Idul Fitri: Designers flooded with orders for the holiday

Agni Amorita, Contributor, Jakarta

Unlike those from fashion capitals of the world where there are actual seasons necessitating cooler or warmer clothes, Jakarta residents are not accustomed to changing their wardrobe every few months.

And while Indonesian fashion design associations roll out their collections every year, the real time to stock up on new clothes is around the holidays, especially the post-fasting month festivities of Idul Fitri, Christmas and the New Year, as well as the Chinese New Year, now designated a national holiday in the country.

Idul Fitri, in particular, is the time to put on something new and attractive to impress one's friends and relatives.

It's a bumper time of year for designers but, with Idul Fitri set to fall in the next couple of days, many will be relieved that the hard slog of making new dresses for the holidays will be over.

The chairman of the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association (APPMI), Musa Widyatmodjo, said that his production for this year's holiday had increased 400 percent.

"So far we have made 2000 pieces of dresses and it's increasing."

It's only a temporary respite, with the round of Christmas and New Year's parties lying ahead, each requiring a different design theme.

Musa predicted that he would have a 200 percent sales increase for Christmas, and about half of that for the Chinese New Year, which falls about a month later.

Its been a similarly hectic time for members of the Indonesian Fashion Design Council (IPMI), the other major fashion design association in the country. Two senior IPMI members, Choosy Latu and Widhi Budhimulia, said they were flooded with orders.

"People should order about three months before the holidays," said Chossy, who was forced to decline new orders about two months ago.

"We simply can't handle such last minute orders at the moment."

Widhi, known for his evening gowns, has also imposed a tight cut-off period.

"I asked my clients to order designs three or four months before the big day," explained the designer with twolabels under his name.

Chenny Han, one designer who has gone it alone and is not affiliated with either design association, also turns her attention to the market demands this time of year

"Although I am primarily known as a bridal designer, holidays like Idul Fitri and Christmas are the busiest for selling party dresses," the owner of the House of Chenny said.

There are also many choices availabe for women who cannot afford the Rp 1 million-plus clothes of the designers.

The number of fashion kiosks in the Jatinegara area of East Jakarta, for example, has doubled, and middle range malls and shopping centers are offering huge discounts on clothes.

For many people, Idul Fitri is the time to wear clothes in which their identity as Indonesians stands out.

Chossy recommends a batik scarf worn with a long-sleeve lace tunic or matched with a Malaysian-style dress. He has combined the kebaya (traditional blouse) with a fancy palazzo as one of his favorite designs for Idul Fitri.

Musa also selected a modified kebaya for both Idul Fitri and Christmas.

"The difference is only its color. I pick solemnity for Idul Fitri, such as pastel colors, while for Christmas my collection will be elegant with red and white."

For New Year's, Musa prefers bold colors and only tolerates red and pink for his Chinese New Year collection. Chossy Latu makes provocative designs, with a sexier cut and more glittering colors, such as gold, for New Year's parties.

Street vendors follow the same fashon variations for the separate holidays, with pastels selling well for Ramadhan.

"We will sell jeans and more fancy T-shirt in December," said Juariah, a seasonal street vendor from Tasikmalaya, West Java, who sells Bandung made scarves in Jatinegara market.

The major problem for this year is the pervading sense of insecurity about what lies ahead, which extends to purchasing choices.

"People are afraid to go shopping for new outfits in malls. They are afraid of a bomb attack," said Widhi.

It's the same problem for the street vendors.

"Although I can sell more than a dozen scarves a day, the buyers are not as many as I expected," said Juariah.