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.