Batik gets a revival as local independent designers give it a modern twist.

Last month, contemporary fashion label Ong Shunmugam incorporated batik into its latest collection, Gadis Perkasa (Mighty Woman in English) - using the textile in her skirts and kebaya tops, mixed with lace.

Independent local bag and accessories label Girl With A Radio Mind uses batik - sourced from around Asia and as far away as Africa - to handmake bags and also uses them as centrepieces for accessories such as coin purses.

The designers source authentic, hand-drawn batik from villages in Indonesia and Africa. Some of the products are then manufactured in Indonesia or handmade by the designers themselves.

Batik, a technique which uses wax on fabric to create designs, can be found in different Asian countries, including Singapore and India, but the most sophisticated designs are found in Indonesia.

Patterns and motifs are hand-drawn or copper-stamped onto a rectangular piece of cotton or silk, typically 2m-long, using melted wax.

The cloth is then dyed and the design is revealed when the layer of hardened wax is removed after the dye has dried.

Depending on how complex the design is and how many colours are used, the process of applying wax and dyeing is repeated many times to achieve the final result.

Ms Oniatta Effendi, founder and designer of Baju by Oniatta, says that it takes about three to six months on average to produce batik.

She adds: "Batik with finer patterns may even take up to a year, but I have heard of artisans who now take up to two weeks for fairly simple ones. So it really depends on how complex the artwork is."

Designs vary by region and artist, but batik from Java, Indonesia, is broadly grouped into two categories: inland and coastal batik.

Inland batik, especially from Yogyakarta city in Java, is the oldest form of batik. It is typically dark, with colours, such as black, brown and dark blue, and tends to be geometric in design.

Coastal batik, which can be found in northern Java on islands and in port cities such as Madura and Cirebon, is a lot more colourful and vibrant, with floral and animal motifs.

It is coastal batik that Ms Oniatta, 43, prefers to use for her Utama pants - long pants that come with a front skirt-overlay.

For her latest collection, she used batik from Madura, an island off the north-eastern coast of Java, as she likes the "tastefully colourful" use of red, blue, green and yellow.

Shoppers such as Ms Noorshidah Ibrahim is surprised at the variety of batik on the market now.

The 42-year-old visual arts educator, who is currently pursuing a master's degree, says: "I started loving batik only recently, when I started seeing more modern and fresher ways of wearing it.

"I grew up seeing my late mother and grandmother wear batik, but the dull browns, ochre and beige tones put me off."

Teacher Ms Anna Ng, 49, who has been wearing batik since she was in her 30s, likens putting on batik to wearing art.

She also loves that no two pieces of handmade batik are the same.

"It's an art form that has been passed down for generations and I love the idea that I'm wearing a piece of history and art."