New fashion showcase at Asian Civilisations Museum features handmade batik menswear

Indonesian batik powerhouse BINhouse and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) are running an experimental batik fashion showcase, Fashioning Batik, at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) from Aug 5 to Oct 2. 

The showcase is part of an extension of ACM’s ongoing exhibition Batik Kita: Dressing in Port Cities, which introduces what batik fashion is and can be for audiences in Singapore and Southeast Asia. It also marks the first partnership between the museum and NAFA in the fashion realm.

Fashioning Batik features 32 contemporary handmade batik menswear designs, which allow audiences to come up close with new textures, materials and motifs that are atypical of traditional batik textiles. 

All of the works are handcrafted by current students of the NAFA Diploma in Fashion Studies programme, as well as various fashion designers like Max Tan and Fedri. They incorporate materials like vegetable-tanned calf leather and printed voile to create everyday looks that are just as ready for the fashion runway.

On display is Reframing Batik – Modernity with Tradition, a collection of dot reiterations, textile manipulations and accessories by students from the Diploma in Fashion Design programme at NAFA.

Alongside that, textile artist Cheryl Tan’s Pride Wear collection features a craft-centric and contemporary collection of garments. They are made from a combination of craft techniques like embroidery, tufting and crocheting. 

Menswear designer Fedri’s RetrobatiQ is also on display, featuring Indonesia’s batik patterns with youthful elements like bright colours and 8-bit images. 

Fashioning Batik is held at the museum’s foyer at Level 2 and admission is free of charge. More updates can be found on ACM’s website and social media platforms.