Revamp Your Wardrobe this Season with Batik Fashions

If you are a fashionista and planning to add something offbeat and exciting to your wardrobe, why not try batik? If this summer you are thinking of having some fun at beaches, batik sarongs and beach towels will make you stand out in the crowd and your unique apparel can be a topic of envy!

What is Batik?

Batik is a process of dying fabrics. It belongs to Indonesia. The word is derived from the Javanese language and it means “writing with wax”.

The process starts with the creation of a stamp which is handmade. This stamp is immersed in liquid wax which is then imprinted on fabrics, like beach towels, sarongs and other clothes. Ideally a mixture of 70% paraffin wax and 30% of beeswax is used for this. Now the areas of the cloth in the patterns of the stamps are covered with wax. Then the fabric is dyed. But the areas covered with wax won’t be dyed and retain the original colour of the fabric. The wax is then removed. This creates unique beautiful designs.

Batik has been included by the UNESCO in the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2009.

Intricacy of Batik

Though batik is fantastic to look at with its striking, bold designs in bright colours, it is equally tedious and time consuming. And therefore new people may hesitate to learn it.

But actually you don’t have to be a very great artist or designer to create a batik piece. Simple patterns and motifs based on the nature around, like flowers and birds, freedom of working with liquid wax and control on painting through dying make batik a wonderful and expressive medium to work with. The fact is that some of the best batik effects are work of chance. When there are cracks in the applied wax, small amounts of dye pass through them, thereby creating an interesting and unexpected effect to the designs. “Crackling” is thus a very special characteristic of most batik works. In the mixture of wax that is applied, paraffin wax cracks easily and beeswax sticks well to the fabric. Thus, the way you mix the two will determine the amount of crackling you will have.

Since while creating a batik piece, wax should be applied hot, it’s essential to work quite fast. Of course, designs can be created in advance which is in fact necessary for several things like trimmings and borders. However, designs that are created spontaneously can bring rewarding results.

Fabrics Used for Batik

Generally natural or plant-based fabrics like cotton, silk and linen are used for batik. All synthetic fibers, no matter how much they resemble natural fibers, should be avoided, because during dyebath, their true nature is evident, but then it’s too late. They are not dyed properly with cold dyes. Cold dyes are necessary for batik as wax will melt with hot dyes.

About Linda Hering

Linda Hering, a Swiss fashion designer, is a fan of batik and trying to revive this ancient art from Bali and bring it to the LA fashionistas. She works with the local artists and creates unique designs, patterns and colours on her own to create exclusive fashions on-site in Bali, the Island of Gods!

The batik artists chosen by Linda Hering have learned the art from their families that is passed on from generation to generation. Linda is living in Bali for past many years and is very much fond of these people because of their sincerity towards work, focus and simplicity. Because of this, she has developed a strong bond with them and she has made it possible to make modernity go hand in hand with tradition.

Take a look at the range of fabulous beachwear and other fashions she has created and choose among them to revamp your wardrobe.