After the success of ‘Lurik Jawa’ Heritage Collection in the Japan Good Design Award 2023, Long Story Short is beyond honored to bring home another title in 2025. Not only for one design, this year, three of our handcrafted rattan bags — the Wresti Bag, the Noni Kawung Bag, and a special collaborative collection with SAPARO, received the prestigious Japan Good Design Award. As a brand rooted in the celebration of Indonesian craftsmanship, culture, and sustainability, this achievement is more than an award. It’s a moment of pride that strengthens our commitment to creating timeless, meaningful, and culturally rich pieces that continue to speak across borders.
Let’s unweave the stories behind these three exceptional bags and explore why each one was honored with the Good Design Award title.
Long Story Short x SAPARO: A harmony of natural rattan and upcycled jeans
Launched in September 2024, the Long Story Short x SAPARO collaboration marked a new chapter in our design journey. This collection was born from a shared mission to blend artistry, culture, and sustainability in one conscious design. Each bag in this series is a one-of-a-kind piece, crafted from rattan weaving combined with upcycled denim. By incorporating leftover denim fabric into the intricate patterns, each product tells a story of waste turned into worth. This collaboration didn’t just bring two brands together. It created a new format of design storytelling where material waste becomes heritage art, and every piece holds a unique identity that is ethically made.
The Wresti Bag
Inspired by the Balinese traditional dance Puspawresti, the Wresti Bag brings poetry into fashion. The word Wresti itself means “rain” in Balinese, which became a central metaphor in this design with light and delicate in form, yet strong and enduring in function. With its structured silhouette, soft curves, and strong color palette, the Wresti Bag is a visual ode to the rain, a graceful descent, gentle yet powerful. Much like the ceremonial dance it draws from, this bag celebrates feminine elegance, strength, and cultural storytelling in a way that feels modern and wearable. Its unique charm lies in the ability to merge heritage inspiration with practical design, making it not just a statement piece, but also a beautiful companion for occasional wear.
The Noni Kawung Bag
It is a beautiful evolution of Long Story Short’s beloved Noni design, a compact and charming silhouette originally inspired by the old colonial-era term noni, meaning “young woman.” In this new iteration, the bag carries a deeper narrative through the infusion of Batik Kawung, a traditional Indonesian motif known for its geometric circular patterns symbolizing harmony and balance. This motif has been reinterpreted into the rattan weaving pattern itself, a feat of craftsmanship that brings batik to life through a new material expression. Noni Kawung is chic, practical, and refreshingly feminine, making it a go-to bag for modern women who want a touch of tradition with a contemporary twist. Through this piece, Long Story Short continues to innovate, pushing the boundaries of what traditional Indonesian craftsmanship can look and feel like in a global design context.
Winning the Good Design Award 2025 for these three handcrafted rattan bags reinforces Long Story Short’s mission to create fashion pieces that celebrate Indonesian cultural heritage while moving towards a more sustainable design future. Each bag represents a unique storytelling moment, from upcycled materials and traditional dance interpretations to batik-infused weaves. Together, they form a powerful narrative of craftsmanship, innovation, and identity that continues to put Indonesian design on the world stage.
This achievement is not the end goal, but rather a milestone. It keeps us grounded in our roots, yet encouraged to keep evolving and proving that handcrafted goods made with heart, history, and purpose can earn global recognition. At Long Story Short, every piece is created to honor the past, embrace the present, and design for a more sustainable future.
