Jakarta's first Fashion Week: A blur of shapes and colors
Jakarta's first Fashion Week: A blur of shapes and colors
By Dini.S. Djalal
JAKARTA (JP): Fashion Week has arrived in Jakarta, and style
hounds may never air-kiss the same way again.
In a move to bolster the local garment industry, Indonesia's
designers have teamed up with Metro Department Store and the
Jakarta Tourism Promotion Board to present a week-long glittery
spectacle of frocks, frocks, and more frocks. It's doubtful if
the Jakarta Convention Center has ever been host to so many of
the city's Beautiful People.
But beauty alone can't sustain one's enthusiasm. After only
two days, the catwalk parade became a blur of shapes and colors.
Seasonal shows in Milan, Paris and New York can be boring too,
but, in those fashion capitals, the excitement of witnessing the
shaping of global style is reason enough to stay alert. Save for
a few outstanding image-makers, Indonesia's designers cannot
muster the same authority or interest.
Some humble participants acknowledge that it may be premature
to assume that the market's zeal is comparable to the designers'
ambitions. "Okay, we may still be far away from a true Fashion
Week," said leading Indonesian designer Biyan Wanaatmadja. But as
a key motor of designer retailing, having established three
boutiques in Jakarta, Biyan is determined to battle the odds.
"Why not try?," added Biyan. "We have to step forward, to
raise the market's awareness of our presence."
Rising star Sebastian Gunawan agrees: "If we do this later,
all the name brands are going to grab the market."
Sebastian was alluding to this year's bombardment of Jakarta
by international fashion houses, particularly in Plaza Indonesia
and Plaza Senayan. From Prada to Paul Smith, Cerutti to Calvin
Klein, Issey Miyake to Thierry Mugler, the world's top designers
are setting up shops in the city's malls.
And although the mark of these trendsetters is unmistakable in
local collections, Indonesian designers are fighting for a piece
of the consumer pie.
Hence Fashion Week, which is showcasing more than 60
designers, including 26 from the Indonesian Fashion Designer
Council (IPMI), who showed on Monday and Tuesday; 23 from the
Indonesian Fashion Designers Association (APPMI), who show from
Wednesday to Friday; plus a set of Busana Moslem (Moslem fashion)
designers. The production, reputed to cost several hundred
million rupiahs, is being witnessed not only by the local fashion
industry, but also by fashion writers from Italy, France, Spain,
South Africa, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries.
What's at stake this week is not only the reputation of the
designers but also of retailers. But Christine Barki, Metro
Department Store's general manager, was pleased by the results.
"It was more focused and more wearable this year," said Barki.
Metro plans to launch the exclusive IPMI collections in April,
simultaneously with the international collections. APPMI
products, meanwhile, will not be exclusive to Metro, although
Barki adds that, "It is the responsibility of retailers to
support both associations".
When asked if consumers will respond positively to the
collections, Barki answered with the resolve of a serious
investor, "It has to happen."
Consistent
Whether or not what is shown now will still be all the rage in
April is unknown, but the audience seemed receptive to the
offerings. Some designers, however, impressed more than others.
As always, the best collections came from designers who
consistently achieve excellence. They include Biyan, Ghea
Panggabean, Ronald Gaghana, Hutama Adhi, Thomas Sigar, and Tuti
Cholid. Some great designs also came from Sebastian Gunawan
(great lace and animal prints), Stephanus Hamy (sumptuous tie-
dye), and Itang Yunasz (beautiful bias-cut dresses).
Ronald Gaghana's set, however, is the one on everybody's lips.
A completely white collection -- from shoes, hosiery, to scarves
and gowns -- Gaghana presented a clean vision of what modern
should be. But his idea of spare chic is not uncluttered. Gaghana
bravely layers separates, putting skirts over trousers, blouses
over knitwear, gowns over gowns. His shapes are unobtrusive, but
they are not boring. Asymmetrical tops, military jackets, and
pants cutting at the knee, all converged into a marriage of
creativity and wearability. The textures also pushed the
boundaries -- in glimmering knits, sheers, satins, and sequins,
the models were like fireflies lighting the evening.
Biyan, Gaghana's mentor, has a similarly uncompromising style.
