MB Inc. Perak strengthens batik Perak's identity through Cura Batik at Kuala Lumpur Men's Fashion Week 2026

There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from knowing exactly what you are, and Batik Perak, it seems, has found its stride.

At this year's Kuala Lumpur Men's Fashion Week (TKLMFW), Menteri Besar Incorporated (Perak) returned for a second consecutive year, this time as a quiet architect behind one of the region's most compelling fashion statements: the reassertion of Perak's batik heritage on a stage built for the modern gentleman.

The evening carried the weight of royal patronage, with YAM Tunku Dr. Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, Tunku Puteri Johor, gracing the occasion, a presence that lent the room its unmistakable gravitas. Alongside her stood the custodians of craft and commerce in equal measure: Encik Abdul Halim bin Ali, Ketua Pengarah of Perbadanan Kemajuan Kraftangan Malaysia; Dato' Radzuan Radziwill; Bon Zainal Harun, a familiar face in GC's own pages; and Rasta Rashid, whose label Batek by Rasta has become shorthand for batik reimagined. Anchoring the batik house itself was Cura Batik's director, Encik Rizam Abd Rani, a man whose quiet stewardship has done much to carry Perak's textile identity into unfamiliar rooms.

Cura Batik x Bon Zainal Menswear at the Royal Charity Gala Night, TKLMFW 2026.

Forty-six designers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Cambodia converged for the occasion, each offering their own reading of what regional menswear can be when tradition is treated as material fluent enough to speak in any silhouette. Radzuan Radziwill's collection moved with the discipline of tailoring that respects its fabric; Omar Ali's pieces leaned into texture and restraint; Batek by Rasta pressed batik into unexpected cuts; and Rizman Ruzaini, a name synonymous with modern glitz and glam, offered yet another reminder of why Southeast Asian design deserves its place at the world's tables.

Beneath the spectacle of collections and cameras lay a more deliberate narrative: MB Inc. Perak's sustained commitment to positioning Batik Perak as a living material fit for the front row, rather than a heritage artifact preserved behind glass. This gesture builds on what came before it, and every indication points to more to follow. Cura Batik's deepening involvement in mainstream fashion production marks a shift from advocacy to authorship, from representing the craft to actively shaping its next chapter.

For a textile so often relegated to ceremony, the ability to command a runway built for contemporary menswear says something quieter and more important than any single show: that identity, when made with enough conviction, wears both heritage and modernity well, together, at once.

Menteri Besar Incorporated Perak (Inc) representative with the fellow Malaysian designers at TKLMFW 2026.