Cut from different cloth

Cut from different cloth

Muara Bagdja, Contributor, Jakarta

Regeneration in fashion, like in all aspects of life, is
inevitable. Young designers emerge and display the talent
necessary to do business and survive in a new era. Some of them
become the trend-setters of their generation.

In Indonesia, five generations of designers have emerged since
Peter Sie pioneered the profession in the country in the 1950s as
a haute couture designer.

Iwan Tirta and Prayudi were fashion figures of the 1970s,
becoming the first generation to popularize modern designs with
traditional Indonesian textiles, particularly batik and woven
scarfs.

When fashion design contests became common in the 1980s, many
leading young designers like Samuel Wattimena, Itang Yunasz and
Chossy Latu appeared as the generation that introduced ready-to-
wear dresses to the public at large, with promotional support
provided by women's magazines and sales outlets of department
stores.

Sebastian Gunawan and Didi Budiardjo belonged to the next
generation, marked by elegant and hand-made ornamental styles in
the fashion of the 1990s.

Now, a new generation has emerged, filled with such names as
Urban Crew, initiated by the designer duo of Era M. Soekamto and
Ichwan H. Thoha, Oscar Lawalata and Andrea Sutisno. They have a
more liberal concept in fashion creation and avoid being trapped
in only one style.

All the designers, from Peter Sie through to Ichwan Thoha,
shared a great interest in fashion from their youth. They also
shared the dream of becoming professional designers by making
Indonesian women well-groomed. Each of them assumed varying
styles, based on the times and conditions that provided them with
inspiration.

They also have had to deal with different problems.

"At the beginning of 1959 I held a charity show. We faced
various constraints like the limited availability of material,
unprofessional personnel, scarcity of sponsors and so forth,"
recollects Peter Sie in his autobiography, Peter Sie, Mode adalah
Hidupku (Peter Sie, Fashion is My Life).

Even in the 1980s, it still took some trouble and time to
build a career. As a rule, designers started by taking part in
fashion design contests. Winners would have their works
publicized in women's periodicals. Only when they were better
known would they produce garments for sale in department stores.

It's been a much more comfortable lot for the younger
generation. They have grown up in more affluent circumstances,
with the availability of fashion schools, information from
diverse media and show coordinator services.

By holding fashion shows, today's designers can easily gain
fame through their more idealistic creations, without having to
consider too much the commercial aspects of their work.

Andrea Sutisno is an example. In introducing her elaborate
collections since 1999, she has made her name in fashion circles.
Urban Crew, with its techno-pop streetwear creations produced in
cooperation with Dupont, the producer of Lycra fibers, is now
also held in high regard.

Sydney fashion school graduate Yunita Harun, who returned home
only several months ago, displayed her first collection recently
to introduce her presence in the fashion world.

These new designers generally come from wealthy families, a
necessity because a show costs a lot of money. It takes about Rp
50 million to hire a hotel assembly hall, not to mention payments
to models, lighting and coordinator charges. All this still
excludes the cost needed to produce the dresses.

Formal education like that at the Esmod fashion school in
Jakarta costs about Rp 50 million a year. "Money does comes
first. No ideas can be realized without financial capital. But
conversely, money alone, without concepts and capabilities, will
produce nothing. So they should be balanced," said Andrea.

The media also plays its part in making their names.

Show coordinators now need to prepare at least 100 seats for
fashion editors, reporters and photographers from print,
broadcast and Internet media. Young designers acknowledge that
media coverage gives a positive impact to their reputation and
marketing. "I got some new customers after they saw me on TV,"
added Andrea.

In the 1980s designers emphasized identities that were kept
specialized as their particular fashion image using hemmed,
ethnic or embroidered designs and fabrics.

Greater freedom marks the present generation's designs. But
the most prominent attitude is the rejection of segmentation, as
Oscar Lawalata declared when trying to branching out into haute
couture recently.

"As a designer I reject monotonous ideas and presentations. I
don't want to hear people say, 'Andrea's just making the same old
style', so I'm always innovating," she said.

Becoming trend-setters instead of mere followers is what
younger designers most desire. But some criticize their work,
claiming that they lack originality.
Despite the rapid advance in technology, which leads to shared
influences, it is difficult to find genuinely creative output.

"Our products look different through styling. We have the
styling capability to display the characters of our customers in
our garments," argues Ichwan, a graduate of Singapore's Lasalle
fashion school.

Despite all the available facilities, they still face
constraints, especially in the supply of materials. As was the
case with their seniors, cooperation with textile factories is
not easy to carry out and the government has not yet paid proper
attention to the fashion business through facilities or programs.

However, the emergence of newcomers by no means discourages
existing designers because they each have their own style.

"People now care about appearance even more, with a booming
lifestyle of outdoor activities among the younger generation. I
just want to seize this opportunity," Ichwan said.