Known for his romantic embroidery and flower prints, Biyan called
his new collection "Out of Borneo". He may as well have called it
"Out of the ordinary", as the first ensembles walked the stage
boasting bold Dayak prints in bright reds and oranges -- atypical
Biyan.
"Fashion is dynamic, it's about moving fast," said Biyan about
the change in direction. "It may be better to sit in your
comfortable chair all the time, but you have to go ahead and make
new things work."
And it worked. The proportions -- long, lean, and spare -- are
still signature Biyan, but the boldness isn't. The color-blocking
in particular was a gamble -- it may be Prada chic this season,
but may be passe by springtime. The colors -- bright blues, acid
yellows and all shades of rust and chocolate -- were also a
wager, given that brown may not be, as the fashion set insist,
"the new black".
It's when Biyan does "ethnic" that he surpasses all
expectations. The sequined chiffon gowns in Dayak embroidery,
worn over sequined print trousers, were breathtaking. And it's in
detailing that Biyan is incomparable. While many designers can go
overboard with the ethnic theme, Biyan sparely applies the Dayak
curlicues on sleeves, the backs of shirts, in smatterings across
a bias-cut dress. Fashion is a world of excess, but Biyan is the
master of restraint.
Ghea also does ethnic chic well, but that is the foundation of
her success. In the new collection, she does not venture far from
her usual color or silhouette scheme.
While her eveningwear still relies on grinsing and batik
patterns, her day prints, however, have varied. This year, Ghea
goes zig-zag. Although her prints are on chiffon rather than
knits and most likely to be inspired by traditional textiles, the
print is very Missoni, the Italian knitwear house famous for
their psychedelic designs.
But derivation is nothing new in Indonesian fashion, and
Ghea's opulent sampling of rich hippies on a Moroccan (or
Pakistani, judging by the tie-dyeing and shalwar-kameez-type
silhouettes) adventure -- complete with caftans, sandals, and
piles of beads -- is easy on the eye. Orientalism has never
looked so good.
Often regarded as too avant-garde, Hutama Adhi does layered
pleats this time, and very well too. His colors are sweet pastels
that set him apart from the "brown is the new black" pack. Some
may also accuse his collection of being too Miyake-like, but in a
season of Prada and Helmut Lang wannabes, turning Japanese is at
least an unlikely inspiration. Adhi is clever because he knows
the consumer wants romance, but in a modern way.
Both Thomas Sigar and Tuti Cholid do what they know best, and
came away with success. Sigar is graphic, sending down simple
black-and-white dresses and suits in bold stripes. His Mondrian-
inspired collection is not as wearable, but at least it shows
guts.
Tuti Cholid's big flower prints are not news, but such pretty
dresses in vibrant colors are not easy to find in this season's
array of geometric patterns and dirt colors.
Difficulties
Cholid does textiles brilliantly, which is an advantage.
Sebastian Gunawan says that the textile industry, without whose
aid designers cannot advance, is the show's prime target.
"They want to see how far we can go, and we want to show them
that we're good enough and that they can trust us to do good
work," Sebastian said.
Lacking strong financial support, and/or affordable production
arrangements, many local designers struggle to produce quality
collections without breaking their bank accounts. Biyan repeated,
however, that it's up to designers to make themselves known to
parties who may help them.
"It's one thing to be appreciated by the tourism promotion
board. Fashion Week gives us other chances to broaden this
synergy," said Biyan.
Hutama Adhi, another up-and-coming designer, is optimistic
and believes that if the facilities are there local designers
will survive the competition. "Price is a consideration, and we
can win consumers on that point," said Adhi.
But Fauzi Bowo, the head of the Jakarta Tourism Promotion
Board, says that currently Indonesian designs win on price alone.
"The difference between shopping in Jakarta and in Singapore is
price. But we are still far behind in terms of product knowledge
and customer satisfaction," Fauzi said.
The necessity of stepping up professionalism within the
industry is not lost on Biyan, who hopes the industry will break
out of its vicious circle of problems with initiative and
cooperation. "Where's the egg and where's the hen?" asks Biyan.
"As a designer you have to know what consumers want, and you have
to be aware of retail opportunities. But it's not easy."