great outfits

Traditional Javanese motifs flow in quiet harmony across a silk batik scarf. Yuni Kristina combines kotak (squares) with the elaborate parang kotak bajel (dagger or blade), once reserved for the royal courts of Surakarta and Jogyakarta.

Blue jasmine blossoms take shape as an expression of Java's parang kembang kotak motif. By Yuni Kristina, this elegant scarf is crafted of shimmering silk. She hand-stamps the blue patterns on the ivory textile and adds red and black designs in batik.

Several days are spent to create this floral batik silk masterpiece. Artisan Yuni Kristina learned the art of Indonesian batik, a UNESCO cultural treasure, from her mother.

Working with ancestral textile craft techniques, Yuni Kristina depicts Java's trumtum motif. It covers a blue silk scarf, stamped by hand and embellished with batik. A symbol of awakening love, it refers to a queen who felt neglected when the king took a mistress. She took up batik, creating stars in the dark sky, stars that became her friends. The king was so impressed with her batik that he rediscovered his great love for his wife.

Shimmering shades of blue and cream cover this elegant scarf. Yuni Kristina recreates the parang raja. One of many traditional batik motifs, it symbolizes the ancient Javanese kingdom in general. She stamps the blue patterns in pure silk and adds the red blossoms with the batik motif.