Call to ‘Buy Local’ Fails to Click With High-Heel Lovers
The government’s ongoing campaign to get Indonesians to buy local isn’t about to get between a woman and her shoes, especially when an Italian pair is concerned. Patriotism or not, the devil will usually get her to wear Prada.
“It doesn’t mean I don’t love Indonesian products,” said fashion designer Poppy Dharsono, who has her exclusive eponymous fashion label. “I want to support the program, but I give up when it comes to high heels.”
While hoping that the public will go mad for the Poppy Dharsono style, she will still be in Italian heels for the sake of her health, she says.
“I wear heels very often, but they hurt my back if they’re not made with the best materials and craftsmanship, which only come from Italy,” Poppy said. “Italian high heels are like French croissants. No matter how hard an Indonesian baker tries to make a croissant, it isn’t the same as the original.”
For other accessories and cosmetics, Poppy says she does buy local - mostly. “See my purse?” she asked. “It is my own label, made with local materials,” she said, flashing her handbag.
Putri K. Wardhany, the vice president director of cosmetics producer PT Mustika Ratu, is in agreement about the shoes.
“I have information that high heels can damage women’s backs if they’re not [made of] high-quality materials,” she said.
Beyond shoes, nobody really knows how well the buy-local campaign is going. The government says it’s doing fine, but has no figures to prove it. Historically, buy-local campaigns haven’t had much success anywhere. As with Italian shoes, customers tend to buy the best quality they can afford with their budget.
Shoemakers say weaning Indonesians off cheap, imported goods will take more than just a “buy local” campaign. Singgih Witaso, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo), said on Wednesday that local footwear producers only captured 40 percent of the market last year, with domestic production at risk not just from high-end Italian shoes, but from cheap imports as well.
Footwear and textile manufacturers have been the recipients of a Rp 55 billion ($5 million) revitalization program from the government’s stimulus package. Under the program, the government will reimburse 20 percent of the total price of new machinery purchased by the manufacturers who are targeting increases in both quality and volume.
“We can’t produce high-quality high heels because we don’t have the materials,” said Saur, a shoemaker who has produced shoes for the international brand Linea Pelle. Materials, he acknowledges, must be imported from Italy or Brazil if quality shoes are to be made here.
Shoes have been at the forefront of the buy-local debate since Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited shoemakers in Cibaduyut, West Java, in March to promote the drive.
Fahrina Fahmi Idris, the head of the Indonesian Women’s Business Association, asked Kalla where his shoes were from. He happily took one off to flash the Cibaduyut label - then challenged her to reveal what shoes she had on. Even though Fahrina’s own father, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris, is perhaps one of the most tireless advocates of local products, her shoes were Italian. The incident prompted Cibaduyut footwear firms to rebrand one line the “JK Collection.”
“It doesn’t mean I don’t love Indonesian products,” said fashion designer Poppy Dharsono, who has her exclusive eponymous fashion label. “I want to support the program, but I give up when it comes to high heels.”
While hoping that the public will go mad for the Poppy Dharsono style, she will still be in Italian heels for the sake of her health, she says.
“I wear heels very often, but they hurt my back if they’re not made with the best materials and craftsmanship, which only come from Italy,” Poppy said. “Italian high heels are like French croissants. No matter how hard an Indonesian baker tries to make a croissant, it isn’t the same as the original.”
For other accessories and cosmetics, Poppy says she does buy local - mostly. “See my purse?” she asked. “It is my own label, made with local materials,” she said, flashing her handbag.
Putri K. Wardhany, the vice president director of cosmetics producer PT Mustika Ratu, is in agreement about the shoes.
“I have information that high heels can damage women’s backs if they’re not [made of] high-quality materials,” she said.
Beyond shoes, nobody really knows how well the buy-local campaign is going. The government says it’s doing fine, but has no figures to prove it. Historically, buy-local campaigns haven’t had much success anywhere. As with Italian shoes, customers tend to buy the best quality they can afford with their budget.
Shoemakers say weaning Indonesians off cheap, imported goods will take more than just a “buy local” campaign. Singgih Witaso, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo), said on Wednesday that local footwear producers only captured 40 percent of the market last year, with domestic production at risk not just from high-end Italian shoes, but from cheap imports as well.
Footwear and textile manufacturers have been the recipients of a Rp 55 billion ($5 million) revitalization program from the government’s stimulus package. Under the program, the government will reimburse 20 percent of the total price of new machinery purchased by the manufacturers who are targeting increases in both quality and volume.
“We can’t produce high-quality high heels because we don’t have the materials,” said Saur, a shoemaker who has produced shoes for the international brand Linea Pelle. Materials, he acknowledges, must be imported from Italy or Brazil if quality shoes are to be made here.
Shoes have been at the forefront of the buy-local debate since Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited shoemakers in Cibaduyut, West Java, in March to promote the drive.
Fahrina Fahmi Idris, the head of the Indonesian Women’s Business Association, asked Kalla where his shoes were from. He happily took one off to flash the Cibaduyut label - then challenged her to reveal what shoes she had on. Even though Fahrina’s own father, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris, is perhaps one of the most tireless advocates of local products, her shoes were Italian. The incident prompted Cibaduyut footwear firms to rebrand one line the “JK Collection.”