Indonesia Celebrated National Batik Day with an Estimated 60 Million People

The Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia celebrated National Batik Day with an estimated 60 million people, constituting a quarter of the country's population, wearing garments made from their traditional fabric – the batik.
 
The National Batik Day commemorates UNESCO's acknowledgment on October 2, 2009, of batik as a 'masterpiece of the oral and intangible cultural heritage of humanity.'
 
The day is observed in order to maintain the legacy of batik and promoting it to the outside world.
 
In recent years, batik is back in vogue and the colourfully printed fabrics, and garments made from it, are being worn both in Indonesia and abroad as formal and casual attires.
 
In addition, glimpses of batik prints can be seen at several international high-profile fashion events.
 
The increasing popularity of batik was evident in the Belgium-based designer Dries Van Noten's Spring 2010's ready-to-wear collection, which featured the beautiful parang motifs on the ensembles.
 
Batik – the traditional cloth printing art of Indonesia – originated in the Javanese cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. It is a dyeing technique that uses wax and colourful dyes to decorate a piece of fabric.
 
The conventional prints of batik are deeply rooted to the Javanese perception of the universe, and the three major colours like indigo, dark brown and white represent the three Hindu deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.