I've never bought a batik intentionally unless it was made compulsory for me to buy them (duduk asrama wajib beli baju batik). It is not because I don't like the corak but I think batik is too heavy of a pattern for me to carry. Now that I've been given the task to create baju using batik. I find it very challenging because how can you incorporate a pattern this heavy into a baju?
Yang susah untuk jadikan batik sebagai baju is because the pattern itself yang heavy and it is not repetitive punya pattern. Unlike stripes or plaid yang corak dia repetitive so it's easier untuk buat baju and it looks symmetrical and kemas. As for batik, kita kena pandai nak tengok bahagian mana yang cantik and should be the main focus bila dia jadi baju, or else mata orang akan melilau nak tengok motives mana satu dekat baju tu.
So if you ask me between batik modern and traditional mana lagi senang nak buat baju, I would definitely say batik modern. Batik modern ni dia dah more to tie dye punya pattern cuma ada sikit-sikit unsur flora & fauna. Yes batik ni pattern dia memang mostly bermotifkan flora & fauna instead of abstrak. Itu pun antara sebab kenapa susah nak buat baju from batik.
Modern batik sekarang dah banyak corak yang bermotifkan abstrak macam zig zag, triangles and what not. So modern batik is the best choice untuk buat baju. Batik traditional pun cantik buat baju but again as I said earlier, kena pandai cari main focus from the corak or better yet just incorporate sikit je detailing batik into the baju.
Lately kita boleh nampak kemeja batik like everywhere you turn your head mesti nampak at least sorang pakai. It's a good thing lah for me sebab batik is like identity negara serumpun Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. So I think it is a good thing for us locals to actually promote something that is from our root untuk tontonan dunia. Kalau bukan kita, siapa lagi kan?
P/S: Creating something new is not easy.