Indonesian trends: From Pekalongan batik to African safari
Indonesian trends: From Pekalongan batik to African safari
Syahmedi Dean, Contributor/Jakarta
While the London Fashion Week was going on in Britain,
Indonesia was hosting the Mercedes-Benz Indonesia Fashion
Festival 2005, a fashion week that took place between Sept. 17
and Sept. 24, 2005. Held in the spacious hall of the Jakarta
Convention Center, the fashion festival featured 15 designers
under the Indonesian Fashion Designers Council, giving a glimpse
of Indonesian fashion trends for 2006.
In the past few years, Jakarta has shown greater boldness in
introducing fashion trends for the coming year, without having to
wait for the emergence of trends from London, Milan and Paris. In
the past, Indonesian designers have been accused of copying
popular fashion trends in Europe. In response, they are taking a
bold step forward by organizing a fashion festival at the same
time as the fashion week in London, and much ahead of the fashion
week in Milan and Paris. "It is now time for us to be
independent, free from a trend from anywhere. Fashion cannot
stand alone but what we feature in this fashion festival reflects
the tendencies in the local market that we have translated into
our own fashion works," said Didi Budiardjo, in a press
conference held during a break in the festival.
Didi, this time designing for House of Prajudi, enjoyed an
enthusiastic welcome from the audience because his collection was
modest but colorful. He made use of the popular traditional batik
cloth from Pekalongan in a ballooning skirt popular in the 1950s
and combined it with a blouse cut in the style of a kebaya, a
long-sleeved blouse usually worn with a batik sarong. These two
pieces made a fascinating combination indeed. What became the
talk of the festival, however, was his highly innovative design:
a blouse made in the form of a baju kurung, a jumper-like long
blouse worn by Sumatran women without a front opening, with the
sleeves structured in a Victorian style. This blouse was worn
together with an A-line skirt, a dramatic piece made of
embroidered fabric.
Another designer, Denny Wirawan, who presented a collection
called La Femme d'Afrique, also earned special attention from the
audience, half of whom gave a standing ovation. Denny explored
Africa from the Safari down to the uniqueness of the Masai tribe
and the eccentricity of the North African tribes. As for the
Safari dress, he transferred it into apparel that the socialites
in Jakarta usually wear at cocktail parties. The climax of his
show featured flora and fauna motifs printed on chiffon,
including the fuchsia Cheetah motif. This year Denny has defined
his designs by reintroducing his boutique under the name Print
House.
The most outstanding character in the festival came from the
designs of Carmanita, a designer who demonstrated great
individual character, free from any stereotyping of a prevailing
feminine style. Her designs revealed an energetic and dynamic
quality with a slight trace of deconstruction and a feminine
element, while still remaining modern with nuances of the 1980s.
Meanwhile, Oscar Lawalata attempted to create an innovative
look by combining the pretty and feminine look with the street
look. The result was attractive: a feminine top made of chiffon
worn together with cargo denim pants and high-heels. Oscar also
completed his collection with a series of designs for men.
A chic city look with a pallet of primary and secondary colors
were seen in Tri Handoko's collection. He made his designs
neatly, freely mixing and matching elements like a long jacket, a
shirt, formal pants and a girlie skirt. Of all the designs
featured in the festival, Tri Handoko's pants' design, with its
neat finishing, was the best. The pants were designed like a semi
pallazo with a low waistline and the pockets hidden on either
side of the hip like the pockets in men's trousers.
Other designers that featured their works were Widhi
Budimulya, Stephanus Hamy, Votum by Sebastian Gunawan &
Christina, Kanaya Tabitha, Tuty Cholid, Susie Hedijanto, Syahreza
and Liliana Lim. Designer Ghea S. Panggabean had her name
included in the program catalog but failed to turn up without
providing any information provided for the press, leading to
various rumors about her.
This effort by Indonesia's designers to be trend setters
deserves support. Most of them are daring enough to make their
own statement and demonstrate their ideas while others will still
need more attention. However, what brings the greatest pride is
that most designers have demonstrated excellent finishing and
quality in their designs, therefore ensuring that despite the
modesty of their designs they are pleasing to the eye.