Show debuts new era in local fashion<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The excitement was palpable as the packed room
\nbuzzed with the anticipation usually reserved for rock concerts.<\/p>\n
In the front row sat some of the industry's biggest names,
\namong them designer Biyan, photographer Jay Subiyakto. If the
\nintention of the Indonesian Fashion Designers Council (IPMI) was
\nto emulate the catwalk commotion of Europe -- by placing
\ncelebrities at the front, cramming sweaty bodies into a small
\nspace and barring latecomers, making audiences wait -- then it
\nsucceeded all too well. In mood and design, IPMI's Trend Show
\n1998 marked the beginning of a new era in Indonesian fashion.<\/p>\n
That's an era of a more modern style and outlook, a higher
\nprofessionalism and wider ambitions. Indonesian designers not
\nonly want to capture the local market, but they want to spearhead
\nJakarta's launch as Asia's next fashion capital.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Arie, current designer of the House of Prajudi, says
\nthat IPMI wanted to, \"give something new, something better\". Not
\nthat what took place leaves them content. \"Eventually what we
\nwant our own shows in a proper fashion week, maybe show only a
\nfew designers a day. Yes, just like in Europe.\"<\/p>\n
Some of the collections can match those in Europe. At least,
\nthey do in style and sensibility -- Europe's bugle beads and
\nfringes have all washed ashore here -- if not in finishing.<\/p>\n
The sleek and synthetic minimalism spearheaded by Austria's
\nHelmut Lang, for example, has long been evident in the
\ncollections of Ronald Gaghana. Ronald, of course, is a talent in
\nhis own right, as he taps his own imagination to concoct a potent
\nmix of cool and now ethnic. And for 1998, this means pairing
\nforest-hued Dayak curlicues with shiny acetate.<\/p>\n
Some say the Dayak prints are too close for comfort -- last
\nyear's collection of Ronald's mentor Biyan also had Dayak
\nreferences. But Ronald is Biyan's quieter but edgier offspring.
\nThe smattering of curlicues on a strapless jade dress hints at
\nshyness, but the hip-high slit is a bold statement.<\/p>\n
And by showing Masai women wearing coils around their necks,
\nthe same coils that Dayaks wore around their ankles and ears,
\nRonald tries to link the two inspirational cultures. Ronald is
\nbeing clever, but ultimately the Masai prints are too imposing
\nfor casual or even evening wear.<\/p>\n
Ghea Panggabean fixed her eye closer to home, and it hit the
\ntarget. Whereas others sing the \"ethnic\" tune with cracked
\nvoices, Ghea's song gets sweeter with every Oriental turn. This
\nyear she wants coy madames to flip their parasols wearing short
\nkebaya and Chinese jackets, all in playful colors like peach and
\npistachio. Sometimes Ghea delved into bolder territory, cutting
\njackets in velvets and deep russet hues. These don't work as well
\nbecause tropical dress rarely need heavy coats.<\/p>\n
Keeping it light was the House of Prajudi. Here the wraparound
\nrobes were as fine as the palazzo trousers worn underneath slip-
\ndresses. Some jackets were stiff and bulky, but in general the
\ncollection, painted with a palette of golds and buttery yellows,
\nwas as tasteful as the late designer.<\/p>\n
Itang Yunasz also showed a classy collection in a classic hue:
\ngray. Itang showed all gradations of the color from silver to
\ncement, seemingly to play off the silver dragonfly beadwork that
\nran across the sheer fabrics. And some of the fabrics he draped
\nexpertly at a bias, if he did not split them into diagonal panels
\nacross the body.<\/p>\n
The results? A sophisticated, spellbinding weave through
\ndiaphanous possibilities. Some may say this stuff has been seen
\non all the European catwalks. Granted, but at least Itang shows
\ngood taste.<\/p>\n
After all, some independent imaginations can be savage.
\nLiterally. Dipa's collection practically clobbered the jungle for
\nanimal prints. Dipa's collections have consecutively shown a
\nhigh-strung creativity, and he's not changed much. The fabrics
\nwere iridescent gold if not tiger-striped or fuschia brocade,
\nthen left all over the catwalk in long trains. It was fantastic
\nin the sense of fantasy, but who could wear the thigh-high patent
\nleather boots but the expert model who carefully teetered in
\nthem?<\/p>\n
Chossy Latu liked thigh-high boots too, and now sheers,
\nsilvers and fringes. Some of this futurist mix worked, like the
\nfitted and sheer kebaya-type jacket extended to the knee, the
\nfringes grazing the slip underneath. But there's a sense that the
\nhorizontal silver stitching has been seen somewhere before.<\/p>\n
The waterfall of bugle beads offered by Eddy Betty has
\ndefinitely been seen somewhere before (precisely, Julien
\nMacDonald's Spring 1998 show). But there was ingenuity elsewhere.
\nBeaded embroidery on wide plaid trousers paired with a macrame-
\nknit camisole looked fun, especially when worn by a fresh-faced
\nmodel dancing flapper-style in a top hat. The mix of feminine and
\nmasculine will be a key look next season.<\/p>\n
Femininity has always been Sebastian Gunawan's passion, and
\nthis season is no different. Lacquer red and boudoir black swirl
\nin a madness of lace and jet beads. And like Ronald, Sebastian
\nmixes his influences. Italy shows in the tassled handbags, the
\nwedge sandals and the lace; China in the Suzy Wong slit skirts,
\nthe embroideries and the Empress Dowager headdresses.<\/p>\n
IPMI put on a good show, if a tad repetitive. As at the APPMI
\nshow, audiences complained that the collections looked too
\nsimilar. \"They all had embroideries, beadwork. It was all the
\nsame,\" quipped one journalist. Perhaps not exactly what the
\ndesigners wanted to hear. But it should be fodder for them to, as
\ndesigner Arie put it, \"keep trying for something better\". (Dini
\nS. Djalal)<\/p>",
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