Indonesian fashion designer’s sustainable ecoprinting with natural dyes – ‘I love that element of surprise’
- Looking to keep her creative juices flowing amid the pandemic, Hong Kong-based Ika Butoni turned to ecoprinting
- Her ecoprints will be available at the AWA Foundation Charity Bazaar on November 10 at PMQ in Central
Ika Butoni loves walking on the beach in Shek O, the tiny village on the southside of Hong Kong Island that she has called home for more than 30 years.
For the Indonesian fashion designer, it’s a chance to get some fresh air and exercise – and to forage for fallen leaves and flowers to incorporate into her ecoprints, a form of natural dyeing in which colours are extracted from tannins – chemical compounds – in plant material and transferred onto fabric.
“The yellow hibiscus flowers make beautiful prints,” says Butoni. “I usually head to the beach in the afternoon because the flowers drop around 4pm.”
She also heads to the village bus stop to collect leaves that have been run over. “Leaves pressed onto the road have an interesting texture.”
Butoni – a former Cathay Pacific flight attendant who swapped life in the skies for one in fashion – established her eponymous label in 1983.
