Indonesia: Italian designers look at batik clothing
Jakarta - Italian designer duo Mimo and Alessandra expressed their desire to collaborate with Indonesian designers to create batik clothing with a more responsive design to the Italian market. This was revealed in a talk show "Indonesia: La vita a colori" held at the official residence of the Indonesian Ambassador in Rome on September 25, 2017. Indonesian designer Novita Yunus said that batik as the nation's most recognizable wastra (traditional cloth) and has gained global recognition as a product of Indonesian culture, can no longer be worn only on special occasions. The contemporary design and customization of the materials used make it applicable to every atmosphere and every season. The talk show was held by Dharma Wanita Persatuan (DWP) of the Indonesian Embassy in Rome as an effort to promote Indonesian wastra in the framework of Indonesian Culture Week in Italy which took place on 21-29 September 2017. The event was attended by women companion of international diplomatic corps, socialite and fashion performers in Rome is also intended to welcome the commemoration of National Batik Day on 2 October. "We want the archipelago's wastra, especially the batik that has received recognition as UNESCO world heritage of non-existent objects on October 2, 2009, can be better known by the public in Rome.Various colors and motifs that exist on every piece of traditional cloth represent the cultural diversity of Indonesia " the Chairman of DWP Junie Artati Alwi explained. The guests were enthusiastically participated in a series of events that opened with Mappadendang dance from South Sulawesi by a member of DWP, Ade Arvianti Asrarudin. In addition to presentations on the history and development of batik and its manufacturing techniques, Novita Yunus owner of the Chic Batik label also showcased his design collection through a fashion show with members of DWP Rome as a model. The event was concluded with a Jaipong dance performance by Pinkan Mulia, an Indonesian student who was finishing a fashion design school in Rome and welcoming with a typical Indonesian tea and snack dinner. Batiks on display on the sidelines of this talk show successfully dazzle guests in attendance. Maria Valdiserri, an Italian fashion magazine journalist, claimed to be very interested in the uniqueness of various batik designs exhibited by members of the DWP Embassy of Rome. He will also be writing about the development of batik in his magazine. Dima Kashour, President of the United Nations Women's Guild (UNWG) Rome, praised the initiative of Indonesian designers who enthusiastically promote and preserve the nation's cultural wealth through the fashion industry. Dima is also so excited when asked to be a model and try to unified in solid batik cloth. While Mimo and Alessandra, the Italian designers duo who also attended the occasion, expressed his desire to collaborate with Indonesian designers to create batik clothing with a more responsive design of the Italian market. There is also Sofia Kis, wife of the Ambassador of one of the best countries said, "mi sono innamorata di'Indonesia". The Chief Executive of the event, Lona Hutapea expressed his joy over the presence and enthusiasm of the invited guests. "Batik is very unique, classic and contemporary, so many invited guests are interested to know more about the material and how to use it," said Lona. Batik technique itself is known to have existed in Italy at least since the early 1900s. This is evidenced by a collection of 1930 batik paintings in one corner of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum (2017 edition) in the city of Florence, depicting the local party atmosphere of the work of two Italian fashion school students. Meanwhile, in another corner of the museum belongs to one of the world's fashion icons, displaying sogan batik paintings with the typical Italian motif by Franco Nava made in 1934. Indonesian Ambassador to Italy Esti Andayani stated that batik promotion efforts that have been recognized as Indonesia's cultural treasures in Italy as one of the world's fashion centers are expected to expand the national designer network to be increasingly recognized at the global fashion industry level.