Madeleine Sellers: repping Indonesia’s textile history

“It’s this dangerous, life-changing journey overseas that inspires my work.”

Collages of Maddie’s Indonesian family provided by Madeleine Sellers

Words and interview by Shayma Bakht

Indonesia is among the top 10 textile producing countries in the world. Its workers form an invisible and underpaid backbone to major fashion brands in the West; its rivers are left to filter the industry’s waste - many becoming poisonous as a result; and its history of warp-ikat dyeing and Batik knitwear is often lost on the global stage. Despite its intrinsic role in fashion, Indonesian designers are often erased from the industry. 

What is also forgotten about Indonesia is its on-going civill conflicts, which actually began in the 1600s with the Dutch colonisation of the country. In 1945, when Indonesia declared Independence, the Dutch carried out a series of massacres on the indigenous people - rejecting their revolution. The Netherlands have only this year admitted to war crimes during their 300-year rule. The Muslim-Christian conflict began with the Dutch plotting missionaries to overrule the Muslim majority, and have ended with extremists attacking Christians. The Indonesian diaspora are still trying to heal.

Madeleine Sellers, an up-and-coming knitwear designer based in North London, is using her latest collection to honour her Indonesian ancestry. Her pieces are kaleidoscopic: they tell the harrowing story of her grandmother’s escape from Jakarta to the Netherlands, while bursting with a colourful hum to her art school roots. She tells AZEEMA why she uses textiles as a tool for activism, storytelling and self-empowerment.

Photos by Madeleine Sellers

What inspired this collection?

There's a theme running throughout this collection. The work I do looks at my Indonesian heritage. Recently, I collected loads of old family photographs from my grandma who's from there. I studied her journey to America, and I was just blown away – I thought her story was amazing.

Tell us more about your grandmother’s journey…

It’s really interesting because somewhere in my Grandma’s ancestry she’s Dutch – she even has a Dutch surname. Her family were forced to flee to the Netherlands and start a life there instead of staying in Indonesia because at the time there weren’t any prospects, and there was animosity towards anyone with that [Indo-European] heritage. 

If you go back, the indigenous persecuted those with Dutch heritage – even if they were mostly Indonesian too, and just collateral damage from the Dutch empire. It was a Muslim-majority country, and my grandma was Christian. Obviously, this all roots back to problems with colonialism. There was a huge divide in Indonesia, even though they all looked exactly the same, and have so much in common. 

They went back to Holland. My grandma and granddad were literally 21 and they moved there together. They didn't know anyone. They didn’t speak the language. Well, they spoke a bit of Dutch, but it was Indonesian Dutch.

I know it was bad because she still doesn’t speak about it. It was like her own motherland rejecting her.

They travelled by boat, and it’s the idea of this dangerous, life-changing journey overseas that inspires my work. It inspired my final university project first, and now this collection too. Actually, they ended moving from the Netherlands because it was too cold for them, they missed Indonesia. They moved to America and formed a life there instead. Years later my mother came to the UK and had me.

See Maddie’s mini collection on insta: @madeleinegrace.s
Photo by Madeleine Sellers

What textile techniques in the collection come form Indonesia?

So, I look a lot at Batik, which are traditional Indonesian textile and they're usually done by using wax, then putting dye on top and then removing the wax. So, it's a resist fabric. Then, to represent the cross of cultures in my family, I use a lot of layering. So, layering the Batik on top of something else and different things always come through. To me, it shows how you can be more than one culture at once.

I feel like Indonesian culture does get a bit lost in fashion, so it's nice to bring it back to that with Batik. I do my own prints on Photoshop too, which are inspired by [artist] Paul Gauguin who used his experience moving from France to Tahiti. Even though his views could be a bit questionable…

You’ve said you want to use fashion as a form of activism, how so?

Textiles can be a form of activism not only through the designs you create and display to the world but also how you choose to make them. For example, making the decision to source off cuts and used fabric instead of buying new materials. If every designer made these small decisions the future of the fashion industry would be much more sustainable.

Can you give some examples?

I made Black Lives Matter masks with a local community initiative I am still involved. It was originally set up to make PPE for NHS frontline workers during the height of the pandemic. We were trying to support both of them. During the George Floyd protests, everyone at the hub wanted to show their support for those marching, so, we hand-printed and sewed over 100 masks to give out at the BLM protests - ensuring protesters were safe.

What more can we expect from you?

I have a second autumn/winter collection coming out very soon. I am going to definitely bring in more knitwear because this mini collection is mostly mesh material and I specialise in knitwear design.

I want to carry on exploring different dye processes looking more into Indonesian history. I want to bring traditional processes into 2020. I really enjoy the making part of my line. I never want to hand over my business to someone else, because that's the part that I love.

Soon I'd love to reconnect properly with my Indonesian culture. I am planning to do a photoshoot back there and discover the country properly.

What is the end goal?

I would like my work to bring representations and education about Indonesian culture. There is a rich history of textile production and intricate dye processes that we regularly see examples of on the runway - but hardly anyone knows where these came from. Also, so many of our clothes are produced in Indonesia and surrounding countries and I think more awareness needs to be shone on how detrimental this is for their country and people.

Photos by Madeleine Sellers

Follow Maddie’s work on her knitwear Instagram: @madeleinegrace.s