Kebaya Kota: Narasi Identitas dan Gaya Hidup Perempuan Urban

Abstract

Nowadays, the kebaya is gaining popularity among the public, marked by movements that have revived the love of the kebaya and the role of designers who care about its existence in recent years. This includes UNESCO's recognition of the kebaya as an intangible cultural heritage, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Thailand, in December 2024. This study aims to understand how urban women respond to modernity and external culture, and how the kebaya serves as a medium for negotiation to ensure its continued recognition. The research methods used were participant observation and field observation as primary data, with observations in cyberspace (online and social media), and literature review as secondary data. The theories chosen for analysis are cultural negotiation and visual studies. The research subjects were funky kebaya community in Jakarta. The findings of this study are that current kebaya styles are the result of cultural transformation between tradition and modernity within urban society, where urban culture itself is formed through diverse cultures, involving conflict, resistance, dialogue, and negotiation.