Painted 'kebaya', Bali's new fashion trademark
Painted 'kebaya', Bali's new fashion trademark
Tri Vivi Suryani, Contributor, Denpasar, Bali
Traditional blouses, or kebaya, are inseparable from the lives of
many Balinese women.
They wear lace, cotton or silk kebaya, along with intricate
songket woven cloth or batik wrapped cloth, at almost every
religious ceremony, family and communal gathering.
Like thousands of women on the island, Aryani Tedjamulya, who
is better known as Niniek, feels extremely comfortable when
wearing a kebaya.
"Kebaya is considered the national dress for Indonesian women,
including the Balinese," said Niniek.
For Niniek, the kebaya is not only compulsory attire, but also
a gold mine. Niniek has had a passion for art since she was
young. As a child, she was always eager to help her mother make
fashion sketches. Her mother, Susilanitya Dewi, is a successful
garment producer.
Niniek, a graduate of the Department of English at Udayana
University, has decided to blend fashion and art. She channels
her painting skills not on canvas, but on silk fabrics.
A few years ago one of her mother's clients from France asked
her to paint on textiles that were to be tailored for beachwear.
"I felt so challenged because I had never worked on textile,"
Niniek remembered.
It took her more than a year of experimenting with textile
painting before perfecting the art.
"I carried out experiments on a large variety of textiles, but
the results were so dissatisfying," she recalled.
Then she chose silk and began panting floral patterns on the
fabric. "It was so amazing. The silk material originated from
natural fibers. The paintings radiated so well on the fabric,"
said the mother of three.
Niniek said it took a lot of skill and precision to paint on
silk. "Once you stroke your brush and create an object on the
material, you can't erase it or you will destroy the fabric."
Producing painted kebaya has made her life as colorful as the
objects she creates.
"Fresh and colorful flowers always bring happiness to those
who see them," said Niniek, who expects that all her clients,
including movie stars and local celebrities, feel happy when
wearing the handmade kebaya.
Among her clients are artists Tamara Blezinsky and Vina
Panduwinata. Even President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who generally
wears a kebaya to state functions, has reportedly eyed Niniek's
unique creations.
Most of her works contain paintings of flowers used in the
various religious ceremonies of the Balinese Hindu, such as
frangipani, lotus, roses, water lilies, orchids and jasmine.
"Bali is filled with sources of inspiration. I never run out
of ideas. I am surrounded by beautiful nature and rich culture,"
Niniek said.
To maintain the quality of the pieces, Niniek refuses to mass
produce the kebaya.
"I can only produce around 30 kebaya every month and I don't
intend to increase my production because it could affect the
quality of each kebaya," she said.
The price is another problem.
A 2-by-2.5 meter piece of painted silk costs between Rp
750,000 and Rp 1.5 million. Each handmade kebaya is priced from
hundreds of thousands of rupiah to millions of rupiah, depending
on the fabric and the motif of the painting.
"All the material, like the silk and paints, are imported.
That's why the prices of my kebaya are quite expensive, but for
certain they are exclusive," Niniek said, adding that each kebaya
had a different painting motif.
She said she never intended to make a lot of money from her
business. "Making a painted kebaya is one of my artistic
expressions," said Niniek, who was named one of Indonesia's
Creative Women in 2001 by a local women's magazine.
To cater to the middle-class market, Niniek has plans to
produce a second line of kebaya. She has also diversified her
product line to include such fashion items as evening gowns,
cocktail dresses, shawls and ties.