Kanaya Tabitha climbs the stairs of fame

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): Kanaya Tabitha only needs a year to be called one of the hottest designers in town.

"I started this business in October 1998," she said.

Aya, a graduate of the School of Mass Communication at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, formerly worked in a bank and has had a number of other jobs.

"When I came into this I was really sure about my destiny to be a fashion designer because I can be totally me in doing it," recalled the 27-year-old whose nickname is Aya.

She then used all of her savings to support her new career. "I bought new sewing machines, hired some assistants, redecorated my parent's house in order to turn it into a boutique and also rented a house for my workshop," the petite -- 156 cm and 41 kg -- designer smiled. "I can't believe that I have paid the money back in only four months!"

Aya's journey toward her current position is not a bed of roses. "I started it with rejections from many big boutiques. Once they accepted my collections they gave me a condition -- to sell without my name on the clothes," she said with sadness. Knowing her lack as an autodidactic designer -- the only time she learnt about cloth making was in extra curricular class at her high school in Bandung -- Aya borrowed from the methods she learnt during her academic years.

"I decided to research the Jakartan middle class need of fashion," she explained. The research lasted a month and Aya decided that she would only create sexy, feminine and glamourous gowns at very reasonable prices. On average she sells her nightgowns for Rp 500,000.

"I do the sketches, patterns and fabric hunting by myself," she said.

Her intuition in creating sexy nightgowns has transported her to the highest places a rookie can go. Aya has hypnotized some young celebrities with her designs and they have become loyal customers. She became more popular with her sexy outfits after the Warna vocal group wore her creations.

Aya, who creates only 30 designs in a month, is helped by 20 assistants now. She can sell most of her creations.

"It is like a miracle for me from God so I always spare 10 percent of my profits for Him."

Aya, who is interested in arts and culture, was born in Riau, Sumatra in December 1972, as the only child of Leo and Yvonne Setzepandt.

As she was growing up she turned into a tomboy. Her mother urged her to learn some feminine skills such as sewing. But she showed more achievements in other fields, winning arts competitions at her school, singing, poetry reading and writing contests.

"My fashion consciousness is only reflected in my own appearance. I used to remake my mother old clothes into newer trendier ones," she said.

She gets great satisfaction everytime she creates a dress. Her self-training has made Aya very smart when it comes to fashion patterns. "I can make drapery without a pattern, which is believed to be a difficult skill in fashion," she said.

An admirer of London couturier John Galliano, Aya tries to follow her idol's super feminine style. "He is very creative. Every season John always presents a brand new spirit."

To achieve a new spirit in her new collections, Aya tries to be hard on herself. She has to reduce the time she spends reading her favorite Mary Higgins Clark books or listening to R&B and classical music. Dreaming to be an international fashion designer and writer in the future, Aya said, "Now I have to be tough, more disciplined in working and timing."

She is already working to a tight schedule. After her first show at the Surabaya Sheraton Hotel last year, Aya then showed her collection at Bubbles Party, Bengkel Night Park in December 1998, at Le Meridien Hotel Fashion Show in March 1999, and the Acid Rain Party in July 1999 in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. She had some bad news recently when she had to cancel her Melbourne and Sydney fashion shows this month because of political tension between Indonesia and Australia.

But as usual, the designer, who loves cats and snakes, is positive in her attitude.

"Next month I will fly to Italy to study its language because I won a year's scholarship to study fashion there," she smiled. Go for it, Girl!