TEMMA PRASETIO X IWAN TIRTA: “UNBOUND: BATIK IS NOT A DRESS CODE”

Images courtesy of Temma Prasetio

The Richness of Iwan Tirta into A Different Design Vocabulary

From Kim Seo Ryong’s contemporary interpretation to Temma Prasetio’s vision of batik as an everyday wardrobe, Iwan Tirta continues to prove that heritage is not something to preserve in place—it is something to keep reinventing.

Batik has never been short of rules. There are motifs with histories, colours with meanings, techniques passed from one generation to the next, and occasions that traditionally dictate when and how the fabric should be worn. Yet perhaps the most interesting future for batik begins precisely where some of those rules begin to loosen.

That idea sits at the heart of UNBOUND: Batik Is Not a Dress Code, the latest collaboration between IWAN TIRTA and Indonesian menswear designer Temma Prasetio, presented at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kuala Lumpur 2026 on 22 August.

Staged at The Exchange TRX, Kuala Lumpur, the 24-look presentation brings together two distinctly Indonesian creative languages: the immense batik legacy of Iwan Tirta and Temma Prasetio’s contemporary approach to menswear. Rather than treating batik as a ceremonial code or simply placing traditional motifs onto modern garments, UNBOUND proposes something more fundamental—what if batik could simply become clothes again?

Presented by Magran Living

For Iwan Tirta, the proposition is particularly significant. The house carries an archive of more than 13,000 batik motifs inherited from its founder, the late maestro Iwan Tirta (1935–2010). Over the years, those archives have become more than historical records. They have provided an expansive visual vocabulary through which successive designers can reinterpret Indonesian identity.
Temma’s response is deliberately relaxed.

Temma personally curated 24 cotton batik fabrics for the collection, selecting a palette that moves from blue-green tones to sogan brown and red. The choice of cotton, lighter colours and more versatile constructions shifts the conversation away from batik as formal attire and towards batik as a contemporary wardrobe.
The statement “Batik is not a dress code” therefore becomes more than a title. It is the collection’s design proposition.

Temma challenges the idea that batik must always answer the questions of when, where and how it should be worn. Instead, the fabric is allowed to move with contemporary life—less ceremonial, more instinctive; less prescribed, more personal.

The silhouettes reflect that attitude. Modern menswear, relaxed proportions and considered tailoring allow the batik to remain visible without becoming costume. The traditional textile is not disguised beneath contemporary fashion; neither is it treated as an untouchable artefact. It simply inhabits a different context.

The styling, paired with Mario Minardi footwear, gives the collection an ease that feels deliberately removed from the conventional formality associated with batik.

UNBOUND, in collaboration with Iwan Tirta, lends the collection an effortless ease—deliberately stepping away from the conventional formality traditionally associated with batik.