Until recently, Beatrix Santi was a distinguished mover and shaker in the banking world with more than 20 years of experience. Her financial career culminated in a lengthy stint as Vice-President of Strategic Investment & Subsidiaries Management at Bank Mandiri.

But in 2019, Santi decided to walk away from the finance field to put up Narasi Wastra, a fashion line that uses wastra or the traditional textiles of Indonesia. Her brand hopes to preserve the heritage of wastra artisans.

Santi’s passion had been ignited by chance in the early 2000s, when she travelled around Indonesia for work. In her journeys, she would start collecting textiles from craftspeople from different ethnic groups. Now she hopes that the younger generation will also appreciate the local craftsmanship, and also hopes to create more designs that suit contemporary, active lifestyles.