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."