In one chest, Ms. Komara recently recalled, were batik designs from the island of Java, in the other elaborate weavings from Indonesia’s outer islands. She swallowed more wine, inhaled clove-scented smoke from an Indonesian cigarette — and considered how to enrich the heritage of a nation of more than 17,000 islands. Since that melancholic night nearly four decades ago, Ms. Komara has refashioned an ancient art by entwining disparate textile traditions with an aesthetic all her own to create a modern Indonesian silhouette. Her batik and other designs for her fashion house, BINhouse, have transformed a cultural expression that was intricate and lovely but so locked in tradition that it bordered on staid. Ms. Komara, known by her nickname Obin, no longer depends on lampshades for a living as BINhouse has become a global force in spreading batik’s beauty.

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Persons: Josephine Komara, Komara Locations: Java, Indonesian