Accessory a winner for Indonesian fashion designer
By Kunang Helmi-Picard
PARIS (JP): Fashion connoisseurs still head straight for Paris. Here they can admire the elegant flair of superbly cut garments, completed with the ultimate in accessories. No wonder that Paris, with its wealth of fashion know-how, has long been the dream destination for those aspiring to become fashion designers.
For young Jakarta student Rusly Tjohnardi, the dream came true when he won the Grand Prix for the best accessory in the Concours International des Jeunes Createurs de Bijoux on Dec. 14. The student of the Collezione Fashion School, who was not able to attend the actual competition, won a plane ticket and Rp 20 million with his extraordinary golden wig sparkling with sequins.
Tjohnardi's striking creation, "Birth of Aphrodite", impressed the jury at the Caroussel du Louvre in Paris that included top French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Tjohnardi won the Grand Prix competing against fellow students from seven countries, including Indonesia. Dwi Sutarjantono of Dewi magazine accepted the prize in Tjohnardi's name.
The International Young Fashion Designers Competition, sponsored by Air France, has been held 18 times since its inception in 1983. The Federation Francaise de la Couture, du Pret-a-Porter des Couturiers et des Createurs de Mode and its fashion school have also helped to organize the contest since its beginnings. This year Europe was represented by France, Italy and Russia; North America by Canada and the United States; South America by Argentina, Colombia and Peru, while China, Korea, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines represented Asia.
Since 1991 top Indonesian life-style magazine Dewi, fueled by the enthusiasm of renowned Indonesian fashion expert Pia Alisjahbana, has helped organize the competition to choose the best young fashion and accessory designers from Indonesia.
"In its nine years of participation in this international competition, Indonesia has already won the Grand Prix twice," Alisjahbana, a member of the international jury, said. "The first time in 1996, it was the for the best garment and this year it is for the best accessory.
"By winning this prize Indonesia's international reputation in creative fashion has been greatly enhanced."
About 200 fashion students from 15 fashion schools in Indonesia participated in the preliminary competition in the preliminary competition. They were asked to send in sketches of garments and accessories. Of these, 40 were chosen and requested to produce the garments and accessories they visualized.
This year students were asked to pay special attention to the use of unusual materials in the creation of their designs. Ten students in each section, garment and accessory, were then chosen to send their creations to Paris.
After the Grand Prix for the best accessory was chosen in Paris, 13 countries participated in the competition to choose the best garment.
Indonesia was represented by 10 students, with Henny Althert from the Bunka-Jakarta fashion school earning a special mention in the Concours International des Jeunes Creators de Mode with her work "World of Circle".
Althert's futuristic dress, made of pale blue plastic bottle tops, pleased the jury and the public alike in its elegant inventiveness.
Indeed, inventiveness and creativity in dealing with a limited choice of materials may be the key to further success in the highly competitive world of fashion for the talented students. Another essential element of succeeding is hard work and attention to detail. What appears to be ethereal and effortless chic here in Paris is always the product of dedication and hard work, coupled with an overall vision of what the finished product should be like.
"Talent alone is not enough," said soft-spoken Samudra Hartanto, a young Indonesian fashion designer who is an assistant to Marc Jacobs of Louis Vuitton in Paris.
"Behind the scenes we work overtime almost all the year around preparing the collections. It is exhilarating, but also incredibly exacting to attend to all the important details, starting from the conception down to every single detail of production, including exhaustive quality control."