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.