1995 fashion starts out futuristic, ends retro
1995 fashion starts out futuristic, ends retro
By Dini S. Djalal
JAKARTA (JP): Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of
them all?
Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy, of course, answers
fashion's fickle set. This year, the roundabout of style turned
once again to the 1960s, when bouffant-haired women scooted
around town in tidy suits and tiny heels. For the obsessively
chic, retro is no adjective: it's an industry.
At the beginning of 1995, "futuristic" was the operative word.
The annual trend show of the Indonesian Fashion Designers'
Association, IPMI, stocked up on plastic jeans and silver suits.
Designers enamored with kiddie-fashion still sent out thigh-high
stockings and babydoll dresses, but for others, the future was
sleek and synthetic. Heady days for plastic manufacturers. Ronald
Gaghana decked out techno warriors in black PVC, a leather-like
synthetic fabric. Susan Budiardjo wrapped her models in plastic
minis, shoes and accessories.
Satin sales must have also skyrocketed this year. Biyan, Itang
Yunasz, Ghea Panggabean (then Ghea Sukarya), Sebastian Gunawan --
all used gleaming fabrics, often juxtaposed with filmy chiffon or
georgette. Designs spanned the spectrum, from Ghea's skimpy
kebayas to Biyan's knee-length slips.
By springtime, conservative chic was on every fashionable
woman's crimson lips, and it's still in vogue. As usual, European
and American designers have led the way. Tailored suits, complete
with matching accessories, dominated the Spring collections of
Donna Karan, Emanuel Ungaro, Christian Dior and Emporio Armani.
"These clothes were tailored with couture cutting," said
Theresa Lim, Singaporean manager of the Emanuel Ungaro line.
Secretarial style may be awkward for teen-dreams itching to
show off some nubile flesh. But designers and fashion editors
advise that the key to NOT looking like your mother in these
mannered clothes is "irony". For example, wearing a tailored suit
with messy hair that, as Harper's Bazaar puts it, connotes "one
martini too many".
Too many martinis may provoke these chic matrons to take off
their sculpted jackets and reveal hourglass bustierres, shown at
both Donna Karan and Emporio Armani.
If innerwear-as-outerwear is not enough "irony" for you, spice
up the staid silhouette with Emanuel Ungaro's signature leopard-
print minis. Ungaro's 1995 collections, however, were tame
compared with his mismatched offerings of past years. With Ungaro
color-coordinating entire wardrobes, the Ungaro lioness is
looking more and more like a well-groomed office kitten. By
autumn, the lioness had gone Mod, stepping out in two-tone op-art
shifts and white shoes.
Color was big this year. Ungaro went soft on patterns and
colors, cutting Jackie-O suits in pinks and powder blues, and for
Spring, Emporio Armani stayed typically subdued in ivory,
oatmeal, rose, and teal-blue. But other collections were bursting
with vivid hues, particularly Donna Karan, whose sirens wore
scorching red-hot leathers. By fall, Emporio Armani joined the
color brigade, offering suits in orchard colors: tangerine,
watermelon and pumpkin.
Another fashion story was real people on the catwalks. Nadya,
an American designer based in Bali, used non-models to
demonstrate that her designs are real clothes worn by real
people. Many of her batik, ikat, and embroidered ensembles have
adjustable string-fasteners or movable buttons to accommodate
imperfect figures.
New Indonesian design house Populo also used non-professionals
in their summer show, including pop singer Harvey Malaiholo.
Populo is Indonesia's first foray into the multi-million-dollar
"basics" industry, presenting simple attire in a plethora of
shapes and fabrics. The women wore only white for day and only
black for evening, while men posed macho-like in Mediterranean
earth tones.
Populo's entry into the market is part of the wider phenomenon
of growing designer retailing. In Jakarta, 1995 will be
remembered as the year of shopping, with the opening of Mega
Pasaraya in Blok M, the 60,000-square-meter Plaza Senayan, the
even bigger Lippo Karawaci Mall and dozens of luxury boutiques.
Jakarta has ambitions of becoming Southeast Asia's fashion
capital. Judging by the increasing number of European and
American collections on the market, that could happen quickly.
