LaSalle graduation shows off proficiency -- and some skin
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The audience broke into spontaneous applause when 25 models began assembling onstage for the finale of the Neo Premiere Graduation Show on April 1 at Balai Sarbini, Central Jakarta. The ovation was not only in appreciation of the coquettish pieces displayed that night, but also of the uniqueness of the show.
All designs shown were the creations of 11 Fashion Design graduates of LaSalle College International Jakarta. The thematic Neo Premiere show was organized as part of LaSalle's 2004-2005 graduation ceremony, and combined a fashion show with video clips from several movies as a prelude.
The audience was filled with LaSalle's business partners and of course, friends and family of the graduating students.
Unlike a conventional fashion show, Neo Premiere was opened by Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Randolph Mank, LaSalle College Director General Mario Poulin and PT Indotex LaSalle President Director Hariyadi B. Sukamdani, whose speeches were all presented in a movie-like video feed.
"Neo Premiere is more than a show. It is a celebration that will exhibit remarkable works of graduates formatted for an annual event that commemorates cinema as an art form," said Poulin.
The designs presented seven themes: Violence, Pleasure, The Myth, Identity, Imaginary, The Thrill and Fear.
The Fear designs, for example, were presented after a "prologue" on the video screen -- appropriately, a scene from Bram Stocker's Dracula, in which the "undead" Lucy appears in a white gown. Similarly, the Fear designs are showed variations of the white gown.
The Violence theme -- which was intended as an industrial project -- showed designs based on the traditional costume of fencing athletes, complete with epees.
The young designers also experimented with color, offering orange, yellow, and red combinations in Pleasure. Several designs also exposed the belly-button, which certainly made them more tantalizing and thus, pleasurable. Several male audience members whistled and cheered when the models appeared with only a few scraps of fabric covering their bodies -- and which showed off their thighs and tummies.
The Myth designs featured a current trend on the catwalks of Europe -- peacock feathers that lent an air of exoticism.
In addition to the fashion show, the graduation show also presented the creations of graduating students from Computer Graphic/Multimedia, Fashion Business and Interior Design -- as promotional material and props for the show.
The Multimedia students created the promotional paraphernalia, the Fashion Business students organized the show and the Interior Design students designed the stage.
Annette Agnita Boedijono, an Interior Design diploma student who was this year's Best Graduate, said she hoped to continue her education overseas.
Students in the Interior Design diploma program study at LaSalle for two years, at the end of which they must exhibit their final project, including site plans, graphic blueprints and a scale model.
Annette's final project was a renovation plan for the Djakarta Theater on Jl. Wahid Hasyim, Central Jakarta, in which she proposed that this old building be turned into a modern, comfortable entertainment center.
"I will try to get some work experience while I try to find the right school to continue my studies," she said.
Classmate Lifia Tamara, who exhibited a renovation of the Museum of Coffee in South Sumatra, agreed, saying she would find a job that would enrich her interior design experience and vocabulary before launching into a professional career.
If this was the graduation show, it seems the fashion, interior and multimedia sectors of Jakarta -- and Indonesia -- will be getting some fresh blood soon.