Kebaya

A Kebaya is a traditional blouse worn by Indonesian and Malaysian women, sometimes made from sheer material and usually worn with a sarong, batik, or other traditional knitted garment such as a songket with a colorful motif.

Kebaya is originated from Arab region;[1] the Arabic word of Kaba means clothing. The name of Kebaya as a particular clothing type was introduced by the Portuguese when they landed on Southeast Asia. Kebaya is associated with a type of blouse worn by Indonesian women in 15th or 16th century. Other believed that Kebaya is originated from China hundreds of years ago, spreading to the Southeast Asia in the 13th to 16th century.[citation needed]
The earliest form of Kebaya was first came from the north of the Indonesian archipelago. The clothing type began to spread to Malacca, Java, Bali, Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi. After hundred years of acculturation, the garments have become adjusted to local customs and culture.
Prior 1600, kebaya on Java island were considered as a sacred clothing to be worn only by members of the Javanese monarchy. During Dutch colonization of the island, European women began wearing kebaya as formal dress. During this period, kebaya, that was originally made from mori fabric, were modified with silk embroidered with colorful patterns.

Kain Songket

Songket is fabric which belongs to the brocade family of textiles. It is hand woven in silk or cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads. The metallic threads stand out on the background cloth to create a shimmering effect. In the weaving process the metallic threads are inserted in between the silk or cotton weft (latitudinal) threads of the main background cloth. The term 'songket' comes from the Malay word menyongket, ‘to embroider with gold or silver threads’. Songket is traditionally worn during ceremonial occasions.
In Indonesia, Songket is produced in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Bali, Sulawesi, Lombok and Sumbawa. Outside of Indonesia production areas include the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and Brunei.
Songket weaving is historically associated with areas of Malay settlement, and the production techniques could have been introduced by Arab and Indian merchants. Historically, production was located in politically significant kingdoms because of the high cost of materials; the gold thread used was originally made of real gold.

Batik Fashion

Batik or batique is an Indonesian word and refers to a generic wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. The word originates from Javanese word "amba", meaning ”to write” and the Javanese word for dot or point, "titik."

It is known to be more than a millennium old, probably in ancient Egypt or Sumeria. There are evidences that cloth decorated through some form of resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD.[citation needed] It is found in several countries later in West Africa such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Mali, or in Asia, such as India, Sri Lanka, Iran, and Thailand, and Malaysia, but the most popular are in Indonesia. The art of Batik reach its highest achievement in technique, intricate design, and refined aesthetic in Java, Indonesia. The island of Java itself is famous and well known for its exquisite batik for centuries, particularly in places such as Yogyakarta, Solo, Cirebon, and Pekalongan.

Batik is both an art and a craft, which is becoming more popular and well known in the west as a wonderfully creative medium. The art of decorating cloth in this way, using wax and dye, has been practised for centuries. In Java, Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there. The word batik originates from the Javanese tik and means to dot.

To make a batik, selected areas of the cloth are blocked out by brushing or drawing hot wax over them, and 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 more elaborate and colourful designs. After the final dyeing the wax is removed and the cloth is ready for wearing or showing.

Contemporary batik, while owing much to the past, is markedly different from the more traditional and formal styles. For example, the artist may use etching, discharge dyeing, stencils, different tools for waxing and dyeing, wax recipes with different resist values and work with silk, cotton, wool, leather, paper or even wood and ceramics.

Batik is historically the most expressive and subtle of the resist methods. The ever widening range of techniques available offers the artist the opportunity to explore a unique process in a flexible and exciting way.