jpnn.com, JAKARTA - Natalia Yaya Pascale is the owner of the Nataliayaya Designs brand, which is well known in the United States.
This woman, who was born in Jakarta 54 years ago, began to take part in the world of fashion design from a young age.
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Natalia has a natural talent in art and fashion design, which was passed down by her mother, who in her lifetime worked as a wedding dress designer in the eastern region of Jakarta.
Since childhood, Natalia, who studied at the Faculty of Law, Jayabaya University, has built her dream as a fashion designer. The love for the fashion world has made her prefer to be a fashion designer rather than a lawyer.
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Her introduction to batik, especially Madurese batik, began in early 2000.
Batik has become not only a commercial commodity that supports her hobbies and family finances but also part of the daily lifestyle of Natalia and her two daughters.
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Starting from the Indonesian market, her brand, House of Kebaya by NataliaYaya, began to expand to neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. In early 2005, Natalia began to expand her work to the international stage.
Her unique style, where she combines her traditional Eastern cultural heritage, Indonesian batik, with modern Western accessories, has become the hallmark of Natalia's designs.
"Since I was young, I've really liked Western style. So, the concept of East meets West is that I mix and match Indonesian traditional batik with Western styles following the four seasons in America. For example, I design with the Madura batik clothes with summer dress, winter coat, cowboy style, western gown, and others," said Natalia.
Moving to Uncle Sam in 2015 did not extinguish her love for batik. She continued to use this East meets West design philosophy even in the US.
This could be seen from her consistency in her latest works at a fashion show in New York City (2018) and at a special event organized by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Los Angeles (2021).
At a event in October 2021, Natalia had the opportunity to give a presentation about Madurese batik in front of foreign diplomats from various countries. She explained about the manufacturing process and the clothing designs that she created.
"According to my experience, after attending fashion shows in New York and Los Angeles, Madurese batik with floral and animal patterns completed with bright colors like red, blue, green, and others is very popular to the audience. That's why I bring batik shirt designs with bright colors, not just earth-colored batik," said Natalia.
To commemorate the National Batik Day in October 2022, Natalia's company in the US, NataliaYaya Designs LLC, collaborated with There and Back LLC, an American event planning and consulting company, to organize a fashion show.
The event aimed not only to raise the image of batik in the US but also to help lift the economy of batik craftsmen, especially those located in Pamekasan regency, Madura.
Natalia aspires to expand her design horizons by working on other traditional Indonesian fabrics in the future. (fri/mcr20/jpnn)
This news has been broadcast on JPNN.com with the title: Mengenal Natalia Yaya, Perancang Busana Batik Asal Madura yang Mendunia