Afif proud of his handmade batik

Ridlo Aryanto, he Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

His political foes can say anything they want about former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid. But in the eyes of handmade batik designer Afif Syakur, he helped revive the classical handmade batik trend here and abroad.

The 37-year-old Yogyakarta designer praised Gus Dur for donning handmade batik shirts at state functions, thus promoting batik motifs of parang, ceplok or kawung and at the same time, improving people's appreciation of handmade batik as part of the country's rich haute couture.

"Gus Dur's taste for his dress shows his class," said the chairman of the Indonesian Association of Batik Lovers.

His praises, however, might not be objective enough since he, as well as noted designer Adjie Notonegoro, helped design a number of Gus Dur's batik shirts, "particularly those in silk with the ceplok motif".

Now, the man is not as happy as he used to be because, President Megawati Soekarnoputri rarely wears batik at state functions.

"I later learned that Ibu, or mother, President is reluctant to don batik dresses because in her eyes, a batik dress is identical with the uniforms of her aides and staff members. And she is one of those who believes that as their superior, she could never wear the same, of course.

"But as a handmade batik designer, I feel disappointed with the president's way of thinking. Don't forget, batik can be made of a variety of fabrics and unlimited designs, as well as classes and quality. I dare to challenge the President that if she's willing to wear batik, I can design handmade batik of pure silk with an exclusive motif of a fat bull with elegant and exotic coloring. If she is ready to wear batik, I can design a special handmade batik for her," said Afif, the fourth generation of Syakur, a name renowned in the batik craft dynasty in Pekalongan.

Born in the town of Pekalongan, famous for its batik, in Central Java on Dec. 2, 1965, he has his own right to challenge the President.

"I'm a batik shaman. My former friends at Gadjah Mada University's School of Philosophy often teased me, saying that after I failed to become a shaman, I turned out to be a successful batik shaman. They are not wrong because my blood and sweat do smell of malam (a wax material to make batik with). I was born, raised and now live to develop Indonesia's handmade batik. God willing, I will be faithful to this task to my last breath," said the chairman of Indonesian Association of Fashion Designers, Yogyakarta chapter.

As a handmade batik designer, Afif hopes to make Indonesia's handmade batik designs become an international fashion trend.

He called on other designers to stop making batik with motifs and materials like those used by their parents or grandparents in their time.

"Create batik with the tastes of international art in mind. The key to being internationally accepted and recognized lies in designs which blend international and classical styles. Why don't we try introducing a ceplok or truntum motif by inserting a tulip or cherry blossom? Batik is a unique art form with natural coloring. Not everyone can make it. Therefore, in designing batik, I have my own motto: Easy to make, difficult to copy but expensive when sold," said the designer who was named 2002 best ethnic fashion designer during the Bali Fashion Week in June.

Apart from his local achievements, Afif has also earned numerous accolades from various fashion shows abroad, such as in Germany, Singapore and the Netherlands. But he never won recognition for his handmade batik creations since, according to Afif, there's no such event yet.

The upcoming International Batik Festival, which will be held in Yogyakarta from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7, will show off Afif's excellence as a handmade batik designer.

The organizing committee of the event, which will see the participation of the world batik designers and lovers, has challenged the man to display his latest creations.

"I will have a solo fashion show featuring 100 new designs, none of which has ever been publicly exhibited. These designs are the fruit of my imagination, inspired by some 2,500 ancient batik cloths that I have collected since the 1980s from across Indonesia," Afif said.

His love for patterns coming from different areas across the country are shown in his designs. "Asmat motif is not strange in my batik design. Since my batik designs have local influences, people like Syahril Syabirin (Bank Indonesia Governor), ministers and their wives are fond of my creations. Some of them have opted for my designs since Pak Harto's (former president Soeharto) era," he claimed.

As chairman of the Indonesian Association of Batik Lovers, Afif also assists handmade batik makers in several areas of Java like in Madura, East Java; Tasikmalaya in West Java; Pekalongan and Surakarta, Central Java; and Yogyakarta. By assisting handmade batik makers, he hopes they can help promote handmade batik.

He realized that the country's rich motifs -- like motifs of palaces that are rich in wise symbols, Pesisiran motifs with its variety of colors, and Saudagaran motifs which blend the two (palaces and Pesisiran motifs) -- would mean nothing if the designers failed to follow international trends and manage modern batik businesses.

"Local handmade batik makers need assistance. Once, they were pioneers in the local batik industry but since they only stick to classical motifs of their respective regions, they hardly made any progress, and are now threatened with bankruptcy. Now we're trying to help them so they can catch up with latest developments, so they can sell a piece of batik dress at the price of Rp 3.5 million like me. If the government doesn't care about them, they will not survive."