In June, Bernard Perris, designer for Parisian couture house
Jean Louis Scherre, arrived in Jakarta to show his latest
collection. Haute Couture 1995 was an evening of pure glamour.
Perris' sculptural approach towards design produced extraordinary
gowns of feathers and chiffon. More striking, however, were his
Dietrich-inspired pantsuits. Perris' tuxedoed vamp forewent
heaving bosoms for high collars, miniskirts for bellbottoms. Her
appeal is her poise, not her flesh.
By summer, a lot of flesh had been revealed at other fashion
shows. And there were many. On May 20, the Jakarta International
Festival brought together 22 Indonesian fashion designers, as
well as traditional costumes from India, Jordan, Thailand and
Vietnam. Yet the best collections were those endeavoring to be
free of "tradition", such as Itang Yunasz's sheer embroidered
frocks in simple white cottons.
Two days later, the embassy of Turkey presented the current
collections of Zuhal Yorgancioglu, the "Turkish Dior", and those
of her daughter, Muberra Yorgancioglu. The designs of the elder
"Madame Z" were rich with frills, color, and embroidery,
suggesting that the Arabian nights are still unfolding in
Anatolia. More wearable were her daughter's series of elegant
metallic-hued ensembles, the bare midriffs quietly tracing their
origins to belly-dancing.
Despite quickening globalization, national culture was the
year's hottest topic during Indonesia's 50th anniversary year and
the local fashion industry was busy celebrating with its own
events.
Fashion competitions were the favorite choice. Not to be
upstaged by the annual Young Designers Contest put together by
IPMI, the Indonesian Fashion Designers' Association (AAPMI) held
the first Asia Fashion Design Competition in August. Ten Asian
countries joined the fun, with South Korea's Yeon Soo-kil walking
away with first prize.
"Yeon See fulfilled all the criteria; wearability and use of
traditional materials," said French Vogue's Fashion Editor-in-
Chief Gabrielle Capitain.
Yeon See's designs may be simple statements in linen and
silks, but her use of brilliant color juxtaposed with traditional
geometric crests was not only beautiful but undeniably clever.
While AAPMI went international on the local stage, IPMI
achieved success on the international stage. Elizabeth Wijaya,
winner of IPMI's 1995 Young Designers' Contest, won the ASEAN
Designer's Contest in Singapore. This assistant to well-known
designer Biyan won for her witty but ingenious Charlie-Chaplin
designs.
While rivalry intensified between the two designer
associations, the Femina Group concentrated on promoting local
designers. In the past, the group's yearly Fashion Design
Competition, or Lomba Perancang Mode (LPM), has produced the
nation's most popular designers, such as Samuel Wattimena, Taruna
Kusmayadi and Carmanita. This year's LPM winner is Surabaya's
Putra Lingga, whose conservative silhouettes in vibrant colors
also won the favorite-designer award. Lingga enjoyed his Rp 7.5
million reward in Paris. It came with the prize.
Femina also held its annual Concours De Jeunes Createurs de
Mode contest, selecting 10 winners to send to the finals in
Paris. This year's winning contestants were as extravagant as
usual, with outfits combining satellite dishes, flower hedges and
rattan mats. Last year, Indonesia won special recognition from
Pierre Cardin, giving this year's contestants cause for optimism.
By year's end, high hopes for high fashion had dimmed. As the
1996 trend shows of both AAPMI and IPMI revealed, next year's
fashion puts on a pedestal the safe image of the late Jackie
Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn, not space-age adventurers.
Fashion's current careful attitude is reflected in the re-
emergence of New York-based designer Oscar de la Renta as a
fashion icon. De la Renta has opened two boutiques in Jakarta and
unveiled a highly-praised collection in a tasteful show at the
Grand Hyatt here. His latest designs -- slim shifts, boxy suits
and narrow capri pants in pastel colors, worn with short or no
heels -- come straight out of Audrey Hepburn's cavernous closet.
Are Indonesian designers wrong to mine the same references?
Only they can answer. As fashion goes global, it's up to the
creative and progressive individual to make a difference.