Fashion Industry Reinvigorates ‘Ulos’
Ulos weavers were once on the brink of extinction because they were unable to improve their economic wellbeing, until the fashion industry began opening its doors to the traditional Batak textile.
Nurmasito Sihombing (38) smiled as she wove ulos in Enda Portibi village of Siatas Barita district, North Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, on Tuesday (12/10/2021).
Her fingers moved swiftly between the warp and weft to produce a white tumtuman motif embellished with red.
"Ulos tumtuman is now a trend for bridal sarongs and scarves, as well as for collecting. The ulos I am working on has been ordered by fashion designer Torang Sitorus,” she said.
Ulos weaving in the vicinity of Lake Toba has begun to gain vigor in the last few years since ulos entered the fashion industry.
That morning, Nurmasito was accompanied by Irawati Simorangkir (32), a young weaver from Sipoholon district, North Tapanuli. They are members of a group of ulos weavers that has been facilitated in entering fashion houses with high-quality textile collections.
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The weavers’ group is preparing to hold an ulos exhibition in the near future, displaying their ulos in collaboration with fashion designers.
“The names of the weavers will be displayed with their respective ulos along with the fashion designer’s. We see it as high appreciation for us,” Nurmasito said.
She has been working as an ulos weaver, known as partonun in the local language, for 12 years. Weaving ulos is a source of livelihood as well as a family heritage in preserving the local culture. With partonun considered as a casual occupation, the weavers are associated with the low-income community.
Nurmasito usually needs two weeks to weave a sarong-and-scarf set. With a cost of up to Rp 300,000 for the thread used in the intricate craft, she only earns between Rp 650,000 and Rp 1 million.
“We work from morning until late at night. We take breaks only for meals and household chores,” she said.
She realized she was getting an unfair share of earnings when she found out that the broker made Rp 2.5 million from the ulos she produced. "I was very sad. In just two days, he sold it for more than double the money I received," she said.
Luckily, she met Torang during a visit to her village. He said that the weavers’ ulos could be sold at a higher price, on the condition that their quality could be improved.
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Nurmasito and her fellow weavers used to divide the work by weaving ulos as two pieces of fabric for a faster process in producing one sarong. After the weaving was finished, they sewed the two lengths of fabric together. They used low-quality thread and dyes as well as unassuming motifs.
Now that they have been integrated with the fashion industry, they weave ulos as a single piece. The thread they use is of high quality, such as mercerized cotton. Some weavers use thread imported from Japan and India.
The weavers feel encouraged to explore traditional ulos motifs. The work can take a month.
"There are several motifs currently trending, such as tumtuman and bintang maratur," said Nurmasito.
Irawato looked happy about the encouraging situation, saying that the high selling price was worth her hard work. She sold a sarong-and-scarf set of ulos tumtuman for Rp 6.5 million. When the market grew sluggish as a result of the pandemic, prices fell to Rp 5 million, but this was still considered worth the effor.
High-quality textiles
"Ulos of good quality can now enter fashion industry as a high-end collection," Torang said, adding that improving the welfare of weavers was one way to preserve the ulos weaving culture.
Torang is currently running the Partonun Artisan campaign, which promotes weavers as artisans and their ulos in the market as high-quality textiles.
Having established a gallery in Medan, he is planning to go global by marketing ulos to international fashion houses next year.
The Medan gallery’s market reach includes Greater Jakarta, the area that includes Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, with the target market comprising socialites, textile collectors, consumers and bridal businesses.
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Torang is a well-known fashion designer with domestic ulos sales of Rp 1.5 billion per month. "More than 80 percent of it goes to the ulos weavers," he said.
According to Torang, a weaver who produces good-quality ulos can earn up to Rp 7 million per month, almost three times the provincial minimum wage and much higher than the income ulos weavers used to make for their standard-quality products.
Today’s encouraging prospects have helped create new ulos weaving centers, especially in the districts of Siatas Barita, Tarutung, Sipoholon, Muara (North Tapanuli), and Silaen (Toba).
The soul of cultural preservation is maintaining authenticity, adhering to the [cultural] roots amid the imminent changes of development.
The weavers seem to have regained their passion for authentic ulos, with some even looking to revive the use of natural dyes.
In Muara, weavers are increasingly turning to the production of ulos harungguan, a larger fabric with more intricate motifs that combines all traditional ulos motifs.
"The soul of cultural preservation is maintaining authenticity, adhering to the [cultural] roots amid the imminent changes of development," said Torang.
This article was translated by Musthofid.