Dress up and enter the Year of the Dragon
Dress up and enter the Year of the Dragon
By Agni Amorita
JAKARTA (JP): The dragon is not always scary despite its sharp
claws and fire breath. It can also be flirtatious and an
inspiration for three Jakartan designers.
Thomas Sigar, Raizal Rais and newcomer Adhi Boreel welcomed
the Year of the Golden Dragon with their newest fashion
collections, which were presented at a Chinese New Year party in
Cafe Kencana, Jakarta, last Friday.
Thomas, whose designs have been absent from local catwalks for
more than five years, said: "I have been busy with my new art
gallery," when he opened the show with his kebaya encim
collection.
These tradition-inspired long sleeve blouses were paired with
lokan and button-and-zipper-free Betawi batik long skirts. In
pastels ranging from green to velvet, Thomas' kebaya are like
traditional twinsets when coupled with his spaghetti-strap tops.
Thomas embellished each of his soft embroidery shirts with two
big braided buttons.
Adhi, who hails from Bogor, West Java, went further. He used
the color of the golden dragon as his main color.
"Although people still proudly wear 'millennium colors' like
silver, I think it is about time to go back to gold, because gold
is a classic color that is appropriate to wear any year," he
claimed.
Adhi fashioned all of his creations on pants-inspired long
dresses.
"I believe that China is home to the inventors of trousers,"
he explained. "In China, trousers have been widely accepted as
traditional clothing for both men and women," he added.
Under Adhi's hand, the dragon was metamorphosed into past and
present elements. The past was reflected in his strict
traditional lines, such as the mandarin collar, wrap-over
necklines and dragon scales embroidered into the newest trends to
hit town.
"For example, two outfits are maxi dresses because I needed
the space to show the fancy socks worn with the outfits," he
said.
Adhi says girls in China nowadays are fascinated with socks.
"This winter, socks in China are not just foot warmers but are
the newest fashion trend," he said.
For the Indonesian tropical market, Adhi paired his outfits
with light and delicate socks as accessories to be worn with
stilettos. "Funky, isn't it?" he exclaimed.
Funky too were Raizal's collections. Selling for about Rp
500,000 a piece, he presented his newest all-red, viscose long
dresses with lace on the sleeves and at necklines.
Buyung, as Raizal is better known, adorned his gowns with gold
sequins and used the patterned holes in the lace as sexy
accentuations. The slit in his cheongsam-inspired long dresses
went as high as the upper thigh.
"For those who don't have the courage to wear it, I can offer
pairing red trousers to be worn inside the dress," Buyung, a teen
designer known for his provocative collections, explained after
some male viewers whistled at the show of thigh on the catwalk.
Viewed by more than 100 guests, the fashion show also
introduced "golden dragon makeup".
According to famous beautician Yonky Pitoy, it is a bold
makeup line. "You can pick hard red as your lipstick for morning
or afternoon," said Yonky while drawing an illustration in which
he accentuated the eyes.
"You can put golden eye shadow on the upper part of the eyelid
and choose a dark color for the lower part," he said. "While the
perfect choice for the hairdo is flat without a bouffant at all."
The golden dragon can also be appreciated in toning the hair a
light blond, replacing the red tone mania that has swept town for
the last two years.