'Bazaar Indonesia' hits newsstands
JAKARTA (JP): Internationally renowned Harper's Bazaar has launched Bazaar Indonesia, its 13th international edition for women who are "already up there" in their personal and professional lives.
New York editor in chief Kate Betts said the magazine's target audience was a whole new generation which loves fashion and makes it part of its daily life.
President of Hearst Magazines International George J. Green put it another way: "We provide an escape". The magazine is intended as a window into the fashion world and an opportunity to find a diversion from the boring, routine lives most of us lead.
The local consultant to the magazine is the designer Biyan Wanaatmadja, who has earned a reputation on foreign shores, including in hard-to-please Singapore, for his distinctive, ultrafeminine designs.
Biyan said the Indonesian woman of today was mature and ready for change, including a change for the better. He said Bazaar provided the much-needed outlet for her reading diversions. He added that the magazine served as a route for Indonesian culture, art, creativity and beauty to be channeled into the future with the advance of globalization.
His words were proved true both in the first issue, with a section on kain (textiles), and at the fashion show held for the magazine's launching. The traditional kebaya, a mainstay of Indonesian women's wardrobes for special events and ceremonies, was presented as graceful, attractive and a trendy addition to wardrobes of the young and fashion-conscious.
Another plus is that the magazine will showcase the beauty of Indonesian models on its front cover. It's high time that there was another forum to highlight Indonesian -- and Asian -- looks as we venture forth into a changing world which appreciates beauty in all its great diversity.
Is there any possibility of the magazine being printed in a bilingual Indonesian-English edition for those of us whose Indonesian skills are limited to giving directions to taxi drivers?
"It's an Indonesian magazine for the Indonesians," Green said, which means Indonesian-deficient expatriates interested in the magazine should hit the dictionary.
The 50,000 inaugural edition copies, which will be distributed in all major cities in the country, are priced at Rp 21,500 each.
The Indonesian publisher is Mugi Rekso Abadi Group, which also began publishing Kosmopolitan, the Indonesian sister publication to Helen Gurley Brown's brainchild, three years ago.
Despite the assumption that the big, glossy, pricey magazines are competing for the same readers, the publisher draws a clear distinction.
It's all in the theme: Kosmopolitan is for the "Fun Fearless Female", but Bazaar stands by its "New Vision, New Voice, New Generation". Kosmopolitan, which costs Rp 18,500 per issue, is more service oriented, giving direction and support, referring to the upcoming women, the younger age group, but Harper's, despite the "new" aspects, is for women, young and old, who have made their mark.
Bazaar, also often lumped in the same market category with Vogue, has another special distinction. Although some might dismiss it as merely another one of the many fashion bibles full of beauty tips which are thinly veiled nods to advertisers, many faithful readers will beg to differ.
They will profess that the real attraction of the magazine is its literary entries.
They say the magazine, which is more than 130 years old and has won several National Magazine awards, is packed with interesting, funny, quirky, touching essays and pieces of criticism. It editors claim it is also often at the vanguard of trends. Is not uncommon for the magazine to highlight an issue and, a few months later, for a major book to come out on the same subject.