Local Attraction
Running a design firm is not the only thing that Mira Hadiprana does—she also has a deep enthusiasm for traditional fashion, which she is using to transform the lives of women in Marunda
Mira Hadiprana greets us warmly when she walks into her living room, which is filled with artworks from her eponymous design consultancy, Hadiprana. Mira herself debuted as a fashion designer in 2008, but her love of fashion started early on. “My father used to design clothes for my sister and me and our mother would tailor the clothes for us,” she says about her fondness towards fashion and clothing in general.
Today, she is shifting gear to design locally inspired and manufactured batik to encourage women to wear batik to different occasions, such as brunches or afternoon teas, and not just to weddings. Her motto is to “be locally stylish”. “I want Indonesian women to feel proud wearing local products, which is why I design batik in a more contemporary style to suit today’s fashion trends better,” she says.
Her passion for batik also carries over to her philanthropic work with the MEEK Foundation. With the foundation, with which she serves as secretary, Mira is involved in developing Batik Marunda, a micro-business unit run by the residents of the subsidised Rusunawa flats in Marunda. Batik Marunda was initiated by Veronica Tan because she wanted Jakarta to have its own distinctive style of batik. Wendy Sibarani, a painter, also contributes by designing the batik with inspiration drawn from Jakarta’s endemic flora and fauna, while the designs are then made into batik textiles by the beautiful women of Rusunawa Marunda.
These textiles are then made into clothes by designers and clothing lines. Recently, some of the clothes were auctioned at La Moda in Plaza Indonesia with the support of the mall as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts. Millie Stephanie Lukito, the CEO and Bureau Chief of Mobiliari Group, publisher of Indonesia Tatler,
“MARUNDA IS A HIDDEN TREASURE. I HOPE THERE WILL BE MORE PEOPLE DEVELOPING INITIATIVES THERE”
was also present to give her support and to pose as one of the models together with her closest friends, and all the proceeds were donated back to the community at Rusunawa Marunda.
“Seeing their work being presented and auctioned at a place like La Moda really gave the women of Marunda a sense of dignity,” Mira says. With the MEEK Foundation, Mira is hoping that Batik Marunda can be a sustainable and independent business unit for the residents of Rusunawa Marunda, and that the residents could then run it as a business unit without the foundation’s involvement in the future.
“Batik Marunda has transformed the lives of the residents of Rusunawa Marunda—they used to work as scavengers before, and now they’ve learned to create something of value,” she says. However, teaching the residents how to create batik was not without its challenges. “They did not have a pre-existing sense of aesthetics and teaching them how to focus and to be persistent was also its own challenge. But, of course, it wasn’t impossible, and they eventually learned it all,” she tells us proudly.
Moreover, Wendy’s designs for the batik also suit the women of Marunda’s artistic style, which, unlike other styles of batik, is not too detailed, making it easier for them to paint it. “That’s what makes Batik Marunda unique in its design: we’ve turned a weakness into a strength,” Mira says. Seeing how much impact Batik Marunda has brought to the community in Rusunawa Marunda, she hopes that there will be other business units developed there.
“Marunda is a hidden treasure. I hope there will be more people developing initiatives there,” she says. For Mira, life is about giving back, which is why she was interested in philanthropy in the first place. “What blessings you have in your life are not only for yourself, and you have to pay them forward to others,” she says, closing our conversation.
“I WANT INDONESIAN WOMEN TO FEEL PROUD WEARING LOCAL PRODUCTS, WHICH IS WHY I DESIGN BATIK IN A MORE CONTEMPORARY STYLE TO SUIT TODAY’S FASHION TRENDS BETTER”