Transforming Traditional Attire of The Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace into Ready-to-Wear Fashion

Djuniwarti Djuniwarti (Faculty of Fine Art & Design, Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung)
Hadi Kurniawan (Faculty of Fine Art & Design, Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung)
Irma Rachmaningsih (Faculty of Fine Art & Design, Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung)

Journal of Urban Society´s Arts
Vol 13, No 1 (2026): April 2026

The Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace is one of the great cultural heritages from the Indonesian archipelago, which must always be preserved so that it does not become extinct in the modern era. Traditional clothing is one part of the cultural wealth from the Kasepuhan Cirebon Palace. This Palace has established a partnership with the Curaweda company to advance the tourism industry, thereby increasing economic value and the welfare of people in this region. Their product innovation is not yet optimal in representing the unique and distinctive cultural and artistic values from the Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace as a commercial product for tourists. The creation of fashion products that reflect the distinctive artistic and cultural characteristics of Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace could be a solution to this problem and advance the tourism industry in this region. This research aimed to create ready-to- wear fashion inspired by the traditional clothing of the Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace, as a commercial product to advance the tourism industry and preserve the region’s culture. This research used Dharsono’s artistic creation method, which comprises three stages: experimentation, reflection, and formation through reinterpretation of the conservation concept. This research resulted in a fashion collection comprising four ready-to-wear pieces that represented the distinctive characteristics of the traditional attire of the Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace. The resulting collection was further evaluated through experts judgment and tourist responds to examine its success in representing cultural identity and its potential contribution to creative economy & cultural tourism development. The name of this fashion collection is Ratna Sari Caruban Nagari, which means beautiful treasures from the Cirebon land. The results of this research could be used to develop fashion products rooted in local wisdom to support the advancement of the Cirebon Kasepuhan Palace tourism industry and to preserve Nusantara art and culture, particularly in the fashion sector.