Designer Farah tests the fashion waters on a trip home

Designer Farah tests the fashion waters on a trip home

Hera Diani
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Designer Farah Angsana sat elegantly behind a desk in the study
of the Grand Hyatt's penthouse, where she had a trunk sale
recently.

She admitted she was exhausted, both emotionally and
physically.

"I've been traveling so much. I have so many plans in my mind
about my business. Unfortunately, I don't have many people around
me to tell about how the future of my business is going to be,"
she said in a guarded tone.

"But as long as I'm strong enough, conscious enough, wise
enough...everybody can achieve their dreams, plan or business
strategy."

Her focus on herself, the sometimes affected tone and her
insistence on using only English could have made Indonesian-born
Farah an easy target for judgmental us.

But it took only a moment to discover that she was exactly
what she claimed to be, a "strong, funny and friendly" person.

"Everybody has their character. I love people around me, but
that's my problem, too. Sometimes I bump into the wrong people
who just want to look into me, not just because of me. Especially
here."

Next thing we knew, she was sitting with us, explaining each
piece and detail of her collection -- the inspiration, the
details -- among the wealthy customers sitting around us.

"I'm not a show producer, I don't need to do a big show with
all the prestige and thousands of watts to make clothes look
beautiful, but unwearable," she said about her decision not to
put on a full fashion show here.

"I'm a fashion designer. And even if this is my own country, I
don't want to go back with such a big event. There's no point to
doing a big show and a little less as a fashion designer. I'm
testing the waters here before I drink the water."

It was not cheap, self-serving talk: This is someone who burst
onto the scene in Paris, the seat of modern fashion, and was
chosen to become a member of the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de
la Haute Couture, which decides what is haute couture and who
measures up to its definition of a qualified designer.

Farah played down her success, saying no big label wants her,
perhaps because she is not good enough.

Born of mixed Indonesian and Chinese ancestry in Medan, Farah
moved to Singapore when she was nine and then to Los Angeles and
London, where she studied at the Central School of Fashion.

Her breakthrough came in January 2002 when she unfurled an
Indonesian-accented haute couture collection in Paris.

She has since become known for skillfully mixing exotic ethnic
motifs with cultured sensuality.

"Kimonos and all are being brought there (to the West), why
not Indonesian elements? I have to study and research about
Indonesia, bring it there, fight with the sharks. But I'm not
afraid to fight," said Farah, who is married to a Swiss financial
executive.

She uses batik from around the archipelago, ikat and exotic
Balinese accessories. Her enduring favorite is a red Balinese
goddess dress with flower petals, the design which introduced her
to the world.

Her latest collection, which she showed here, was inspired by
19th century Acehnese heroine Cut Nyak Dien and the Acehnese
conflict.

It is in black and green, with soft silk fabric, and metal and
lace as detail. The neckline is masculine, with an accent on the
shoulder resembling a military decoration.

"It's like feminine gets tough," she said.

Farah said her collection always contains a message, and is
relevant to the current world situation.

During the 2003 G-8 Summit, for instance, when China came of
political age by being invited to attend, the theme of the
collection was China and red, while the invasion of Iraq was
marked by a design inspired by American Indians.

For the Bali bombing, she emphasized green, beige and brown,
and stone-wash and tie-dye.

Her clothes have a clean cut and excellent finishing, elegant
and very sensuous with the silk material she always wear.

"Farah Angsana collection is about women who already know
their identity, are strong and not afraid to express their
sensuality," she said, adding that her customers were mostly in
their 20s and 30s.

Aside from the Cut Nyak Dien collection, there were drapery-
like dresses inspired by ancient Greek goddesses, floral dress
("Garden of Eden") and a beige/brown dress with paillette and
beads to imitate sand and shells ("of Bali beach").

Prices of the collection range from 250 euros to 450 euros for
daywear, 1,000 euros to 2,000 euros for a cocktail dress and
2,000 euros to 5,000 euros for elaborate evening dresses.

It was beyond her imagination that people here would like what
she designs, she said, but 60 percent of her 380 pieces had
already been sold with the trunk show still ongoing.

A percentage of the sales went to the humanitarian foundation
owned by her friend, Kartika Soekarno, the youngest daughter of
the country's first president.

Farah is very careful in her definition of friend.

"I used to think everyone was my friend and I hit the
rock..for being so open, so blunt, so honest. Now, I can count on
one hand who are my real friends," she said.

"I know some people but that doesn't mean that we're friends.
I know a few fashion designers here but doesn't mean I'm close to
them. Look around, are there any Indonesian designers here?
Because we're not close, I don't have a chance of getting close
to them," she said.

She refused much comment about local designers, except that
there is "tremendous talent here" and mentioning a few names.

Farah is now restructuring her company and concentrating only
on one line, Farah Angsana. She dropped her men's line and is
doing couture only on private orders, mostly from Saudi Arabian.

"I'm not a multitalented person who can handle everything. I
want to focus on one label to go global," said Farah, whose main
markets are Europe, Canada, the United States, Japan and Saudi
Arabia.

The fashion business now is not like before, she added, so
every five years designers have to rethink their business.

The global economic downturn has also impacted the fashion
business, and she said she had lost some customers.

"But I'm very lucky that I still have other buyers, in Paris,
Italy, Morocco, the Middle East and Japan. The order is smaller,
but it is loyal," she said.

Does she still feel Indonesian or more of part of a global
society?

"I always feel Indonesian. I'm quite impressed by people here,
I have no complaints. And you know what -- I love my life," she
said with a smile.