Choices galore for fashion school graduates

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): About two decades ago, Indonesia's fashion industry went through its first boom period. Unfortunately, it did not lead to the emergence of local experts in the field.

"When I returned home from my fashion studies in Europe, I found that most fashion practitioners were expatriates," said Susan Budihardjo, one of the country's noted fashion designers.

Motivated by the situation, Susan -- who studied at the Berlin Letteeverain Academy and London School of Fashion Design -- decided to set up the Susan Budihardjo Fashion School in 1980.

"I was the only teacher then," she said. Today, there are branches in Surabaya, Semarang and Denpasar, with more than 4,000 alumni.

Susan's example inspired others to set up fashion schools. In Jakarta alone, there are now three fashion schools under the name Budihardjo, although they are not affiliated in any way with Susan.

"I was born Eddy Budihardjo," said Eddy Budihardjo, who set up his Budihardjo Fashion School on May 1, 1985. He had the school's name patented on March 2, 1994. "On March 5, 1994, I also patented my own technique of making a pattern in one go. This is now known as the Eddy Budihardjo System of Dressmaking Pattern Construction." In 1987, he also patented a multipurpose ruler.

Apart from local fashion schools, ones holding franchises of international fashion institutions also have flourished in Jakarta.

"The fashion sector holds quite promising career prospects," Susan acknowledged. She said dozens of her former students were famous fashion designers, or made a living in the garment industry and mass media.

"It is a pity that many fashion school students still cling to the notion that they must become designers after graduation," Susan said. "If they cannot become designers, they think they will be considered failures. This misleading notion still prevails."

The misconception was confirmed by Dini Novita, marketing manager of LaSalle College International, Jakarta.

"In fact, the fashion sector offers a great variety of job opportunities," she said. "One can be a fashion marketer. In fact, fashion marketing is one of the strong points of La Salle Jakarta, because few fashion schools in the capital include fashion marketing in their curriculum."

Dini observed that fashion marketing in Indonesia was only considered a subsector of the fashion business which remains dominated by expatriates.

"In terms of job description, a fashion marketing position is interesting because it requires you to be always in touch with the development of the world's fashion trends, and then translate the trends into reality to conform to Indonesian culture. Besides, this job also entails frequent overseas trips. So, it both challenges our sense of innovation and provides a lot of fun."

Graduates of fashion schools today find themselves with a much greater variety of jobs than before.

"Apart from being fashion designers and patternmakers, they also can make careers as buyers, merchandisers, costume designers, fashion consultants, fashion illustrators, fashion coordinators, textile designers and even trend researchers," said Maria Tinche, marketing manager of ESMOD Jakarta, a fashion school based in Paris, France.

ESMOD, which stands for Ecole Superieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode, was established in 1841. "It is the world's first fashion school," said Tinche.

Because of its international standards, ESMOD sends teachers from Paris to its branches the world over.

"The language of instruction is French so in each class there is an interpreter who will tell the students in Indonesian the teaching materials," said Tinche, adding that some students hailed from Korea, Malaysia and Japan. "Besides, ESMOD students will have an opportunity to join a student exchange program involving all ESMOD schools in 17 countries."

ESMOD's fees are relatively high because it is an international school. "For a one-year program, the tuition fee is Rp 36 million while the international diploma program, which lasts three years, costs Rp 35 million per year."

She added there was a maximum 25 students to each class.

At LaSalle Jakarta, which has its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, tuition fees are billed in U.S. dollars. "The registration fee is US$150 and the tuition fee $2,100 per semester," said Dini Novita.

LaSalle Jakarta has two programs -- three semesters and six semesters -- with each semester lasting 3.5 months. The school is a joint venture involving several Indonesian entrepreneurs -- including Poppy Dharsono, Hariyadie Sukamdani, Argo Manunggal Group, Great River Group, the Indonesian Textile Association -- and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Local fashion schools set lower fees. Susan Budihardjo, for example, charges Rp 4.5 million for a 10-month course. Eddy Budihardjo sets tuition at Rp 7 million for a course lasting 1.5 years.

But students with their hearts set on studying at fashion school are unlikely to be concerned by the cost. More and more of them are enrolling at fashion schools in the belief that their skills will be needed in the effort to turn Jakarta into one of Asia's fashion hubs.