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Updated: 6 days ago

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From Community Spotlight

Unveiling Indonesian Fashion History through Unpublished Archives


How an unpublished family archive became the gateway for mainstreaming clothing as Indonesia’s living heritage.



by Danya Adhalia
Photos and film courtesy of Danya Adhalia


Above: An illustration and excerpt from Ratmini Soedjatmoko’s “Sedjarah Pakaian” manuscript (1956)

Siniar Sedjarah Pakaian Ep01. (For translation, at the bottom-right corner of the screen, you'll find the 'CC' option. Click this to turn on the closed captions, and YouTube will automatically generate captions. Now, select the 'Settings' option — which is typically located next to 'CC' and then choose 'Auto-translate'.)

Sedjarah Pakaian (History of Clothing) started when Danya Adhalia, a fashion designer and independent fashion researcher, digitised her grandmother’s manuscript of the same name – containing descriptions and original illustrations of various Indonesia’s traditional clothes – dated 1956. Ratmini Soedjatmoko, the author, taught visual arts, fashion design and fashion history at Sekolah Guru Kepandaian Putri Jakarta (Jakarta’s Teacher’s Training Institute, previously OSVO under the Dutch occupation) in the 1950s. She created paintings from her travels and also wrote books and other publications on Indonesian textiles. As a designer, Danya always struggled to find comprehensive visual resources regarding traditional clothing. She then decided to expand on her grandmother’s research and share her findings on social media. The page @sedjarah.pakaian quickly took off, engaging many other creative practitioners and cultural enthusiasts alike, those who have been seeking for the same stories.


@sedjarah.pakaian’s Instagram post compares Ratmini’s illustration with archival photography
@sedjarah.pakaian’s Instagram post compares Ratmini’s illustration with archival photography

This visual research diary was intended not only to retell the content of the manuscript but also to analyse and cross-reference it with other publications from different eras. In the process, new discourses and discussion topics arise within the subject of clothing in the socio-cultural context. In order to explore clothing with multidisciplinary perspectives, Sedjarah Pakaian now offers a series of interviews with various experts discussing history, archives, design, cultural heritage, and any other topics discovered from the initial research. 


The first episode discusses the importance of understanding the history of traditional clothing with Hilmar Farid, a scholar, historian, and cultural activist who once held the position as Indonesia’s Director-General for Culture (2015-2024). The discussion begins by addressing how clothing can indicate various aspects within our history; collective identities, memories, social order, symbolism and narratives among the society. However, it is acknowledged that documentation about Indonesian traditional clothing is scarce – especially on how the common people used to dress, which actually carries important information about how people lived, how people interacted with nature and each other. Farid mentioned that records of clothing history that are more easily accessible are those written about the royalties, and any documentation about common people often written under the mere gaze of wonder. Therefore, making the connection between clothing traditions in the past to how we live today can be challenging. 


Traditions in dressing are often passed down as rules – strict regulations about how certain clothes are supposed to be worn, or certain textiles reserved for particular occasions. Due to the lack of documentation, the stories behind these rules are often ignored or forgotten, that people would follow the rules without the interest to deepen their understanding of the meaning, context and the values behind them. Understanding these aspects, according to Farid, are crucial in the efforts in innovating traditions and keeping them relevant to our lives today. Creative practitioners such as artists and designers play an important role in communicating these meanings and values through their creations.



Left: Cipta Garis Temurun’s Focus Group Discussion with young fashion designers & students. Middle and right: CGT’s pilot workshop in visual research, matching different components of traditional clothing and accessories according to their origins.

With the same multidisciplinary approach Danya has founded Cipta Garis Temurun in 2024, an initiative to foster cultural heritage in advancing Indonesia’s design ecosystem. Collaboration, education and research are used to create opportunities for exchange between traditional and contemporary practices in clothing and textiles. Sedjarah Pakaian now operates under Cipta Garis Temurun as an online media and community platform. The immensely diverse cultural heritage in Indonesia calls for contributions from the public, to join this lifelong learning journey through the language of textiles and clothing that can form a better future for us all.




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