Iwan Tirta challenges fashion norms to fight alien competition

Iwan Tirta challenges fashion norms to fight alien competition

By Dini S. Djalal

JAKARTA (JP): Iwan Tirta was nervous. His yearly fashion show
was being staged a week later than scheduled and followed Oscar
de la Renta's groundbreaking show.

"What if people say, 'But I already bought an Oscar de la
Renta gown last week'?" asked Indonesia's most famous batik
designer.

Competition from European and American designers has taken its
toll. Iwan's collections used to sell out weeks before his show;
today many of the gowns still await buyers.

Iwan was especially anxious because he could not oversee the
show himself. Instead of being in the Regent Ballroom on Dec. 18,
Iwan was clinching a deal in California to design Warner Brothers
Studios' batik collection.

The master of fine traditional batik tulis (hand-painted
batik) doodling Tweety and Daffy Duck? Iwan is unfazed by batik's
commercialization.

"Warner Brothers needed designs for their Spring collection,
and the people in charge happen to be my friends, so they asked
me to do it," said Iwan.

Iwan's designs will be computerized, so they can be used for
shirts, mugs, plates and the like. For putting batik onto the
lunch boxes of American school kids, Iwan will be paid a
US$15,000 flat fee and receive no copyrights.

Time must be changing for this world-renowned costumer of
kings and queens. Iwan himself acknowledged the local fashion
industry's changing rules. Top on the list of outdated
traditions, Iwan explains, is the gala dinner and fashion show:
Where ministers' wives lobby for their favorite charities during
an expensive six-course meal and elaborate show.

"Can fashion shows still attract charity funds like before?"
queried Iwan. "With foreign designers putting on simple shows in
Jakarta, can local designers survive with gala dinners?" he
asked.

Iwan already knows the answers. "In the future, fashion shows
will be a more business kind of arrangement. Fashion shows as
entertainment will be long gone," said Iwan.

That means no sumptuous dinners, no extortionate entrance fees
and no charity donations. As it is, the margins for the charities
have narrowed, even with tickets costing Rp.400,000 (US $173) a
person for Iwan's show.

Iwan argues that huge expenses justify exorbitant ticket
prices. In New York, an haute couture show can cost up to
$60,000, and expenses in Jakarta can run as high.

"The gamelan alone already costs Rp 4 million, and then you
still have to pay the dancers. Renting the Regent Ballroom wasn't
free either," Iwan explained.

Corporate sponsorship is the solution to financial woes, but
Iwan is careful in courting the business community. "If I ask a
supermarket to sponsor me, my prestige would suffer," insisted
Iwan.

A designer's collection is produced in the midst of all these
logistical headaches.

"Putting on a fashion show is hell," Iwan concluded.

It has been worth it. "For me, fashion shows were a marketing
device," said Iwan. "Before, there were no risks, because sixty
percent of the clothes were sold before the show," he explained.

Glancing at the racks of unsold batik, Iwan admitted, "I'm not
so sure anymore."

Foreign retail

Jakarta's expanding foreign retail market is the key to the
problem. Iwan believes new competition has stolen 40 percent of
the Indonesian retailers' market.

"Now, with all the Escadas and Oscar de la Rentas in the
market, I wonder, will women still spend their money on my
batiks?" he asked.

Ironically, Oscar de la Renta is one of Iwan's most
enthusiastic customers.

"He has ordered my batiks for 1997," said Iwan.

Iwan's batiks also decorate de la Renta's house in the
Dominican Republic.

The link between De la Renta and Iwan goes further. As de la
Renta wakes up to the call of commercialization by producing a
cheaper diffusion line with PT Great River Industries, Iwan is
also making expansion plans. PT Great River Industries has also
signed a licensing agreement with Iwan to produce Iwan-designed
men's shirts. As the first Indonesian designer to join hands with
a retailing and manufacturing giant, it's a groundbreaking deal.

It was also inevitable.

"I love haute couture because it's a source of inspiration,
but how long can you maintain it?" asked Iwan.

For Iwan, the future of batik lies not in extravagant gowns
but in simple shirts and selendangs (long shawls). "Accessories
are the future of batik, and will be its flag. The high fashion
will only be a detail," said Iwan.

Creating more marketable batik also ensures its survival.
Batik artists and manufacturers are searching for ways to make
batik popular for the new generation. Iwan believes ready-to-wear
is batik's smartest option. Combining fabrics like linen with
subdued colors, Iwan's casual alternative was a great success
this season.

Staying hip

Iwan is concerned not only with commercialism, but with
staying hip. Amongst his innovations this year are tiger-printed
batiks, and batik on velvet. The latter was especially trying, as
workers had to batik six times to get through the thick fabric.
By using motifs from Palembang in South Sumatra for his bridal
finale, Iwan also veered from batik's traditional norms.

Iwan's best designs, however, are not innovations but his
revamping of old ideas. In line with fashion's retro
inclinations, Iwan brought out simple gowns with big, bold flower
prints. One can almost envision Rima Melati sashaying through a
1970s flick in these great getups.

Having designed traditional batiks for the world's leaders,
Iwan's Javanese batiks remain center stage.

"I still think in a Javanese way, so my batiks have to feature
some sogan (the brown colors of Central Javanese batik)," said
Iwan.

What Iwan tries to minimize is the use of prada (gold paint)
on the batiks. "I want people to see the batik and not just the
prada," he said.

Unfortunately, not many people saw Iwan's batiks two weeks
ago. The 400-capacity Regent Ballroom was only half-full. Iwan's
fears were manifested. Prior to the show, Iwan insisted that,
"Indonesian designers need government support to face the
globalization era."

Until this support materializes, local designers and artisans
can wait patiently for loyal customers.