Energetic Poppy Darsono a woman of substance<\/p>\n
By Dini S. Djalal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Her delicate, finely manicured hands are up in
\nthe air, and her big bright eyes are fluttering as rapidly as the
\nwords she fires. She is a slight, gentle but talkative woman,
\nthis Poppy Darsono, with a small, high-pitched voice which
\nsometimes cracks in heated dialog.<\/p>\n
Look beyond the feminine facade, however, past the meticulous
\nmanners, elegant attire, the dainty pearl-drop earrings, and you
\nwill realize Poppy's voice may be the only thing about her that
\ncracks.<\/p>\n
By any standards, 46-year-old Poppy Darsono -- fashion
\ndesigner, cosmetics queen, garment manufacturer and champion of
\nsmall business -- is a forceful figure, a successful Indonesian
\nbusinesswoman making it on her terms.<\/p>\n
Refreshingly, Poppy got to the top by applying to her career
\nthe tenets she follows in her personal life as a yoga
\npractitioner: moderation, restraint, balance.<\/p>\n
Her professional maneuvers are both brave and practical. She
\nis constantly jetting across the country and continents staging
\nfashion shows and exhibits, her latest taking place in Vancouver,
\nSan Francisco and Japan.<\/p>\n
"I don't expect people to buy the collection. It's not as easy
\nas that," she says modestly.<\/p>\n
In an industry full of egos larger than the catwalks they walk
\non, common sense like this is unfortunately all too uncommon.<\/p>\n
Parisian savvy<\/p>\n
Poppy's fashion career started 27 years ago as a teenage
\nmodel for fashion magazines and calenders. "My first job paid Rp
\n30,000 per photo session, quite a lot of money at the time!" she
\nrecalls.<\/p>\n
In 1973, Poppy flew to Paris, initially to study
\ncinematography. There, Ratna Cartier-Bresson, wife of the famed
\nFrench photographer, told her she had "good taste". Intrigued,
\nPoppy looked into how lucrative the French fashion industry can
\nbe. She enrolled in Esmod fashion school.<\/p>\n
She returned home in 1977, brimming with enthusiasm for
\ntraditional fabrics fostered by an acquired Parisian savvy, only
\nto be sent by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
\n(KADIN) to a trade mission in Dusseldorf, Germany -- her first
\nfashion show.<\/p>\n
"I was lucky because there weren't that many Indonesian
\ndesigners at the time," she laughs.<\/p>\n
Today, Poppy runs two export factories at Jakarta's Pulogadung
\nIndustrial Estate, which produce garments for Levi's and
\nNeckermann, among others. She also juggles her dominion over the
\nPoppy Darsono fashion house, which produces three collections of
\nuniform wear, batik-based high fashion and custom tailoring, and
\nPoppy Darsono Cosmetics and Perfumes, production of which is
\nsubcontracted but packaged according to Poppy's orders.<\/p>\n
In the works are plans for a nationwide chain of stores called
\nBatavia, which will carry casualwear and workwear made by
\nIndonesian designers.<\/p>\n
Poppy's entrepreneurial spirit is matched only by her
\nleadership drive. In addition to being the head of the
\nAssociation of Indonesian Fashion Designers and Manufacturers
\n(APPMI), Poppy is a prominent member of KADIN. Recently, she also
\nbecame president director of LaSalle College of Fashion, a
\nCanadian joint venture she started because, "there are many
\ntalented designers here with weak academic foundations".<\/p>\n
Don't let her achievements fool you -- Poppy herself certainly
\ndoesn't. While Indonesia's fashion industry optimistically
\nenvisions Jakarta as Asia's next fashion capital, Poppy knows
\nthat the struggle is far from over.<\/p>\n
Chaos<\/p>\n
Amid the chaos of last week's Jakarta Fashion Parade, she
\ndiscussed with The Jakarta Post the sometimes self-designed
\npitfalls local designers face, and what can be done to provide
\nIndonesian talent the platform it deserves. Surprisingly, Poppy
\ndoes not proffer rose-tinted views of the industry, but honest,
\nreflective answers, balanced by a positivity and determination
\nthat have made her name.<\/p>\n
Question: You often hold fashion shows overseas but admit that
\nit's not to boost sales. What's the point then?<\/p>\n
Answer: Of course I don't expect people to buy; customers
\nwon't like your product after only one show. After seeing
\nenthusiastic audiences, I used to expect sales. But when it comes
\nto the follow-up, it's not that easy. That's why when people say
\nthey want to open a boutique in Paris, I laugh. Exporting is hard
\n-- you have to handle quota problems, shipment problems,
\nadministration problems. When I have shows, it's simply to
\npromote Indonesian textiles.<\/p>\n
Q: So you're promoting the entire industry rather than just your
\ncompany?<\/p>\n
A: Well, I'm still grateful because it boosts my image. But I'm
\nnot ambitious in going international because it's not realistic.
