gasing fame), 29, twirling around in a Von Jolly evening dress.

“Check out the flow. Don’t I look like a goddess?” she gushes.

And there’s no reason why Corinne should not look like one. The Von Jolly uncle-and-nephew designer team of Raymond V. Jolly and Aaron George know their batik – they bagged the grand prize in the fashion category of the 2005 Piala Seri Endon, the premier batik competition in the country.

For Corinne’s number, the duo opted for soft, dreamy chiffon with georgette lining. A daring neckline allows a peek at Corinne’s cleavage and a left slit down the hem shows off a bit of leg. It’s just the right outfit for a glam queen to strut her stuff on the red carpet!

“With batik, you must be imaginative,” says Raymond, 53.

Michael Shu, 30, who has been working with batik for five years, adds, “You can never get two pieces that are exactly the same. When drying batik fabric, even the time of day can affect the colours. The hot sun will make the colours turn out brighter. If you dry it during sunset, the colours will be muted.”

Anything but dowdy

Never let Kareem Said Khadaied, 50, hear that you think batik is dowdy. The head designer of Khadani, a batik design house, is deeply passionate about his art and will defend it to his last breath.

“The first thing you must know is that batik is a methodology, not a design. The word originates from Indonesia. It means ‘dropping wax onto cloth’. This methodology is found throughout the Malay archipelago, China, Japan and Australia. Malaysian hand-drawn batik originally comes from Japan.

“If you study Western textile design, you’ll find that a lot of these were influenced by batik. Prints produced by hand in Indonesia were taken by the Dutch to Holland and copied by European designers,” he explains.

But why is the use of batik on the wane?

“Now in Malaysia, there seems to be a massive confusion as to what is batik. There is a lot of promotion for the use of batik but no clear definition as to what it’s all about.

“The problem was that the synergy between the fashion designers and the textile manufacturers was not there until Piala Seri Endon came about. Most of the textile designers do not have a strong tailoring background. We stuck to the basics like sarong, baju kurung and pareos because we did not have the expertise.”

Just then, a stir of excitement interrupts him. Actress-singer Ziana Zain makes an entrance in a Khoon Hooi creation using one of Khalid Shamsuddin Arshad’s batik designs. Khalid, like Kareem, is one of the old timers in the batik industry.

“That’s Khalid’s work. You don’t have to tell me that. You see, it takes a man like Khoon Hooi to bring it out. That’s what I mean about achieving synergy with the fashion designers and the textile manufacturers,” Kareem says excitedly.

And it is no doubt a stunning piece. The green, long-sleeved chiffon gown is awash with gold renjis (splatter) to give it the illusion of texture, while the skirt has colourful butterfly motifs to add to its allure.

Kareem Said Khadaied next to a Ranting dress;

A new era

Khalid, 48, doesn’t doubt that designers like Khoon Hooi will bring about a revival in batik.

“The possibilities are endless. From evening dresses to curtains – all batik needs is fashion designers doing something with it. It’s just a matter of colour schemes and placement of patterns,” he says.

Sharing his optimism is Sharifah Maheran Barakbah of Barakaff, 58, another fashion textile designer with over 30 years of experience. Her collection, which includes fabrics like crinkled chiffon, silk and satin, are mostly of the contemporary floral kind for the middle and upmarket segments.

“Yes, we may be orang lama (veterans) in the industry but we must be up to date with market trends,” she says.

Farah Fazila of Innai.

Kartini Illias, 47, who began her own range of ready-to-wear batik in 1999 thinks it’s important to be contemporary.

“To expand to the global market we must make that point at home first. We have to make our people perceive batik in a different way,” she asserts.

But old habits die hard. Some traditionalists have raised fear that batik will lose its “Malaysianness”.

“The thing is to open up and be liberated. Sometimes we over-react and focus too much on the nitty-gritty instead of looking at the big picture. That applies to a whole lot of things, not only fashion.

“To me, our batik culture is not as bound by tradition as batik in the neighbouring countries. Theirs go back hundreds of years and batik has to be of a certain design because it has cultural ties.

“But we are free to do what we like with ours – something stylish and classy that will appeal to the international market,” she argues.

Farah Fazila, 22, of Innai, a batik boutique, is one of the designers working hard to make that change happen.

“Even when I was a teenager, I loved batik. My friends would tease me about looking like a makcik (aunty) but I have always found it trendy. At Innai, I am working to make batik appeal to the youngsters. Just think of batik with jeans,” she says. W

Round 2 judging for Piala Seri Endon 2006 will take place on Dec 9 and Dec 10 at Berjaya Times Square. The final results will be announced on Dec 17.

Shopping info: Innai (03) 7728 3184, Khalid Batik (03) 6250 7448, Barakaff (03) 5510 5748, I.Kartini (03) 2382 2833, Von Jolly (03) 7958 6162, Khadani (03) 6138 8312.

Published in The Star, Weekender, Saturday October 7, 2006