Fashion designer Edward tailors national dress for the times
Fashion designer Edward tailors national dress for the times
By Bruce Emond
JAKARTA (JP): Fashion designer Edward Hutabarat has gone from
designing elegant, ultrafeminine evening wear to being a
passionate advocate of the promotion of "national dress".
Talk about a difficult proposition; with a wealth of cultures
and peoples dotted across thousands of islands in the world's
largest archipelago, it's tough to make a firm definition of what
is national attire.
After all, one man's batik shirt is another's koteka (penis
sheath).
To Edward, it means taking the clothes of the different
regions and putting them in a modern context, including a bit of
mixing and matching.
"National dress cannot be used every day. You can't play
tennis in it, or wear it to the office, because the key thing
today is practicality," Edward said during a seminar on tips and
tricks for national attire on Thursday.
"We have to make national dress part of our lifestyle. So if
we have a party or reception to go to, then national dress is the
way to go."
Using a parade of male and female models, Edward showed how
woven fabrics such as tenun and songket from South Sulawesi and
South Sumatra respectively could be paired with each other, or
teamed with the Javanese signature fabric of batik.
He also showed alternate approaches to using jewelry, such as
one earring matched with flowers, and the traditional blue kebaya
(blouse) replaced by one in crimson.
Not all the looks went down well with the guests, particularly
the wrapping of a short stole around the head turban-style. Amid
clucks and twittering, one woman murmured: "Who's she supposed to
be, Jackie O?"
Although others may fear that mixing distinctive fabrics from
different regions may cause a sartorial faux pas, Edward said it
was nothing new.
"My mother often mixed her favorite ulos (woven textiles from
North Sumatra) with batik and other fabrics. It's not something
unusual for our people."
Confidence is always the fundamental part of being able to
carry off an outfit, he added.
"Don't be conservative because what's most important is that
it's appropriate," he told the audience, most of them middle-aged
society women. "It will work if you have confidence in it."
Tips
Edward's tips on making national dress work included:
* Figure Flaws: Women carrying a few extra kilograms often use
stoles and wraps to cover their waists. Edward said they should
instead focus on the elegance of their clothes. "If you use a
stole elegantly, then that is the impression you will give
others."
* Add the Pad: For women with an undefined waistline, Edward
advocated using shoulder padding but said it should be used
discriminately.
* Feet Fears: Older women and those with unattractive feet
should use close-topped sandals, Edward said.
* Black Magic: Although Edward showed male models in trendy
modern-design batik shirts paired with jeans, he said black pants
were still the best choice for formal events. "They can be a bit
shiny to complement the other fabric."
He also said all Indonesian men, not only Muslims, could wear
the kopiah, a rimless black cap. "It's Indonesian, for all
Indonesians to wear," he added.
* All That Glitters ...: Less can be more when it comes to
accessories and jewelry, the designer said. Sometimes very little
jewelry or none at all will help put the beauty of the textiles
at center stage. "Indonesians think that handbags, jewelry have
to be flashy, but you have to be careful of harmony."
Preservation
Edward said he was deeply concerned about the preservation of
the country's textiles and the technology used in making them.
Cases in point are a 1940s' stole from Makassar and a gold-
embroidered piece from Palembang, made around 1890, which were
used in the show.
Edward said the knowledge about producing those materials had
been lost.
"Many of our craftspeople have turned to farming or trade
because of the crisis. It will take years for us to regain that
knowledge."
Antique textiles are also being snapped up by foreign buyers.
"What I'm really afraid of is that in a few years we'll have
to be tourists and travel to other countries to see the beautiful
fabrics of our country. Our textiles have been covered in mud,
and now it's time to dig them out," Edward said.
"America may be able to produce a spaceship, but it can't make
songket."