Cover Why Oniatta Effendi wants to revive the traditional art of batik
Why Oniatta Effendi wants to revive the traditional art of batik
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The founder of local batik label Baju by Oniatta shares how the craft has brought her closer to her cultural lineage, and why it is important to revive it
Originating from Java, Indonesia, Batik is a traditional art form featuring the Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied onto fabric either through copper stamps or drawn by hand. For Oniatta Effendi, batik is much more than a piece of fabric.
Growing up in a predominantly Javanese household with her grandparents being Javanese, the founder of local fashion brand Baju by Oniatta remembers being constantly surrounded by batik. On top of seeing her grandma regularly wearing a sarong or kebaya in the kampong, Oniatta would also see photos of her mother in batik. “There was always something beautiful that she wore and I only learnt in recent years that she would sew her own batik pieces,” she continues. As she grew older, the entrepreneur began buying and collecting these beautiful garments.
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Not just a piece of fabric, batik has become a way for Oniatta to connect to her cultural lineage. More than anything else, the art form spurred her to ask her mother and grandmother questions about their cultural background and how to sew batik. “[Batik] allowed me to grow a lot closer to understanding who grandma was and why my mother was like that,” she adds.
Above Founder of Baju by Oniatta, Oniatta Effendi
Founder of Baju by Oniatta, Oniatta Effendi
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Oniatta has always been drawn to batik as a wearer and a child of the region. So, it’s not surprising that she has been an “excessive collector” of batik long before she started her brand. She shares how during her regular visits to Indonesia, she would be found sitting along the side of markets admiring and buying these fabrics.
A new classroom
Oniatta’s journey to creating her brand began in 2016 when she decided to share her passion for the art form with others. The Utama pants were the first in her collection—a pair of trousers in hand-stamped batik complete with a front panel to create the illusion of a sarung (skirt). She went on to produce 12 pairs of these pants after her friends noticed her wearing the piece and wanted a pair for themselves—the trousers sold out within two weeks.
The overwhelming response led her to launch Baju by Oniatta as a side gig while she continued working as an arts lecturer in multiple schools including Singapore Polytechnic and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Looking back, Oniatta shares that it was hard to balance her time between her full-time job and her side gig.
Above Oniatta’s journey to creating her brand began in 2016 when she decided to share her passion for the art form with others
Oniatta’s journey to creating her brand began in 2016 when she decided to share her passion for the art form with others
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“When you have a full-time job, particularly in Singapore, that takes all your energy, you get questioned [when you’re being] pulled elsewhere and not focused on your work. While women wear many hats and we’re capable of multitasking, they’re not wrong in wanting to have 101 per cent of you,” she explains. So, when an opportunity to work on her brand full-time arose, she took a leap of faith. As she didn’t come from a business, art history or design background, Oniatta had to learn on the ground. She shares: “It was a steep learning curve but we have access to so much knowledge right now and we have people in the industry that we could ask.”
While Oniatta believes that she would still be lecturing in a classroom if it was not for her brand, she likes to think that her boutique studio is her new classroom. “I’m still learning new things and that [thirst for] knowledge is endless,” she says.
Above Baju by Oniatta’s Kebaya Kemben
Baju by Oniatta’s Kebaya Kemben
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A blend of traditional and modern
While pieces at Baju by Oniatta initially used hand-stamped cloth, they currently have more traditionally crafted hand-drawn pieces. The change was made to cater to clients’ needs after receiving consumer feedback.
The process of creating these pieces is long but worthwhile. Her design process begins with a story—this can be inspired by an object, a person, a memory, a place or a certain value. With that story in mind, she begins by discussing her ideas with her batik makers in Indonesia. Oniatta works closely with craftsmen in various parts of Indonesia including Cirebon, Surakarta City (also known as Solo) and Yogyakarta. A sample is then sent to her before getting commissioned.
Oniatta reminisces on travelling to Indonesia herself to oversee the sampling process before the pandemic. “I had a lovely experience in this kampong called Laweyan and I had no idea what I was in for … I threw myself into the [village] not knowing whether to turn left or right and just took the path. I found my way into houses of actual villagers that live in the village and they make batik,” she shares.
Above Baju by Oniatta’s retail area
Baju by Oniatta’s retail area
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During this experience, she got to see the “complete ecosystem of the make” from the people who draw and wax to the community that does the dyeing process in their own homes. “I thought it was a humbling and eye-opening experience—it felt like you were visiting friends. They were so warm and welcoming, asking you to come into their houses,” she adds. Since the pandemic, she has not been able to witness the fabrication process in Indonesia as often as before. Instead, these processes are done online through video calls.
Over the years, Oniatta has played around with traditional silhouettes with reverence in keeping certain forms present while also having playful takes on how she wants these pieces to be appreciated. One example is her Kebaya Kemben. She explains how kemben means a breast cloth or torso wrap that was used to cover the woman’s upper half of the body for modesty during pre-kebaya days. Traditionally, the kebaya and sarong go over the wrap but Oniatta’s version of the piece takes half of the breast cloth out of the kebaya and secures it with an obi sash. She adds: “A lot of people get excited with [this piece], particularly the younger wearers because it’s an interesting take on what the Kebaya is, in terms of the traditional form.”
On top of reviving the art of batik in Singapore, Oniatta has also introduced this art form around the world from Paris to London.
Above Oniatta’s pop-up at Singapulah in London
Above Baju by Oniatta launched the Naga collection in London this year
Oniatta’s pop-up at Singapulah in London
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Batik against the world
In 2021, Singaporean-born shoe and bag designer Mashizan Masjum reached out asking if Oniatta wanted to do a pop-up in Paris, where he was based. Titled From Singapore To Paris: A Journey Of The Five Senses, the five-day pop-up saw 12 Singapore brands, including Baju by Oniatta, showcasing their wares at the Heureux Les Curieux concept store. “The engagement [in Paris] was fabulous,” she muses adding that Indonesians and Singaporeans based there came down to view her work.
Since Paris, she always wondered what it would be like to do something similar in another country. So, when her husband decided to take a trip to London earlier this year, she remembered telling her husband that she would tag along and sell batik there. She was soon linked up with the newly opened restaurant Singapulah and decided to do an intimate lunch showcase. She launched her latest Naga collection at the event, the first collection featuring every silhouette which the label had designed over the years.
While she went in with no expectations, they loved her creations. On top of the group who attended the lunch, there were also customers who came after the event hoping to grab Oniatta’s pieces.
Keeping batik alive
While Oniatta has had success both at home and abroad, she is never complacent. Reminding herself of where she and her label are right now, she shares how there’s a lot of room to “dance and swim” when it comes to creating. Although her brand is “relatively young”, she believes that Baju by Oniatta is one of the few labels in Singapore that got the ball rolling when it comes to batik.
When it comes to keeping batik alive, Oniatta shares that she focuses on the accessibility of her pieces for the younger generation. “We want to offer a range of clothes that a younger crowd could have access to [when it comes to] purchasing a piece,” she says, explaining how it has been a rewarding experience seeing her customers dressing their children in her pieces.
Exciting things are in store for Oniatta’s label in the upcoming year. For one, she is looking to NFC tag certain exclusively commissioned pieces that have been created to honour the Year of the Dragon. This would allow the buyer to have access to more information on the piece from its origins to its process. As for what’s next? The label is looking to rebrand with a new logo and site in the upcoming months.
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Amanda Goh was the former senior writer for Tatler Singapore.
