Cover Denica Riadini-Flesch, founder and CEO of SukkhaCitta, talking with Ibu Tun and Ibu Dair in a cotton field near Central Java, Indonesia. Ibu is a term of respect used for elder craftswomen in Indonesia, and SukkhaCitta offers them the support they need to earn a living wage through their traditional crafts (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
Denica Riadini-Flesch, founder and CEO of SukkhaCitta, talking with Ibu Tun and Ibu Dair in a cotton field near Central Java, Indonesia. Ibu is a term of respect used for elder craftswomen in Indonesia, and SukkhaCitta offers them the support they need to earn a living wage through their traditional crafts (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
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Through fashion, newly minted Rolex Laureate Denica Riadini-Flesch simultaneously empowers rural women and tackles environmental issues in Indonesia
It wasn’t enough for former World Bank development economist Denica Riadini-Flesch to make a change in communities from a distance; she felt compelled to be right in the heart of it. In 2016, she founded SukkhaCitta (the name is a play on the word “joy” in Indonesian) to work alongside women in the textile industry in Indonesia to ensure that they earn a fair living wage.
Employing the “farm to closet” concept, the social enterprise helps these women artisans to thrive by providing their work with access to the global market. SukkhaCitta makes beautiful clothing for women and men. Each piece of garment is made 100 per cent from materials from the soil, from the cotton to the dye.
The traditional clothing with a contemporary stylish twist has a huge online following although Riadini-Flesch, who was recently chosen as a Laureate of the 2023 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, admitted that she never set out to create a fashion brand. “SukkhaCitta is my model for change, not a fashion brand,” she once said. “From the start, it is my intention for it to be a platform to address a real, systematic problem faced by our most vulnerable artisans.”
Read more: Can sustainability exist in the world of luxury jewellery and watches?
Above Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate Denica Riadini-Flesch founded SukkhaCitta with just three women (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate Denica Riadini-Flesch founded SukkhaCitta with just three women (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
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Founded in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise has grown into a leading international programme supporting individuals and organisations using science and technology to achieve a sustainable future for our living ecosystems. Five Laureates were chosen for the recent edition, and each receives funding for their project and becomes a member of the growing Rolex Laureates network.
In SukkhaCitta's case, “[Receiving the Rolex Awards] will amplify our model by allowing us to open another school where women can come and learn skills. At the same time, we will also digitise our curriculums, especially in regenerative farming, to train even more women in remote areas of Indonesia,” Riadini-Flesch enthuses.
See also: Female leaders weigh in on hard lessons at work
What motivated you to start SukkhaCitta?
I’m a development economist by training and my work had a lot to do with rural development and working with women in villages. I saw the reality for women in rural Indonesia, how they have these remarkable skills that were passed down from generation to generation, but they were not earning a decent living wage. They were artisans earning less than US$2 a day! That didn’t make sense to me and I felt like something was broken.
I realised we’re so disconnected growing up in the city. We no longer know where the things we buy come from, and because of that we’re simply not aware that there are all these women whose lives are connected to us through the very fabric that we wear every day. Realising that I was part of the problem all my life, I decided to be part of the solution. How can we create a bridge between the consumers and these women? How can we ensure they earn a living wage to sustain their heritage craft with pride and bring new life to it?
Above SukkhaCitta's Ibu Kasmini, an Indonesian farmer who has inherited her farming practices from her grandmother, using a spinning wheel to turn cotton into threads while Ibu Karmini prepares the cotton behind her (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
SukkhaCitta's Ibu Kasmini, an Indonesian farmer who has inherited her farming practices from her grandmother, using a spinning wheel to turn cotton into threads while Ibu Karmini prepares the cotton behind her (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
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How did you feel when you heard that you would be receiving the Rolex Awards?
My first reaction was disbelief because the process was very challenging. I applied for it because it was important to bring our story to as wide an audience as possible.
What do you enjoy most about working with the rural women?
I would say it’s their generosity. In villages, there is a different sense of community—they share what they have. They would pool together and save up what they have to donate to the children in school.
It just shows what is possible when you empower women because they start having pride that they can solve problems themselves. And for me, that’s the most powerful part of our model of change. It’s not just about the economic part, but also changing mindsets and how women can actually feel pride again. The true joy is really in the sense of contribution.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned from them?
They taught me how to be human, how to pursue a life of meaning and purpose.
Above Denica Riadini-Flesch with the batik craftswomen at one of SukkhaCitta's craft schools Rumah SukkhaCitta. Women are not only taught traditional crafts in SukkhaCitta schools, but the business skills they need to monetise them. (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
Denica Riadini-Flesch with the batik craftswomen at one of SukkhaCitta's craft schools Rumah SukkhaCitta. Women are not only taught traditional crafts in SukkhaCitta schools, but the business skills they need to monetise them. (Photo courtesy of Rolex)
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Why are SukkhaCitta’s clothes appealing, especially to the younger generation?
We design for forever. Everything we make is really using traditional Indonesian crafts. Nothing is digitally printed or screen printed; it’s all heritage.
And we believe in looking at things the way our grandparents did. They had so little so they would always think about taking good care of their clothes and repairing them when they broke. It doesn’t mean that we should all stop shopping altogether. It’s actually more about buying less but better.
What is the power of fashion?
Through clothes, you can become whoever you want to be, and thus change the way you feel.
Now that you’ve found your purpose in life, how do you measure success?
I’m grateful to have the opportunity to impact lives through my work and I measure success in the lives that I get to change. I hope my legacy is that other women get the permission to do what they want to do. I hope to see a world where women can be whoever they want to be and not have to compromise or conform to society.
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Brian Cheong leads the watch (Tatler GMT) and jewellery content at Tatler Malaysia, combining sharp editorial insight with years of luxury lifestyle experience. A seasoned journalist in luxury watches based in Kuala Lumpur, Brian had previously helmed World of Watches, Men's Folio and Prestige Malaysia.
