I really, really, really love Batik! 

And at Indonesia Fashion Week 2016 last week, I was literally in heaven because almost all of the designers showcased their collection there used Batik and other Indonesian traditional fabric!

Maybe it’s partly because of the Javanese blood inside of me, but mainly because Batik is very beautiful and so inspiring! There is endless way to exploit the basic pattern and create it into so many creative outcomes; mix the pattern, mix the color, mix the material, add modern touches, break it into asymmetrical cutting, combine with pop culture, and another million ways. You can basically do anything with Batik.

Therefore, Batik has become a general inspiration for designers’ clothing, both for formal and casual. So many kinds of Batik outfits have been released, but to be honest, I have never seen anything like Gee Batik before. There is something more than just uniqueness from Gee Batik by Sugeng Waskito collection I saw on the runway of Indonesia Fashion Week 2016.

And this is the kind of Batik I like more; extraordinary.

Gee Batik gives you a completely different impression from the usual traditional Batik, which tends to have monochrome colors. If you found colorful Batik (which is kinda easy to find nowadays), they usually have the same gradient colors with the same pattern. Sugeng Waskito makes Gee Batik so different by mixing bold and bright colors with basic black and Batik pattern with polkadot.

Sugeng Waskito, the designer behind Gee Batik label comes from Jogjakarta, Central Java. His signature style is abstract combination between Jogja and Bali traditional patterns as the basic, and added a little bit of popular culture as details. He combines bright colors with basic black to accentuate those abstract patterns.

Another signature is the material he always uses; hand-painted silk cut in A-line or other wide shapes. It makes his dresses looks glamour and mature, and successfully modified traditional values into a modern art.

At Indonesia Fashion Week 2016, the sea inspired him. You can see it on the coral prints and headpieces. I think it worked perfectly, since he always uses light silk and chiffon, which will remind us to flirty and playful beach dresses. And it looks comfortable too, long formal party dress that flows around, not thick and perfect for Indonesia’s tropical weather.

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