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Fashion
of the Balinese Textile Industry
In the matter of fashion, the Balinese have
their own concept. They distinguish fashion
for the needs of religious and daily activities.
Fashion worn within religious activities
(ritual) is also used to embellish the shrine
called wastra wali.
Wastra wali is retained in the sanctified
chamber and only taken out on the occasion
of performing a ritual activity. For painstaking
people, this paraphernalia will be taken
care off very attentively to make them last
longer, even reaching tens of years and
come in the prideful collection of the family.
Shape, mode of materials, ornament and colour
of wastra wali has their own typicality
in compliance with the shape, function and
the meaning of ritual on progress.
Meanwhile, costume or fashion used daily
is called pengangga sewai-wai where Balinese
people have got accustomed to conform to
the latest one in vogue. Model of fabric
made by textile industry and daily fashion
can reflect one’s life style, social
status and education. Even for young girls,
the trendy fashion today is a tight shirt.
So, by wearing it can reveal their sensual
bodily posture.
In the past period, the process of making
in Bali known as nunun (weaving) performed
at one’s own home. Parents at that
time, as others elsewhere on this hemisphere
consistently taught the women to weave their
own cloth. Even since they entered the age
of adolescence, they were taught to become
a professional cloth weaver and at the same
time made such weaving activity as respectful
task as well as prima donna activity to
add their earnings.
The girls did weaving activity till late
night while chatting with young boys that
made a visit intended to draw the heart
of the girl or nganggur. This weaving activity
came to be immensely momentous within the
passage of life of Balinese girls as from
this activity they could establish their
self-confidence and independency on building
the household life later. On that account,
up to now, on every organizing wedding ceremony
of the Balinese is at all times accompanied
with the activity of weaving thread by means
of spinning wheel. The bride demonstrates
the activity of weaving thread as symbol
that she was ready to become a sincere and
faithful wife and braid a harmonious and
independent household life. While, the bridegroom
hoes the soil representing that he came
in the head of household who will work hard
to maintain the survival of family’s
life.
Impact
of Tourism
Activity of weaving as home industry has
come to vague condition since 1960s when
tourism was developing into mass tourism.
Many Balinese people got involved in this
tourism service industry and they consequently
left their traditional jobs. Such impact
also spread into the wastra wali where traditional
costume of the Balinese was replaced by
fashion mode produced by manufacturers.
Easy access on transportation and the opening
of the Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport
in Tuban, made the tourist visits grow progressively.
Amongst those tourists, some took advantage
of the business opportunity in the clothing
industry by establishing garment manufacturing
industries and opening sewing workshops.
Balinese women also turned from being a
weaver to a tailor by means of sewing machine
made by the manufacturer. Advancement in
the field of textile industry, development
of knowledge in fashion design as well as
supported by the economic progress, the
Balinese women changed their fashion from
the traditional kinds of wastra wali into
fashion designs. Because of new techniques,
the process of the making of wastra wali
could be performed faster so the products
piled up, far exceeded the demand of the
community. Daily clothing, wastra wali and
other products have been sold in a large
number at traditional market, street side
shop and supermarket.
The garment industry has grown rapidly in
Bali since 1970s, on the contrary, the Balinese
traditional clothes like endek and songket
are no more produced. The garment industry
as part of the tourism industry and export
business, have appeared in numbers everywhere.
By hiring tailors that commonly comprise
Balinese women, then the fashion design
is made and produced by cotton and rayon
fabric or combination of both.
These fabrics are produced in Java, then
cut, and sewn in Bali. Centres of the garment
industry are located in Kuta, Sanur and
Denpasar up to North Bali (Singaraja). As
the weaving activity was deeply involved
by Balinese women in the past, the garment
industry also employed this women group.
They work at home and take cut fabric that
have been designed in such a way in the
company and then sewn at home. Later, their
proceeds are re-submitted to the manufacturer
and paid in accordance with the capacity
they completed. For workers that live away
from the manufacturer they were given the
materials by a collector that indeed has
been prepared by the company.
Back
to Weaving Activity
Good fortune does not always take sides
with the garment industry. The occurrence
of Kuta bomb tragedy, 12 October 2002 and
in 2005 in Jimbaran resulted in the sluggishness
of Bali tourism. As a consequence, many
garment manufacturers have gone bankrupt
and a large number of workers lost their
job.
Today, they prefer to get involved in the
weaving activity again, as they have no
job at all. The government of Bali province
also takes quick action to anticipate this
condition by improving its attention and
development of the small-scale home industry.
We can observe the action of government
through the Office of Industrial Services
that frequently delivers short courses of
weaving to household mothers that used to
often do weaving to kill their spare time.
In fact, this movement could motivate the
women groups in Bali. Consequently, the
weaving activity has now undergone a new
and bright prospect and many people take
it as home industry.
Nowadays, the wastra wali and clothing of
Balinese people have taken advantage the
fabric proceeds of their own. Fabrics like
endek and songket produced by the Balinese
draws the interests of the community. This
is discernible in terms of many civil servants
or employees of private companies wearing
uniform made from endek fabric.
Similarly, the government of Bali Province
is intensifying the sector of home industry
as the mainstay to improve the welfare of
the community. Many endek fabrics are also
exported or processed by designers to enable
to compete against others in the national
and international market. Fashion shows
are frequently organized at star-hotels
by highlighting the design made from endek.
No less art shops selling endek fabric as
souvenir. It’s a brief story on the
rising and falling of textile industry in
Bali. (Ketut Sumadi/Contributor of Bali
Travel News)
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