Julius Caesar walks the runaway

By Dini S. Djalal

JAKARTA (JP): "Let me have men around me that are fat," said Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's eponymous play. But when the play comes on stage in Jakarta next month, the girths of Caesar's men will hardly be noticed underneath this staging's outlandishly colorful costumes.

Who's behind the flamboyant drama? Many designers, such as Stephanus Hamy and Taruna Kusmayadi, contributed individual costumes to this Jakarta Arts Institute project, but one name is indelibly attached to the venture.

Eccentric couturier Harry Darsono, renowned for his very fine embroidery and silk paintings, is the man responsible for the wild ideas currently on exhibit at the Regent Hotel. The exhibit was opened on Tuesday by Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro, and will run until June 30. The final day will feature a party open to all. A required Rp 50,000 donation from each guest will go to the Hamien foundation for school drop- outs.

It is Harry's name that's up in lights, but, as Harry himself admits, what he wants more is to inspire his younger colleagues -- from the Jakarta Arts Institute, the Association of Indonesian Fashion Designers, and the Indonesian Fashion Designers Council -- to let go of their imagination. Some of the younger designers, he said, usually produced conventional ready-to-wear collections, but this was a rare opportunity for unorthodox creativity. "The experience has completely uplifted my spirit for my work," said Harry.

In fact, the designers got so carried away sewing on every bead that they went over-budget. "We were so excited by the couture work that the costumes turned out too nice, and too expensive," said Harry. The price of the 104 costumes averaged Rp 3 million. Some cost as high as Rp 12 million, and the cheapest goes for Rp 680,000. The designers themselves pay for the costs, says Harry, although he hastens to add, "you can still sell them again, alter them into evening gowns".

Judging by how sculptural and complicated some of the costumes are, this can potentially be a mean feat. These costumes, mostly molded from pleated fabric, can not only stop traffic, but, in some instances where hardware is incorporated into the outfit, they are traffic.

The costumes, some sporting spikes or computer disks, are easily impressive -- even Minister Wardiman, ushered from costume to costume for photo opportunities, stopped and gasped at some ensembles. The majority are such spectacles that it's the odd wispy number that gets your attention.

When asked whether the spectacle will eclipse the story, Harry replies with firm "no". Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's most timeless stories, Harry explained. "You can be wearing other planet costumes and the story will still work. Because it's not about the time of its setting, but about the ways of humankind."

There are some Roman touches in the silhouettes. "If there are some Roman elements, it is because Shakespeare referred to Roman elements in the play," Harry argues. He added that in other ways Julius Caesar is a universal story about human strengths and weaknesses, just like the Indian epic Mahabharata.

Harry is tired of Indonesians' proud upholding of tradition. "We must see our surroundings with a different angle," he says. He says Jakarta audiences are "naive" when they expect the Julius Caesar costumes to be "basic and classic". "I want to deliver the message that people are getting more colorful. They may still speak with soft-spoken expressions, but there's another story behind that," said Harry.

Going forward and starting fresh remains Harry's goal. "We don't want to just stay with the roots of tradition, we want to grow like a big tree."

The big tree analogy often crops up in conversations with the eclectically-dressed Harry. He's talking from experience. Harry grew up dyslexic, but he overcame his shortcomings and threw himself wholeheartedly into the performing and fine arts. He's now an accomplished pianist and cellist, as well as being the creator of some of the country's, if not the world's, most extravagant gowns.

Harry doesn't deny his reputation for extravagance. He knows that people often regard his ideas as frivolous, but he sticks by his singular vision. He's become immensely wealthy as a result.

"My friends used to call me a dreamer," Harry admits. Despite the taunting, it's Harry who has the last word. "But my dresses always sell out," he says.