Designer Musa's future all sewn up<\/p>\n
By Agni Amorita<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When the young Musa Widyatmodjo determinedly set
\nout on his career as a fashion designer nothing could dissuade
\nhim. The 34-year-old bachelor has been working as a professional
\ndesigner for almost a decade now, and half of that time was spent
\nsearching for a business identity.<\/p>\n
Before approaching his market with elegant, light and very
\nwearable creations that have become his trademark, Musa had
\nseveral failures.<\/p>\n
\"It was when I suffered financial losses for almost a whole
\nyear,\" Musa Widyatmodjo recalls of his first years in the
\nbusiness. \"Things got worse because it seemed that I was so alone
\nin dealing with it. Fashion was definitely something my family
\nand friends were not familiar with.\"<\/p>\n
Instead of reconsidering his career as a fashion entrepreneur,
\nhowever, Musa sought technical help from various quarters,
\nincluding enrolling in several home industry courses and joining
\na local fashion association to gain ground for his fragile
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
Today, not only is Musa able to experience his dream career,
\nbut he is now an established designer and was chosen to lead the
\npopular Indonesian Fashion Designers Association (APPMI). Late
\nlast year he took over the position from seasoned designer Poppy
\nDharsono. Musa said he was very surprised when some fashion
\ncolleagues nominated him to replace Poppy, who had held the
\npowerful position since APPMI's establishment in 1993.<\/p>\n
\"I have a strong commitment to APPMI, but I am also known as a
\nhard person to deal with in business. So I just laughed at this
\nidea,\" he recalled. Musa's apparent reluctance to take the helm
\nwas reflected in his campaign speech on APPMI's electoral day.<\/p>\n
\"I tried hard to make a horrible speech in the campaigning
\nhours, including a threat that I would be very tough in leading
\nAPPMI elected. I explained to them that for me APPMI was like a
\nused car I had to drive to another town as fast as possible. So
\nbefore the trip I would prepare the vehicle by repairing any
\nfaults that I could find, even replacing and totally removing
\nsome broken parts if necessary,\" he remembered.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the almost 100 college-graduated designers were
\nnot intimidated by his threat and elected him chairman of APPMI
\nfor a three-year term. \"I have to say that it is an honor for
\nme,\" he said in his workshop in Kemanggisan district, West
\nJakarta, last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
During the fashion business' peak season comprising Ramadhan,
\nChristmas, New Year and Chinese New Year, he had to work quite
\nhard to meet the extra demand. He successfully got through the
\ntiring time, and the intense pressure is not apparent in his
\nmuscular appearance. This 185-cm tall designer doesn't even want
\nto take a break after such a tight schedule. In his Balinese-
\ninspired study, Musa, who has just created his newest feminine
\ncollection, is working on his programs for APPMI plus a promise
\nfor better cooperation with a \"rival\" fashion group, the
\nIndonesian Fashion Designers Council (IPMI).<\/p>\n
Born in Jakarta in November 1965, Musa was raised to be an
\neconomist like his father. \"It got worse because when I finished
\nhigh school in 1984, Indonesia was swept by an MBA mania,\" he
\nsaid. Instead of working toward earning an MBA degree in
\nPhiladelphia where he was sent to select an institution of higher
\neducation to attend, young Musa was fascinated with American mega
\nbookstores which introduced him to art and fashion. \"I explained
\nto my father that I wanted to work in a field that I liked the
\nmost and would not regret if I never got rich in it, instead of
\nbeing rich from working in a place that didn't interest me at
\nall,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Musa then went to Drexel University and was the only
\nIndonesian student who majored in fashion design. Although he
\ninitially didn't gain support from his parents, Musa worked well
\non campus. He won many awards from Philadelphia, including the
\nHenry Callahan Award 1987 for Best Evening Wear Design, Letters
\nof Commendation 1988 and 1989, the Callahan Achievement Award
\n1989 of Design Excellence, a Letter of Recognition 1988 and Siby
\nMarkel Brasler Award 1987 for Academic and Design Excellence.
\nMusa was also chosen as finalist for American Concours Des
\nJeuneus De Mode 1987, the same year he became a semifinalist for
\nAmerican Leather Design.<\/p>\n
With their teenage son establishing an identity in fashion,
\nMusa's parents later became his number one supporters. They sent
\nhim plenty of fashion news from home, including entry to the
\nprestigious Indonesia Fashion Design Contest 1990. Musa entered
\nthe competition and became a finalist. This was the beginning of
\nMusa's career as a professional designer at home. Starting from a
\nbig zero, Musa designed, sewed and finished his first creation by
\nhimself.<\/p>\n
\"I had nothing except my mother's sewing machine because there
\nwas no money left to start this business after the cost of my
\noverseas school fees,\" he pointed to his first creation, a
\nbirthday gown for a friend's niece.<\/p>\n
Three months later Musa hired one assistant to help him get
\nthrough his risky first years. After facing the ups and downs of
\nbusiness, Musa got stronger and gained confidence with his
\ncareer. Today he employs more than 50 people.<\/p>\n
His concept of beauty is carefully geared toward the
\nIndonesian market -- meaning simple, feminine, far from
\nprovocative, and elegantly tailored. His creations sell for
\nbetween Rp 300,000 and Rp 600,000 per piece. Having two labels --
\nMusa for his first line and My Badjoe for a more mass produced
\nline, the launching of which was postponed after the monetary
\ncrisis -- Musa supplies four outlets in Metro Pondok Indah and
\nPlaza Senayan, Pasaraya Blok M and Sarinah Department Store,
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Fashion has expenses,\" he said. \"For fashion designers, it
\nmeans that we have to really work professionally and never stop
\ngrowing because we are not just artists who design, but also
\nbusinesspeople who need to sell our work.\"<\/p>",
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