Afif proud of his handmade batik<\/p>\n
Ridlo Aryanto, he Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
His political foes can say anything they want about former
\npresident Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid. But in the eyes of
\nhandmade batik designer Afif Syakur, he helped revive the
\nclassical handmade batik trend here and abroad.<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old Yogyakarta designer praised Gus Dur for
\ndonning handmade batik shirts at state functions, thus promoting
\nbatik motifs of parang, ceplok or kawung and at the same time,
\nimproving people's appreciation of handmade batik as part of the
\ncountry's rich haute couture.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur's taste for his dress shows his class,\" said the
\nchairman of the Indonesian Association of Batik Lovers.<\/p>\n
His praises, however, might not be objective enough since he,
\nas well as noted designer Adjie Notonegoro, helped design a
\nnumber of Gus Dur's batik shirts, \"particularly those in silk
\nwith the ceplok motif\".<\/p>\n
Now, the man is not as happy as he used to be because,
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri rarely wears batik at state
\nfunctions.<\/p>\n
\"I later learned that Ibu, or mother, President is reluctant
\nto don batik dresses because in her eyes, a batik dress is
\nidentical with the uniforms of her aides and staff members. And
\nshe is one of those who believes that as their superior, she
\ncould never wear the same, of course.<\/p>\n
\"But as a handmade batik designer, I feel disappointed with
\nthe president's way of thinking. Don't forget, batik can be made
\nof a variety of fabrics and unlimited designs, as well as classes
\nand quality. I dare to challenge the President that if she's
\nwilling to wear batik, I can design handmade batik of pure silk
\nwith an exclusive motif of a fat bull with elegant and exotic
\ncoloring. If she is ready to wear batik, I can design a special
\nhandmade batik for her,\" said Afif, the fourth generation of
\nSyakur, a name renowned in the batik craft dynasty in Pekalongan.<\/p>\n
Born in the town of Pekalongan, famous for its batik, in
\nCentral Java on Dec. 2, 1965, he has his own right to challenge
\nthe President.<\/p>\n
\"I'm a batik shaman. My former friends at Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity's School of Philosophy often teased me, saying that
\nafter I failed to become a shaman, I turned out to be a
\nsuccessful batik shaman. They are not wrong because my blood and
\nsweat do smell of malam (a wax material to make batik with). I
\nwas born, raised and now live to develop Indonesia's handmade
\nbatik. God willing, I will be faithful to this task to my last
\nbreath,\" said the chairman of Indonesian Association of Fashion
\nDesigners, Yogyakarta chapter.<\/p>\n
As a handmade batik designer, Afif hopes to make Indonesia's
\nhandmade batik designs become an international fashion trend.<\/p>\n
He called on other designers to stop making batik with motifs
\nand materials like those used by their parents or grandparents in
\ntheir time.<\/p>\n
\"Create batik with the tastes of international art in mind.
\nThe key to being internationally accepted and recognized lies in
\ndesigns which blend international and classical styles. Why don't
\nwe try introducing a ceplok or truntum motif by inserting a tulip
\nor cherry blossom? Batik is a unique art form with natural
\ncoloring. Not everyone can make it. Therefore, in designing
\nbatik, I have my own motto: Easy to make, difficult to copy but
\nexpensive when sold,\" said the designer who was named 2002 best
\nethnic fashion designer during the Bali Fashion Week in June.<\/p>\n
Apart from his local achievements, Afif has also earned
\nnumerous accolades from various fashion shows abroad, such as in
\nGermany, Singapore and the Netherlands. But he never won
\nrecognition for his handmade batik creations since, according to
\nAfif, there's no such event yet.<\/p>\n
The upcoming International Batik Festival, which will be held
\nin Yogyakarta from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7, will show off Afif's
\nexcellence as a handmade batik designer.<\/p>\n
The organizing committee of the event, which will see the
\nparticipation of the world batik designers and lovers, has
\nchallenged the man to display his latest creations.<\/p>\n
\"I will have a solo fashion show featuring 100 new designs,
\nnone of which has ever been publicly exhibited. These designs are
\nthe fruit of my imagination, inspired by some 2,500 ancient batik
\ncloths that I have collected since the 1980s from across
\nIndonesia,\" Afif said.<\/p>\n
His love for patterns coming from different areas across the
\ncountry are shown in his designs. \"Asmat motif is not strange in
\nmy batik design. Since my batik designs have local influences,
\npeople like Syahril Syabirin (Bank Indonesia Governor), ministers
\nand their wives are fond of my creations. Some of them have opted
\nfor my designs since Pak Harto's (former president Soeharto)
\nera,\" he claimed.<\/p>\n
As chairman of the Indonesian Association of Batik Lovers,
\nAfif also assists handmade batik makers in several areas of Java
\nlike in Madura, East Java; Tasikmalaya in West Java; Pekalongan
\nand Surakarta, Central Java; and Yogyakarta. By assisting
\nhandmade batik makers, he hopes they can help promote handmade
\nbatik.<\/p>\n
He realized that the country's rich motifs -- like motifs of
\npalaces that are rich in wise symbols, Pesisiran motifs with its
\nvariety of colors, and Saudagaran motifs which blend the two
\n(palaces and Pesisiran motifs) -- would mean nothing if the
\ndesigners failed to follow international trends and manage modern
\nbatik businesses.<\/p>\n
\"Local handmade batik makers need assistance. Once, they were
\npioneers in the local batik industry but since they only stick to
\nclassical motifs of their respective regions, they hardly made
\nany progress, and are now threatened with bankruptcy. Now we're
\ntrying to help them so they can catch up with latest
\ndevelopments, so they can sell a piece of batik dress at the
\nprice of Rp 3.5 million like me. If the government doesn't care
\nabout them, they will not survive.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/afif-proud-of-his-handmade-batik-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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