Harry Darsono: Some standouts but mostly same old, same old designs

Syahmedi Dean, Contributor, Jakarta

What do members of Jakarta's upper crust expect when a designer celebrates 30 years in fashion? At the very least, he is called upon to present creations that are a cut above those of other designers with less experience in the profession.

Invitees to the fashion show Serve with Honor and Style -- 30 Years of Harry Darsono's Couture were expecting something new as they gathered at The Dharmawangsa Hotel in South Jakarta. No fewer than 30 of Harry's new designs were about to be shown, a tribute to his vast experience in fashion design.

At the opening of the show, Harry talked at length about his years in fashion and his experience traveling the world in his profession. The evening's emcee also described the honored guest's achievements, including, apparently, designing for the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and Queen Rania of Jordan, something never previously reported here.

Unfortunately, no images of the women -- two favorites of the international media -- wearing his designs were flashed on the video screens.

Among the standout designs in the show was an elegant black velvet tube wrapped dress, tight from the bosom to the knees and then flaired to the ankles. Several feathers were inserted in the bosom part of the dress, which was accented on the hip with a brooch. The presence of the jewelry gave it an elegant look and its light color provided impressive contrast.

There was also a very beautiful mini black dress that wrapped the body in solid drape texture. The upper part of the gown was provided with a detail made of a piece of fabric that was perfectly draped round the shoulders. It was even more stunning with the addition of a black hat made of feathers and satin.

Ironically, these two outstanding, enchanting designs did not reflect Harry's signature style of hand-painted and hand-crafted details.

Unfortunately, most of the other designs featured on the evening did not live up to a spirit of anything new -- they merely represented Harry's creations of yesteryear. The hand- painted motif on organza inspired nothing; it looked like a muddle of Surrealism, Cubism, Impressionism, Pop Art, Baroque and Chinese ceramics.

Most of the designs were matched with gloves, an outdated accessory that does not speak "couture du jour".

Color combinations were similarly confusing, and did not show a set of color priorities. The image of a fish on a white ballgown looked like a piece of rag, with the coloring technique for the organza tending to produce murky colors.

"It's best to color organza, that is, so the colors will fully stand out, only when you first put the fabric in a mixture of starch," said batik designer and textile expert Iwan Tirta, who also attended the show.

"Indeed, the risk is that the organza fabric will become fluid and soft, while the effect of rigidity that Harry wants is missing."

But there was one other design that deserved full praise, a long white dress with an empire line that was the last presentation of the evening. The part covering the breast was made of drape, and fabric was pleated lengthwise down beyond the ankles for the body. A white on white fully hand-crafted "bolero" jacket with a stunning texture was worn to cover the shoulders.

The right sleeve of the dress was longer than the left; Harry balanced the latter with material used for the dress, dramatically sweeping along the floor. The dress took one's imagination to the past, but it is really today.

It reflected a very clever thought in designing: the silhouette and the headgear of 1920s, the Grecian look of the 1930s, combined with an essentially modern cutting style and composition.

It would have worked well if Harry had developed his creative idea from the last design, and made it the chief concept of his entire collection.

"Mmm ... I like the details, very accurate," said Krisdayanti, who wore Harry's designs while performing two songs at the event. Tellingly, she needed some time to think what impressed her most about the designs.

With three decades of experience in fashion design, Harry, a graduate of Ecole de Beaux Arts Paris, is the only designer in Indonesia (and perhaps the ASEAN region) who is daring enough to claim that he is an haute couture designer.

But with such credentials -- and also such a claim -- it's only to be expected that the fashion community will be watching for some more spectacular creations from Harry in the future. At least he would then be on creative par with Biyan, with a mere 20 years of fashion designing experience, or Sebastian Gunawan, who has been in fashion designing for a mere 12 years, but who have both showed their creative genius -- and the ability to move forward.