Fashion goes on the wild side in 2003

Muara Bagdja, Contributor, Jakarta

What fashion will prevail in Indonesia in 2003? Last Thursday, designers from the Indonesian Association of Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs (APPMI) and the Indonesian Association of Fashion Designers (IPMI) tried to answer this question.

And it seems that the romantic style will continue to reign. The collections of some of the designers taking part in the show continued to lend prominence to bare-shoulder chiffon blouses, bat-like sleeved blouses and asymmetric chiffon gowns.

Other designers showed even greater radicalism in their work, offering more aggressive and independent designs inspired by the costumes of the punks.

These two contradictory fashion styles illustrate not only the upcoming fashion trends but also the dilemma faced by the Indonesian fashion world; whether to prioritize idealism or commercialism.

These fashion styles also reveal two opposing working attitudes on the part of the designers: serious creativity or mere repetition.

The IPMI featured the latest collections of its 10 members at a show at Plaza Bapindo in South Jakarta. The event began with a joint prayer for the victims of the bombing in Bali.

Denny Wirawan began the show, presenting romantic designs accentuated by inflated-sleeved chiffon blouses and broad pleated skirts. The addition of flowers and butterflies as accessories lent greater beauty and attractiveness to the designs.

"I'm still in the mood for romantic designs, which I believe will remain popular until next year," he said with great confidence.

Romanticism was also clearly present in the collection of Syah Reza Muslim. Inspired by punk style, the designer featured dresses in which the pieces of cloth were simply put together without being sewn, giving the impression of having been torn. The collection was in nude colors and made of chiffon materials, so the final impression was romanticism rather than punk.

Gentleness was not the only choice. Sofie of APPMI offered something quite different. Along with four other designers, she exhibited her designs in the lobby of the Sentral Senayan office tower a day earlier.

Sofie opted for the punk theme and translated the "wild" image into blouses made of jarring material and with big eyelets. The blouses were worn over tank tops, an asymmetrical skirt and boots. In some of her designs for trousers, there was the additional and creative element of safety pins, a unique accessory for punks, a reason she won kudos that night.

Radicalism as a style could be found in the collection of Taruna K. Kusmayadi, who worked under the theme of mysticism. His designs were dominated by the color black with a style combining bondage, Gothic and elements of deconstruction. The designs were presented in a fun manner, though. Some of the models, for example, appeared with headdresses in the shape of alien heads.

Obviously, he created his designs without the burden of knowing that they had to sell. Therefore, his design lines could flow freely, creatively and variedly, one of the reasons he won a long ovation that evening.

"I'm exploring this theme of mysticism because our society is unstable now. On the one hand, you profess a religion but, on the other, you believe in mysticism," he said.

This statement can also be applied to the conditions in which our designers are currently working. They are of two minds. On the one hand, they would like to present creative designs that are different from what people usually see, but on the other they are trapped in products that prioritize the element of commercialism.

Many designers are still interested in working on glamorous and elegant evening dresses. This is an understandable situation. While the retail garment business is still unfavorable, made-to- order products, usually glamorous evening dresses, are a good source of income.

There is nothing wrong, actually, in presenting glamorous dresses. Only, recently, we have had enough of this type of work from one or two designers, who have given us top quality and standard work. So, if similar designs are featured without any new elements, they will appear as mere imitations.

Some designers seemed to come up with some fresh ideas in their new collections. However, half of these works again relied on the popularity of glamorous evening dresses.

One designer known to be somewhat obsessed with the theme "East Meets West" was also tempted to design glamorous evening dresses. However, most of his works were rich with ethnic elements. In the collection presented at the show, he introduced a new idea, namely a leather gown with holes made using a cut-out technique as the motif. Unfortunately, this attractive design was given only a small segment compared with the evening dresses.

"This is supposed to be an exhibition of fashion trends. Why the evening dresses again?" asked one fashion editor.

Dissatisfaction was in the air upon seeing some designers merely tinkering with the same old styles for an exhibition of new fashion trends.

But this situation was understandable. Some designers were worried that their designs would not be accepted if they introduced something new. In this case, they may have forgotten that creative designs do not necessarily mean "weird designs".

Take the collection of Taruna K. Kusmayadi, for example. The dresses looked radical on the catwalk. But if you looked at them one by one, you would find that each dress was wearable. After the show, for example, some female fashion editors rushed backstage to order inflated-sleeved blouses and so forth.

"Through this collection, I would like to introduce a new element. Customers must not be given imitation. Every time I go into a department store, I see similar collections. My mission is to offer something new," he said.

It seems that our designers need not be too hesitant to adopt Taruna's way of thinking. Because buyers would really like to buy dresses that are different from everything else that is found in the market.

"I came to the fashion show to find something different and unique. I don't want something usual that I can find anywhere," said Syully NS Darsono, a fashion buff and an accessory entrepreneur.

She said she was quite interested in one or two blouses designed by Sofie. She said the blouses, when worn with her skirts, would not make her look "weird".