Jakarta – After being recognized by UNESCO in 2009, through Presidential Decree No. 33/2009, the government declared 2 October as National Batik Day.

UNESCO sees that the techniques, symbolism and culture in the manufacture of hand-colored batik on cotton and silk have been integrated into the lives of the Indonesian people. Batik is now not only as clothing, but as identity and Indonesian cultural heritage. Of course, it is the responsibility of all of us to culture and preserve Indonesian batik. Batik is not just cloth or ordinary clothes but also an identity from Indonesia.

In the commemoration of the national batik day, LSPR held an interactive talkshow with LSPR Alumni Batch 16 International Relations Major, Mr & Ms. LSPR, Putri Batik Nusantara 2013, Co – Founder Oemah Etnik, Former Radio Announcer & Former TV Presenter.

Nadya shared her story about her experience from becoming a National Batik Princess in 2013. At first she was just curious because when she studied at LSPR Jakarta, majoring in International Relations, she studied cultural diplomacy and was interested in batik. Armed with his experience following Mr. & Mrs. LSPR, she tried to take part in the Putra Putri Batik contest from the Ministry of Tourism and finally she was named the National Batik Princess.

During her time as the National Batik Princess, she had the opportunity to learn more about batik and feel that she loves batik more. One of the things she learned was that each pattern on the batik cloth has a different meaning and meaning. He added that the process for making one batik cloth usually takes 1-2 months, some even takes up to 6 months. The existence of Putra Putri Batik is looking for young Indonesians to socialize batik. According to her, young people in Indonesia are still not aware of batik. Most of them just use but do not learn directly.

After joining Putra Putri Batik Nusantara, she met one of the finalists, Kiki and decided to join Oemah Entik. Oemah Entik itself focuses on clothes that still have an Indonesian touch. Oemah Entik works directly with batik craftsmen, such as from Cirebon, Jepara and acts as a bridge for the craftsmen to reach consumers. Oemah Entik has collaborated with designer Amanda Hartanto to commemorate National Batik Day. Each design has limited stock, so its handmade and limited edition.

  

Emilya Setyaningtiyas as host and Nadya Julia as speaker

Oemah Entik itself has a choice of custom batik, such as Cakra or Roda motifs. For promotion, Oemah Entik has a website and social media Instagram. Nadya’s role in Oemah Entik is to input ideas for the latest collection concept. Nadya also has her own way of getting ideas, for marketing strategy ideas she usually reads books and for the latest collection ideas she does research to see what consumers need and like. He also talked about the vision for Oemah Entik in the future, which is to keep using original Indonesian batik cloth and become a bridge from craftsmen to consumers. Then,she shared success tips, namely by trying things we like and all the opportunities that exist.

The obstacles in getting the millennial generation to preserve batik, she mentioned that the problem was that the batik price was quite expensive in the past and the model was not suitable for young people. However, now there are many affordable batik and modern models. According to Nadya, whether or not it is necessary to study batik, it returns to the curiosity of each individual.In conclusion, Nadya gave a message to the millennial generation. Do not think and represent batik as a formal event only, but make batik as an identity and if we really love batik there must be an action.