Fashion shows step out on cafe circuit

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): A fashion show is no longer an exclusive event for Jakarta's fashion society. Fashion designers used to present their latest creations at a gala dinner in a five star hotel ballroom with selected VIP guests. Thanks to the increasing fashion consciousness of Jakartans, fashion shows now are a form of regular entertainment held in a variety of places, from hotels bars to street cafes. You can catch shows both on weekdays and weekends. No invitation is needed, not even a special cover charge.

Fashion Cafe Jakarta is the pioneer of this phenomenon. Since its opening in November 1996, it has been scheduling a regular monthly -- now weekly -- fashion show.

"With a fashion show, the number of our customers rises by about 30 percent to 40 percent. When we feature the creations of famous designers, we see an even higher increase," said Hotma Tobing, marketing manager of Fashion Cafe Jakarta, which can accommodate 1,000 guests.

Every month Hotma Tobing prepares one big fashion show and three others of a smaller scale. "With an average Rp 25 million to Rp 30 million budget for one big show, I have to be very careful in deciding the theme. For example, last month we presented Didi Budihardjo with a majesty theme, so we changed almost all of the room's decoration. We erected a gapura (Javanese entrance) on the stage, which was covered by a traditional carpet, and then built a pool which was full of fish in the center of it," said Tobing, who runs the show every Friday night.

The items to be presented in the show are no less important. In fact, "our main concerns about the show is that it presents the designer's latest collections," he said.

Another care, Cafe Kencana -- located in Menara Rajawali, Kuningan, South Jakarta -- puts emphasis on the models in the fashion show instead of the fashion designers or their collections.

"Cafes are now turning into an entertainment business, not just a traditional cuisine business," said Endang Wahidin, the restaurant manager. His stance explains why his cafe always features beautiful, young and popular models in its monthly fashion shows.

"I came to the conclusion that a fashion show is not enough to grab new customers, so I combined it with live music and dance," said Wahidin.

He said that the number of visitors could double every time he organized a fashion event in his restaurant. "But the music event can attract a higher number of guests. When I get a famous singer such as Kris Dayanti or the Gigi band I can have many more guests."

Tigapuluh Music Bar, at the Le Meridien Hotel, South Jakarta, also provides music and fashion shows. "Our guests are 30- something; most of them are mature people who need a positive meeting place, so we built our Music Bar as a cozy place with easy listening jazz or R&B music, plus an interesting fashion show," explained Aprilisa Madewa, the PR manager at the Le Meridien Hotel.

Tigapuluh Music Bar presents every Wednesday the creations of local designers featured by four senior models and four newcomers in a semi-dancing choreographed fashion show.

"Sometimes I also select the collections before the show, because I have to make sure that the outfits shown here are sexy but still decent," Madewa said, adding that such shows also increase guest numbers by 100 percent.

At Plaza Indonesia, fashion shows are organized at the La Moda cafe and at C21 Boutique Cafe.

C21 Boutique Cafe is owned by Kelab Duasatu Nusantara, a local importer of famous brand names such as Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani. It has two C21 Boutique Cafes located near their popular boutiques in Plaza Senayan and Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta. At their cafes they introduce their latest collections from abroad.

"We present not only our brand name boutique collections, but also those of local designers. It just depends on each fashion show's theme," said Astrid Soeleman, the advertising & promotion executive of C21 Boutique Cafe. For example, last month, in the Independence Day theme fashion show, they presented four local designers: Widhi Budimulia, Didi Budhihardjo, Oscar Lawalata and Syahreza Muslim.

From the designers' point of view, the increasing popularity of the cafe fashion shows has to be seen as a marketing opportunity.

"With comprehensive preparation -- from knowing the cafe, its audience, their interests, the latest trends which are suitable for them, to the seat formation -- we can launch a good promotion," said fashion designer Sebastian A. Gunawan. He always participates in every detail of his promotions, including bargaining with the cafe's management to ensure his show was presented in theater-style seating, to ensuring that 75 percent of the invitations are sent to loyal customers.

"We have to be more careful in the preparation, because a cafe's capacity is very limited," he said.