After Batik, Designer Chitra Subyakto Turns to Ikat Fabrics for New Collection
Jakarta. After two years of making batik, fashion designer Chitra Subyakto turns to handwoven ikat textiles for Humba, her latest collection to celebrate the second anniversary of her fashion label, Sejauh Mata Memandang.
Humba, which is the native word for the island of Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara, was presented at the Curated Room in Senayan City, South Jakarta, on Tuesday (6/12) in an ikat forest installation, which Chitra created with her artist brother Jay Subyakto and photographer Davy Linggar.
Numerous ikat fabrics were hung from the ceiling to give an impression that guests were walking through trees in a forest. Each fabric is shown in its original form, including its unfinished yarn, which reflects Chitra's personal preference not to interfere with the beauty of a fabric by instituting complex clothing patterns.
Chitra takes her belief in slow fashion to the next level with Humba. Each ikat cloth is handwoven and naturally dyed, and may take up to three months to finish. The red, blue and brown color palette was conceived from mengkudu earth, nila leaves and muddy soil. Humba's limited collection, which can be purchased at the exhibition site, consists of belts, multifunctional shawls and sarongs. Prices vary from Rp 850,000 ($64) to Rp 6 million. Once all items in the Humba collection are gone, pre-orders will take up to three or four months to be produced.
Chitra describes her main task as the founder and creative director of Sejauh Mata Memandang to be an explorer of traditional fabrics in Indonesia.
"Textile is also a form of art. I want to keep learning about our heritage and traditional fabrics. I'm still at class zero right now. In the future, I want to keep making small collections like Humba, but with fabrics from other Indonesian islands, such as Sumatra and Kalimantan," she said.
As an acclaimed stylist and now fashion designer, Chitra's biggest concerns include overconsumption and the impact of fast fashion on the environment.
"We live in the capital city where everything happens fast, because otherwise we'll be left behind. It's not normal. Normal life takes time to get things done. I just think we need to be reminded about what a normal life is," she said.
While staying true to the slow and sustainable process of making ikat fabrics, Chitra took the liberty of modifying Sumbanese traditional patterns in her collection. She avoided large animal decorations, like horses and crabs, and instead, created simple patterns inspired by the hilly landscape of Sumba island.
Chitra said local Sumbanese weavers with whom she works were unfamiliar with the landscape patterns that she wanted, and thought her decisions strange. It took Chitra three months to work closely with them and produce a motif she liked.
"They wanted to add more drawings to make the fabrics look nicer," Chitra said with a laugh. "But this process that involves humans, and my relationship with them, is the most rewarding part of this journey,"
The "Humba" exhibition ends on Dec. 18.
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