BA’I SOEMARLONO A MESSAGE TO THE MASSES

Four years ago, we sat down for a chat with Ba’i Soemarlono and Joe Lim, the creative brains behind POPULO Batik, about elevating batik to a global scale—to bring batik to, as the ancient Romans would say, the populo. This year, as the brand celebrates its 25th anniversary, its message goes beyond the uplift of tradition and focuses on inclusivity and sustainability. This is a tale of a brand with a mission, as told by Soemarlono to DA MAN.

DAMAN: We last had the opportunity to really chat with you back in 2015. Can you share with us some of the highlights in your work since then?

Ba’i Soemarlono: As you might remember, POPULO Batik’s focus has always been to work on an international level. We wanted to bring Indonesian heritage and craftsmanship outside of Indonesia, and after 2015, each year highlighted something new to support this idea.