Designer Edo celebrates traditional design

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Edward "Edo" Hutabarat is angry. He believes there are not enough people in this country supporting what he has been doing all these years -- promoting Indonesian culture through fashion and in the process, instilling the spirit of integration.

"Our national costume is the lifeblood that unifies this nation," Edo asserted during the Fifth National Congress on Culture held recently in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

When he meets with artisans from different cultures, Edo often finds himself immersed in discussion of various topics of art and beauty, so that potentially divisive matters of race and creed do not find a place.

"Fashion is not only about walking prettily on the catwalk. The beauty of it is that it's backed by a populistic economy," Edo said, illustrating that a single piece of clothing needs the expert touch of dozens of artists.

"A fashion show can feed so many people, those who weave the cloth, who put in the silver and gold weavings, those who carve the silver necklace and bracelets, who do the hair, the makeup."

In the fashion show he organized on the night of the opening of the National Congress on Culture in Bukittinggi, 20 of Edo's models showed the audience exactly what he meant.

Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of different traditional cloths and costumes, Edo takes the best of every culture and merges the elements into a beautiful and unique line of clothing fit for the catwalks of Milan and Paris.

Putting traditional motifs in modern settings, Edo successfully transported West Sumatran weaving traditions and lace, South Sulawesi traditional blouse baju bodo and Yogyakartan silver to cater to modern tastes.

For accessories, there was a masterpiece of a fan bringing together the talents of many; made from East Nusa Tenggara sandalwood, the body of the fan was painted by expert painters from Kamasan, Bali, laced with silver from the silversmiths of Kotagede, Yogyakarta, and used a motif inspired by that found on the traditional doors of Bali's Singaraja kingdom.

"How can I present the best with only cassava, if that's all I have," Edo explained as his defining motto.