Designers tell men to let loose in fashion
By Agni Amorita
JAKARTA (JP): Wearing an Indiana Jones-type safari suit, model George Taka made his way down the catwalk with an unloaded hunting gun. Behind him marched 23 fellow male models, clad in similar outfits. The khakhi fabrics were matched with wild animal prints, snake leather belts and Dr. Jones rounded hats. These masculine details were then combined with light embroidery, some were understated and just barely visible while others were eyecatching.
The collections were part of the week-long Men's Fashion Show which began earlier this week at the Sahid Jaya Hotel, Jakarta.
"This is my latest collection for men, called Safari 2000," explained fashion designer Ramli, who is dubbed the Indonesian tsar of embroidery.
Ramli believes that men's fashion plays a huge role in the garment business but that the development of it remains low profile because of a lack of enthusiasm from both players -- manufacturers and consumers.
"Men are very conservative," complained Ramli, "So there's hardly any place for those who are fashion conscious."
Ramli's counterpart, hairdresser-turned-businessman Hanky Tandayu, shares the same opinion. "It's our obligation to tell men there are places for them to look great and feel good about their appearance," he said.
They applauded a recent study which recommended that men show their feelings freely, including crying and wearing brightly colored outfits.
"There's nothing wrong with it, people won't think you are a sissy," added Hanky emotionally. "I have just returned from Milan, where men are wearing various warm colors like orange, green, yellow and burgundy to follow the latest fashion trends as the enchanted summer calls," Hanky continued. He showed off his new Prada orange shoes that he claimed were normal footwear there. He said these days men in Milan were even having their eyebrows trimmed.
This was the first time a men's fashion week was held in Jakarta. It was meant to celebrate the anniversary of Matra, the monthly men's magazine. But it seems that this reason was not sufficient enough to attract people, so the event organizer, Ramli with his firm, PT Ram Sarwigo, added a search contest for male and female models, called Model Indonesia 2000. But interest in the male event dipped even lower as ladies fashions took up almost half the show.
"We have to face reality," said kebaya designer Vicky Sutono who showed his latest collection under label Vic & Van on the same catwalk.
"Men's fashion is not so challenging, we only make those clothes on special order," added Arifan Mas, Vicky's fellow designer and partner in the label. For the occasion, Vic & Van made various spread-collar men's shirts for Rp 200,000. Other local designers who took part in the event tried hard to be innovative by avoiding "safe" choices in their men's clothing.
They were not offering button-down shirts. Instead they preferred to look to nostalgia and combined traditional outfits with modern cutting, as shown in Carmanita's batik collections.
Other influences come from Generation X, reflected in the collection of Richard's Costume Design that revitalized men's jackets with short and diagonal inverness capes. Overloaded fashion details, such as the metallic zipper and large pockets, were everywhere. Dipa Sumawijaya even created a floral textured shirt in the feminine colors of pink and purple.