BATIK IS A SYMBOL OF MALAYSIA'S CULTURAL IDENTITY AND A PROUD PIECE OF THE COUNTRY'S HERITAGE. WHILE IT MAY STILL BE THE STAPLE 'MUST-HAVE' FOR THE TOURIST AND SOUVENIR SEEKER, BATIK IS FAST FALLING OUT OF FAVOUR WITH THE LOCAL FASHION SCENE. DESMOND LIM ZHENGS MEETS THE MAN BEHIND A NEW SOCIETY SEEKING TO PUT BATIK BACK INTO THE POPULAR DOMAIN.

Preoccupied by phone calls and furiously replying to emails, a stylish figure stands a few feet away in a corner. Exuding a somewhat 'calm before the storm' vibe, fashion designer Jovian Mandagie walks over and apologises for the frantic happenings that surround us. In just a few hours the art pieces, clothing and accessories around us – all decked out in batik, mind you – will be part of the presentation for Batik Is My Soul (BIMS), a society and movement founded by Mandagie that aims to sustain Malaysian batik's pride and heritage.

TRACING THE ROOTS
It is widely known that batik is a traditional wax-resist technique of printing using wax, salt, and chemical or natural dyes, but the actual origins of batik still remain a mystery; its roots are ancient and difficult to trace. Batik is, however, known to be an ancient art that has been handed down over thousands of years as it has remained widely popular in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. Although the origins disappeared along with the ancient ruins, this craft has developed its own particular aesthetic peculiar to Malaysia.

The bolder Malaysian batik is clearly different from the Javanese traditional hand-painted batiks still created in Indonesia. "Indonesian batik is more traditional," explains Mandagie, "and the Indonesians preserve its heritage. Those prints are ethnic to the location, so Malaysian batik is different in its technique and motif; it is brighter and more vibrant in colour and look."

The most popular type of batik in Malaysia is batik tulis, in which selected areas of the cloth are blocked out with hot wax, using a stylus or canting, to create motifs. The cloth is then dyed; the parts covered in wax resist the dye and remain the original colour. This process of waxing and dyeing can be repeated to create layers for more intricate designs. The peninsula state of Terrenganu's unique hemp batik with its repetitive motifs and Sarawak's tribal batik are both wax-resist techniques unique to Malaysian batik.

FALLING OUT OF FAVOUR
The Malay ethnic group has a long association with batik, though it is now an inherent part of the national Malaysian identity. Once the material of choice for formal functions and glamorous evening wear, batik has spiralled down the food chain in the recent years; a change that Mandagie laments. "Malaysians don't appreciate batik anymore. They have a kampung (village) image of batik and are forced to wear it most of the time," says Mandagie. "I intend to change the mentality and make batik wearable and get people to respect batik again."

BRINGING BATIK BACK
Batik Is My Soul (BIMS), Mandagie's brainchild, intend to focus on youth and Batik Isfamilies. "We want to inspire students and textile makers to 'think forward' with batik and not to blindly follow trend," Mandagie says. As well as encouraging people to extend the boundaries of creativity, BIMS serves as a platform, working with designers to make batik more sellable and to maintain its commercial value.

This batik movement isn't anything new. Other status-raising activities include the annual International Batik Festival, local and international road shows, and the Kuala Lumpur International Batik Convention & Exhibition, all of which highlight the Malaysian batik industry and seek to reinforce batik as an international force to be reckoned with.

Yayasan Budi Penyayang has been a big advocate for promoting Malaysian crafts, especially batik, since 2003. Under the patronage of late Tun Endon Mahmood, the wife of the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Penyayang established various batik fashion design competitions such as Piala Seri Endon and The Malaysia Batik: Crafted for the World Movement. Selecting a winner in the fashion, soft furnishing, and handicraft categories each year is based on creativity in adaptation of batik to suit modern fashion and lifestyle needs. Through this, Piala Seri Endon has successfully encouraged creativity, discovered new batik-making talent and brought Malaysian batik onto the international stage.

BATIK IS MY SOUL
While The Malaysia Batik: Crafted for the World Movement had been successful in promoting batik to the international market overseas, BIMS aims to educate the Malaysian public in Malaysia. "BIMS is for Malaysians in Malaysia. I believe that in order to promote batik overseas, Malaysians should embrace it too. Batik is not a piece of ancient art to be showcased in museums. I want to showcase batik beyond museums," Mandagie says passionately.

Mandagie used to think poorly of Malaysian batik until he realised that this ancient craft was falling out of practice, and by being exposed to veterans of batik and their techniques - each designer has their own unique style - he discovered his calling in preserving this heritage. To exemplify the versatility of batik, Mandagie challenged himself to create a collection with batik as the subject.

Using existing batik materials, he infused newness by incorporatingmodern silhouettes and proportions, lush details, and a melange of mixed materials, all while maintaining his aesthetics.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
To try to take batik beyond clothing and into all aspects of contemporary lifestyle, Jovian Mandagie approached accessories label Klutched, Suhara Jewel Art, and footwear designer duo Rhea Benson with a proposal to incorporate batik into their products.

Klutched's batik-patterned clutches and bags accented with studs and spikes have a slick, contemporary edge while Suhara Jewel Art's exquisite jewellery pieces are inspired by the colorful interpretation of flora and fauna in batik motifs. A product of Piala Seri Endon themselves, the designers of Rhea Benson, Rhea Tan Yen Yen and Benson Chen, share Mandagie's desire to raise the level of awareness of batik among Malaysians. The duo enjoyed the opportunity of working with new techniques, as well as the chance to create fascinating oneof- a-kind pieces with batik, a rather unconventional footwear material.

"Materials were thin and hard to work with but we had fun experimenting with batik prints," say the designers. "We played with contrasting colours and tried simplifying the designs, such as using a chunky heel, to suit the fashionable avant-garde aesthetic of Rhea Benson." In the immediate future, BIMS plan to host a nationwide exhibition as well as inviting more designers to participate and interpret batik in their designs. "Hopefully, if there is good funding, we can organize a batik fashion festival and we would invite industry players from the region to participate," Mandagie explains.

Given the early success of the movement and the enthusiasm of local designers to be involved with BIMS and help preserve this unique legacy, hopes are high for BIMS and the fate of batik. More exposure afforded this traditional art will make a huge impact on the batik industry, bringing it one step closer to its goal of commercial viability in the fashion world.

For more details on Batik Is My Soul, visit www.batikismysoul.com.