'Busana Muslim' style forges a fashionable future
'Busana Muslim' style forges a fashionable future
By Dini S. Djalal
JAKARTA (JP): As the month of Ramadhan inches closer on the
calender year, Indonesian designers are busy feeding market
demands for Busana Muslim, or Moslem fashions.
"Ramadhan is always the peak of our business year. Our orders
usually multiply by four times," said Busana Muslim designer Feni
Mustafa. That means tailors work around the clock to produce up
to 3,000 ensembles. At other times of the year, Mustafa's
production team produces 750 outfits.
Busana Muslim is big business. Judging by the packed
attendance of the Busana Muslim show held this week at the Sahid
Jaya Hotel, by the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association,
industry growth is not abating. Just ask Feni Mustafa: her
business is growing by 40 percent annually.
The industry is also maturing esthetically. Considering the
narrow margins they have to work within -- long sleeves, high
collars, ankle-length hems, and head covering, designers are
challenged to produce innovative silhouettes. Often the results
are outlandish fashions with too many layers and details, making
the wearer look and feel like a baked potato.
This year, however, Busana Muslim style is taking its cue from
mainstream, ready-to-wear trends and streamlining its designs. As
the cliche goes, simple chic is simply chic. Busana Muslim too is
going mod.
Not that it's necessarily successful. The Indonesian Fashion
Designers Association has again proclaimed a set of trends;
random themes which often constrict rather than inspire
designers. This year, the themes are Aura Makassar (tie-dyes in
earth colors), Gaya Cosmopolitan (Cosmopolitan style, described
in the brochure as "simple", "sportif", and "fresh"), Marin
Metamorfosa (Marine Metamorphose, or marine-inspired designs),
and Klasik (frilly things that ladies like). Ultimately, however,
the clothes, and not the themes, are what matters.
Are Hermina Kusnadi's tie-dyes, in bold tangerine colors, Aura
Makassar or Gaya Cosmopolitan? Who cares, the clothes are great.
Using simple lines and quaint details like matching neckties,
Kusnadi's youthful ensembles offer cheer while retaining a
ladylike quality.
Dimas Mahendra's satin gowns should be as ladylike, but of
what century? Empire-waisted, frilly-sleeved, and with a bonnet
to match, the only things that sets these behemoth dresses apart
from those worn in Little House in the Prairie are the vivid
colors and shine of the fabric. Bright green set against even
brighter pink? Theoretically, Busana Muslim is not supposed to
get your attention, but only the blind would categorize these
ensembles as less than eye-popping. His day wear -- bold
pinstripes and checks -- is more subtle, but not substantially.
Digging deeper into the crayola box is Lilly Junus, who
painted her checked patterns in deepest pink and purple. Her
bias-cut, A-line coats are fun, but the color is overwhelming.
She tones down the hue for evening wear and offers pretty
lavender tunics with scalloped hems.
Ida Royani toned down her hues even further and sent out
flowing silhouettes in the palest powder shades. Softest yellow,
mint, blue, lavender, and pink tunics were set against plain,
light pants or sarong-style skirts. Save for some straw hats and
beaded necklaces, accessories were minimal, creating an
understated but lovely affect.
More understated are Yongki Suadi's plain silver and gray
pantsuits. Boxy jackets and boleros over tunics and lean trousers
were largely devoid of any detail, save for some tasteful and
minimal embroidery. Worn with Lennon-glasses and silver scarves,
Suadi's designs elevate Busana Muslim to a modest modernity. So
do Taruna Kusmayadi's spartan but elegant gray and camel gowns.
Then there are the embroidery queens. Nenden Zain does graphic
black-and-white embroidery, Feni Mustafa in black-and-yellow,
Donna Hasbiya in brown-and-red, Ida Leman in cream-and-brown.
Two-tone is the preferred mix for embroidery, although Raizal
Rais goes technicolor with his enormous embroidered flowers on
bright satin and organdy.
Flower embroidery on organdy and satin? Have we seen this
somewhere before? Rais' A-line pantsuits were wonderfully
cheerful, but markedly bear the influence of colleague Biyan. His
high-collared, straight columns of candy-colored satins are more
striking and original too.
The most original collection, however, may be Arlieza
Razalie's blinding canary yellow and fuchsia polka-dot pantsuits.
Multi-pocketed military-style waistcoats and jackets predominated
her show, setting a new masculine standard for trendy Muslim
women. Arlieza also had novel accessorizing ideas: the models
carried tennis rackets and wore visors on top of their jilbabs
(headscarves). Arlieza's outfits would definitely turn heads on
the courts, but, as Busana Muslim tries to forge a more
fashionable future, there's a first time for everything.