Batik Batik

Photographer: Daphne Chen

Model/Styling/MUA: Angeline Dowling

Dress: Batik Batik by Tirta Rahmawati

I met Tirta, the girl behind Batik Batik through Facebook. I stumbled upon her page and was intrigued by her creativity and passion of wanting to bring Batik to the next level. In a nutshell, Batik is a form of art that was originated from Java, Indonesia. Its pattern is traditionally made using a manual wax-resis dyeing technique. To learn more about the art of Batik click here.

I was born in Jakarta and spent the majority of my childhood there, which is a part of the island of Java, Indonesia. Back in those days I would never have thought of wearing Batik, ever. It's considered as 'traditional', 'old', and 'unfashionable', well that's what I thought anyway. But growing up I have to come love the art and uniqueness of Batik. It has gained a worldwide popularity, and you can easily find Batik paintings or garments throughout Asia, some countries in Middle East and even Africa. It's great to see people from different countries wearing Batik, it brings a smile and definitely a feeling of pride towards my country! Batik has definitely taken on a new direction with Indonesian fashion designers pushing their boundaries by incorporating new colors, fabrics and patterns. It is no longer considered old or traditional, I've seen plenty of younger generations wearing a Batik dress, shirt or even scarf for everyday wear.

This is what fascinates me about Tirta and her label; she's a young Indo girl who's pushing the boundaries even further by modernising and introducing Batik to Australians. I was honored when Tirta from Batik Batik gave me Olwen (the dress above) as a wedding present. She's such a sweetheart, I've only met her once but we kept in touch through Facebook. If only there are more people like her the world would be a better place :) Being the creative person that she is, Tirta distinctively designed and crafted each garment. She makes sure that each design is unique and each dress has its own story, so the dress that you choose is exclusively yours. To read the story behind the Olwen dress click here. 

It was a joy to have met Tirta and I couldn't thank her enough for being so kind. Keep an eye out for a post of how Tirta started her Batik Batik label, for now head to her Facebook page for all updates and discounts and she's known for giving out freebies through competitions too! Or check out her latest range on her website.

The world is your oyster, dream big.

Love always A xx