Designers offer Ramadhan fashions<\/p>\n
By Agni Amorita<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The gown is a mini, with tiny spaghetti straps,
\ncolored in trendy metallic gray. This gown, designed by Anne
\nRufaidah, and many others were displayed at the Female Muslim
\nFashion Trend 1999 fashion show.<\/p>\n
Thirteen local designers displayed their latest muslimah
\n(female Moslem) dress collections in the fashion show, annually
\nheld by the Indonesian Designer and Garment Association (APPMI).<\/p>\n
\"I designed the gown for my younger customers who have a
\ngreater fashion awareness,\" said Anne, Miss Indonesia 1980 and
\nthe youngest finalist in the first Indonesian Fashion Design
\nCompetition in 1979.<\/p>\n
To make her gown comply to the muslimah dress code which only
\nallows for the display of the face and the palms of hands in
\npublic, Anne combined the dress with a floor length, long
\nsleeved, blue tunic as its \"outer skin\". Made from fully textured
\njacquard material, the dress was worn with a pastel-colored
\njilbab (head scarf).<\/p>\n
\"I want to dress up teenagers who often complain about the
\nlimited variety of muslimah dress available, by offering dresses
\ndifferent from the classical dress worn by their mothers,\" said
\nAnne. Other eye-catching \"Gen-X\" designs in Anne's latest
\ncollection were black army short-boots and silvery colors for her
\nthree piece dress.<\/p>\n
Besides Anne, other designers also offered an impressive
\nselection of designs. Minawati Sardja offered various kinds of
\ndresses, while Dewiyati Ruslan and Deasy Munaf designed raglan
\nsleeves and diagonal cuts. Corrie Kastuby played with tasseled
\nthread and bakiak (wooden) sandals in her black, futuristic
\ndesign collection.<\/p>\n
Also in the show, Fenny Mustafa combined transparent tunics
\nwith sorban scarves. Other designers modernized traditional
\ndesign elements such as geometric batik kawung and batik
\njlamprang in 1999's pastel, gray, violet and purple colors.<\/p>\n
In short, the designs displayed in the fashion show reflected
\nthe optimism for the coming year.<\/p>\n
\"Thank God we could maintain our annual schedule to organize
\nthis show,\" said Poppy Dharsono, chairman of the Association
\nwhich opened the show on Nov. 25. in Kemayoran, Jakarta. The show
\nwas held during a large student demonstration in downtown
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The APPMI is one of the biggest Indonesian fashion societies,
\nand regularly promotes muslimah fashion designers.<\/p>\n
\"We have a dream to make Jakarta the center of the muslimah
\nfashion world,\" said Ida Royani, a former actress who acts as a
\nspokeswoman for the Association's muslimah designers.<\/p>\n
Little by little, the region has begun to subscribe to Ida's
\noptimism.<\/p>\n
\"Our customers are not only locals, but also from Singapore,
\nMalaysia, Brunei and the Middle East,\" said Gusmi Djufri, who
\nlaunched utilized animal prints combined with embroidery for her
\n1999 collection.<\/p>\n
Gusmi runs eight boutiques in Jakarta, and with four other
\nmuslimah fashion designers recently opened a new showroom in
\nBatam called Chairunissa.<\/p>\n
\"Our next step will be to open our own boutique abroad,\" said
\nGusmi.<\/p>\n
Dewiyanti Ruslan, a co-owner of Chairunissa, shares the same
\nvision as Gusmi.<\/p>\n
\"We opened the Batam branch because of the increasing demand
\nfrom Singaporean and Malaysian buyers who regularly visit the
\nisland every weekend,\" said Dewiyati, whose loyal customers
\ninclude State Minister for Woman Affairs Tutty Alawiyah.<\/p>\n
Another established name in Indonesian muslimah fashion, Fenny
\nMustafa from The House of Shafira, prefers to focus on local
\ncustomers.<\/p>\n
\"Our local market has a lot of potential,\" assured Fenny.<\/p>\n
\"Shafira has been operating 24 boutiques and outlets in
\nJakarta as well as in East and West Java,\" said Elydawati, the
\nmarketing manager for The House of Shafira. She added that they
\nare not planning to expand in the near future, because there are
\nmanagement risks to be considered, especially regarding The
\nHouse's image, established after ten years of hard work.<\/p>\n
This image began to take shape more than a decade ago when
\nFenny Mustafa started wearing jilbab dresses.<\/p>\n
\"There was an urge for Fenny to be trendy, yet it was hard to
\nfind a chic Moslem dress at the time. So Fenny designed her own
\ndresses,\" Elydawati recalled. Fenny's designs are elegant and
\nwearable, thanks to first class tailoring and simple cuts.<\/p>\n
Elegance is also derived from the materials.<\/p>\n
\"Tropical wool is preferred because it is sweat absorbent,\"
\nsaid Dewiyati Ruslan, who believes the perfect finishing touch is
\na must for her designs. She avoids too much detail because it
\ndoes not fit with the petite figure of Indonesian women.<\/p>\n
The coming month of Ramadhan is a big time for muslimah
\nfashion designers.<\/p>\n
\"More than 45 percent of our annual profits are usually
\nobtained during this month,\" explained Elydawati. This means
\ndesigners must double their inventory, which is not easy. Fabrics
\nmust now be purchase with cash, because merchants no longer
\naccept credit.<\/p>\n
Both Dewiyati and Gusmi also mentioned a 200 percent increase
\nin sales during the Ramadhan month. With a monthly turnover of Rp
\n175 million, The House of Shafira sells their newest collection
\nfrom between Rp 195,000 and Rp 800,000. Dewiyanti prices her
\ndress from Rp 200,000 and Gusmi's ghamish dresses are priced
\nbetween Rp 400,000 and Rp 800,000.<\/p>\n
The muslimah fashion designers showing their collections at
\nthe 1999 fashion collection not only showed their readiness for
\nthe upcoming month of Ramadhan, but also their ability to
\nestablish Jakarta as the center of the muslimah fashion world.<\/p>",
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