Here’s an interesting news of a collaboration twinning two different niches together. Malaysian apparel brand Kapten Batik is collaborating with the Tetris Company for a collection of artisanal batik shirts and a range of accessories based on the iconic puzzle game series.
This is described, in fashion and apparel terms as a “capsule collection.” In gaming terms, this is a limited-time drop of cool cosmetics which includes full-on batik shirts with Tetris iconography, as well as T-shirts and accessories.
Batik shirts in Malaysia are typically worn as formal wear for men, though Kapten Batik’s MO here is to casualise the use of such apparel beyond grand family functions and official government events. But there is a thorough line between the artisanal apparel and the hit puzzle game about stacking blocks together originally created by Alexey Pajitnov. Traditional batik making also involves blocks. Each of the motifs adorn by the Kapten Batik X Tetris collection is designed by hand, transformed into a block which is then used to stamp the patterns.
The Kapten Batik X Tetris collection comes in nine unique designs. While batik designs typically has floral motifs, this collection makes use of those seven Tetris tetrominoes (plus shapes of a nondescript handheld console which Tetris was a popular game for it). The result is, according to the press release, “contemporary motifs that push beyond conventional inspiration, challenging the possibilities of batik design through a playful lens.”
Some of the designs look nondescript enough to pass as contemporary batik that uses shapes with soften geometric shapes. Some of them are full blown Tetris-themed with Tetrominoes with colours that will soak up attention from anyone in the room. A few features a little local flair, from the shapes of the Petronas Twin Towers to the humble nasi lemak incorporated into the design.
There are T-shirts and accessories including keychains and lanyards which brilliantly makes use of off-cuts from the manufacturing process. Batik making takes work, and this efficient use of assets is cool to see, like how high-standard restaurants makes use of nose-to-tail cooking, or developing video games that makes smart use of existing assets from a previous entry (albeit without overly using them as a hard-carry.)
As some of the photos that’s part of the visual campaign to promote this collab shows, you can rock these traditional, artisanal apparel with more contemporary fits if you wish. Though they should work well as a whimsy batik shirt to wear at formal functions.
If you prefer more traditional looking batik shirts and apparel, Kapten Batik has a lot of those. But for its first collaboration with a gaming brand, Kapten Batik is purposefully doing something completely different which it describes as “a nostalgic journey that celebrates the joy, creativity, and playfulness of gaming through design.”
“This collaboration, from my point of view, is purely a tribute to the people of our era, the millennials who went through the Tetris days of the early ’90s,” says Fadli Muhsin, Head Of Creative at Kapten Batik.
The Kapten X Batik collaboration isn’t just a product launch. From June 3-14 at North Court, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur, you can find a little activation booth presenting the collection that should pique the curiosity of fashion aficionados, gamers who played Tetris, and the millenials who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s. You can see the line of apparel and accessories up close and learn about the batik-making process.
Most importantly to us, is that the activation of the Tetris collab does include playing games, both physical and in digital, video game forms. The physical one is Tetris Tumble XL, a giant board game where you must build a tower of blocks made up of big plastic tetrominoes on a wobbly balance. A reverse Jenga, if you will, but with really, really big plastic pieces.
There is a retro arcade section which unfortunately doesn’t include real arcade cabinets with that one specific version of Tetris. But having PC setups for Tetris Forever, the 2024 collection of retro Tetris games developed by Digital Eclipse is not too bad either, with a high-score leaderboard challenge with prizes for the week’s top scorers.
The Kapten Batik X Tetris Collection is now available at all boutiques as well through the Kapten Batik online store. Stocks are limited, so better act soon if you fancy some Tetris merch with the rare Malaysian twist.