Farah tests the fashion waters on a trip home<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Designer Farah Angsana sat elegantly behind a desk in the study
\nof the Grand Hyatt's penthouse, where she had a trunk sale
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
She admitted she was emotionally and physically exhausted.<\/p>\n
\"I've been traveling so much. I have so many plans in my mind
\nabout my business. Unfortunately, I don't have many people around
\nme to tell about how the future of my business is going to be,\"
\nshe said in a guarded tone.<\/p>\n
\"But as long as I'm strong enough, conscious enough, wise
\nenough...everybody can achieve their dreams, plan or business
\nstrategy.\"<\/p>\n
Her focus on herself, the sometimes affected tone and her
\ninsistence on using only English could have made Indonesian-born
\nFarah an easy target for judgmental us.<\/p>\n
But it took only a moment to discover that she was exactly
\nwhat she claimed to be, a \"strong, funny and friendly\" person.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody has their character. I love people around me, but
\nthat's my problem, too. Sometimes I bump into the wrong people
\nwho just want to look into me, not just because of me. Especially
\nhere.\"<\/p>\n
Next thing we knew, she was sitting with us, explaining each
\npiece and detail of her collection -- the inspiration, the
\ndetails -- among the wealthy customers sitting around us.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not a show producer, I don't need to do a big show with
\nall the prestige and thousands of watts to make clothes look
\nbeautiful, but unwearable,\" she said about her decision not to
\nput on a full fashion show here.<\/p>\n
\"I'm a fashion designer. And even if this is my own country, I
\ndon't want to go back with such a big event. There's no point to
\ndoing a big show and a little less as a fashion designer. I'm
\ntesting the waters here before I drink the water.\"<\/p>\n
It was not cheap, self-serving talk: This is someone who burst
\nonto the scene in Paris, the seat of modern fashion, and was
\nchosen to become a member of the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de
\nla Haute Couture, which decides what is haute couture and who
\nmeasures up to its definition of a qualified designer.<\/p>\n
Farah played down her success, saying no big label wants her,
\nperhaps because she is not good enough.<\/p>\n
Born of mixed Indonesian and Chinese ancestry in Medan, Farah
\nmoved to Singapore when she was nine and then to Los Angeles and
\nLondon, where she studied at the Central School of Fashion.<\/p>\n
Her breakthrough came in January 2002 when she unfurled an
\nIndonesian-accented haute couture collection in Paris.<\/p>\n
She has since become known for skillfully mixing exotic ethnic
\nmotifs with cultured sensuality.<\/p>\n
\"Kimonos and all are being brought there (to the West), why
\nnot Indonesian elements? I have to study and research about
\nIndonesia, bring it there, fight with the sharks. But I'm not
\nafraid to fight,\" said Farah, who is married to a Swiss financial
\nexecutive.<\/p>\n
She uses batik from around the archipelago, ikat and exotic
\nBalinese accessories. Her enduring favorite is a red Balinese
\ngoddess dress with flower petals, the design which introduced her
\nto the world.<\/p>\n
Her latest collection, which she showed here, was inspired by
\n19th century Acehnese heroine Cut Nyak Dien and the Acehnese
\nconflict.<\/p>\n
It is in black and green, with soft silk fabric, and metal and
\nlace as detail. The neckline is masculine, with an accent on the
\nshoulder resembling a military decoration.<\/p>\n
\"It's like feminine gets tough,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Farah said her collection always contains a message, and is
\nrelevant to the current world situation.<\/p>\n
During the 2003 G-8 Summit, for instance, when China came of
\npolitical age by being invited to attend, the theme of the
\ncollection was China and red, while the invasion of Iraq was
\nmarked by a design inspired by American Indians.<\/p>\n
For the Bali bombing, she emphasized green, beige and brown,
\nand stone-wash and tie-dye.<\/p>\n
Her clothes have a clean cut and excellent finishing, elegant
\nand very sensuous with the silk material she always wear.<\/p>\n
\"Farah Angsana collection is about women who already know
\ntheir identity, are strong and not afraid to express their
\nsensuality,\" she said, adding that her customers were mostly in
\ntheir 20s and 30s.<\/p>\n
Aside from the Cut Nyak Dien collection, there were drapery-
\nlike dresses inspired by ancient Greek goddesses, floral dress
\n(\"Garden of Eden\") and a beige\/brown dress with paillette and
\nbeads to imitate sand and shells (\"of Bali beach\").<\/p>\n
Prices of the collection range from 250 euros to 450 euros for
\ndaywear, 1,000 euros to 2,000 euros for a cocktail dress and
\n2,000 euros to 5,000 euros for elaborate evening dresses.<\/p>\n
It was beyond her imagination that people here would like what
\nshe designs, she said, but 60 percent of her 380 pieces had
\nalready been sold with the trunk show still ongoing.<\/p>\n
A percentage of the sales went to the humanitarian foundation
\nowned by her friend, Kartika Soekarno, the youngest daughter of
\nthe country's first president.<\/p>\n
Farah is very careful in her definition of friend.<\/p>\n
\"I used to think everyone was my friend and I hit the
\nrock..for being so open, so blunt, so honest. Now, I can count on
\none hand who are my real friends,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"I know some people but that doesn't mean that we're friends.
\nI know a few fashion designers here but doesn't mean I'm close to
\nthem. Look around, are there any Indonesian designers here?
\nBecause we're not close, I don't have a chance of getting close
\nto them,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She refused much comment about local designers, except that
\nthere is \"tremendous talent here\" and mentioning a few names.<\/p>\n
Farah is now restructuring her company and concentrating only
\non one line, Farah Angsana. She dropped her men's line and is
\ndoing couture only on private order, mostly from Saudi Arabian
\nclients.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not a multitalented person who can handle everything. I
\nwant to focus on one label to go global,\" said Farah, whose main
\nmarkets are Europe, Canada, the United States, Japan and Saudi
\nArabia.<\/p>\n
The fashion business now is not like before, she added, so
\nevery five years designers have to rethink their business.<\/p>\n
The global economic downturn has also impacted the fashion
\nbusiness, and she said she had lost some customers.<\/p>\n
\"But I'm very lucky that I still have other buyers, in Paris,
\nItaly, Morocco, the Middle East and Japan. The order is smaller,
\nbut it is loyal,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Does she still feel Indonesian or more part of a global
\nsociety?<\/p>\n
\"I always feel Indonesian. I'm quite impressed by people here,
\nI have no complaints. And you know what -- I love my life,\" she
\nsaid with a smile.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/farah-tests-the-fashion-waters-on-a-trip-home-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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