Batik: Drawing With Wax

Batik is a way of painting with resistance. Instead of adding colour where you want it, you protect the cloth where you don't.

Wax, then dye

The pattern is drawn onto the fabric with hot wax — traditionally with a small spouted tool called a tjanting, or stamped on with a metal block. Wherever the wax sits, dye cannot enter.

The cloth is then dyed. Once the wax is removed, the design appears in the colour the fabric held before it went into the dye.

Building colour

Each additional colour means another round: wax is applied to protect what should stay, the cloth is dyed again, and the wax removed. A rich batik may pass through this cycle several times.

The crackle

As wax cools and the cloth is handled, fine cracks form. Dye seeps into them, leaving delicate veins across the design. These hairline lines are the signature of real wax-resist work — and the reason no two batik pieces are ever identical.

Wearing batik

Batik sarees are soft and painterly, equally at home at a family lunch or a festive evening. Wash gently in cold water, separately at first, and dry away from direct sun.

Explore our Batik collection.