\nJapanese designers like Kenzo and Hanae Mori, they're successful
\nbecause the government helps them. They're aware that creating an
\nimage is a long process, that you have to put Japanese brands in
\nVogue every month so consumers get used to Japanese brand names.<\/p>\n
All of fashion's big designers had a big push from their
\ngovernments. Here, the government is trying, they are inviting
\nbuyers from Nordstrom, but I'm not too enthusiastic because these
\nstores want high fashion, and honestly, our image abroad is not
\nyet made.<\/p>\n
Q: So, realistically, how many more years of Jakarta Fashion Week
\nbefore we get on the map?<\/p>\n
A: Look, designers are only part of the tools of the industry.
\nThen there are suppliers of fabrics, buttons. These are all
\nbusinesses that can be developed, but they have to function as
\none, they have to be integrated. And we must work with the
\nMinistry of Industry. Just look at Hong Kong Fashion Week, that's
\nbeen going on for 20 years, but they send out invitations a year
\nbefore the shows!<\/p>\n
Here the organizers gave us one month to prepare for Fashion
\nWeek -- how can you make a good collection in one month? So the
\ngovernment really has to work, they have to hire professional
\nevent organizers, put the project on open tender to people who
\nunderstand how the industry works. Maybe after five years, the
\nshows will have substance. Now after two years, it's physically a
\nsuccess but, in principle, not yet. If the shows have substance,
\nthe sponsors will come.<\/p>\n
Q: Why did you yourself get involved in fashion?<\/p>\n
A: Well, Indonesia then had 160 million people, and I thought, if
\nonly a small percentage of them were interested in fashion, that
\nis still a big market! So I pursued fashion for my own
\nsatisfaction but also for my country, so I can give jobs. Look,
\nfashion involves so many people; from cotton farmers, spinners,
\nweavers, dyeing factories, garment manufacturers, button
\nmanufacturers, embroiderers.<\/p>\n
Artificial<\/p>\n
Then, once the clothes are made, you have marketing,
\nadvertising people who put the clothes in the magazines and on
\nthe catwalks, giving jobs to photographers and choreographers,
\nwho sometimes make more money than the models! It's this
\nintegration that you don't see. Fashion looks artificial but
\nactually it's an important business.<\/p>\n
Q: Since you're so well-versed in business, some people see you
\nas a businesswoman rather than as a designer...<\/p>\n
A: Of course some designers likes to make me feel like that! But
\nask the choreographers, who held the most shows this year, for
\nTexmaco, Bellini, KADIN. Unfortunately fashion is full of people
\nwith dirty tricks. For me, to be famous is good, but how you
\nbecome famous is more important.<\/p>\n
Q: How do you see yourself, as a designer or as an entrepreneur?<\/p>\n
A: In my life, I have the luck and opportunity to have a few
\nmissions. If I'm in KADIN, my mission is to take care of small
\nhandicraft businesses. I put APPMI in KADIN so they have
\nopportunities for overseas training. And in KADIN, I can say to
\nthe government, those malls charge in U.S. dollars and how can
\nsmall businesses open shops there? If I'm not in KADIN, they
\nwouldn't listen to me!<\/p>\n
If I'm invited to shows as a member of KADIN, I get to sit at
\nthe front. If I come as a designer, I sit at the back! The sad
\nfact is that designers aren't appreciated here. So it's a synergy
\nfor me. Isn't a designer an entrepreneur anyway? My entire life
\nis garments and cosmetics!<\/p>\n
Q: Which of your businesses are the most profitable?<\/p>\n
A: Two years ago, I looked at my garment factories and cringed!
\nNow, with the monetary crisis, I'm a small queen! Now I want
\nthese factories to expand. And my fashion company is starting to
\nbe good. Before it was just to build an image, like a hobby. I
\nthink the crisis is a blessing; in a recession, the local
\nindustries support the economy. Who gives our workers jobs?
\nLocal industries. It's time for Indonesian products to be bought
\nby our people, because we can afford it. It's time to for
\ndesigners to give supply to that demand, it's time to jump in.<\/p>\n
Q: Has being a woman made things more difficult for you as a
\ndesigner and in business?<\/p>\n
A: No. Our obstacles are traditions, but constitutionally we have
\nthe same rights as men. And actually women can be more powerful
\nbecause they are more persevering and exacting. If I have had
\nproblems, it's maybe from other women, women who spend their
\nlives comfortably dependent, and find independent women
\nthreatening. But these are minor matters, because ultimately what
\ncounts is your own performance.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/energetic-poppy-darsono-a-woman-of-substance-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}