Love of design brings luck for young Bandung student
Kunang Helmi-Picard, Contributor, Paris
The 20th Concours International des Jeunes Createurs de Mode (Young Designers Fashion Contest) apparently brought great luck to 21-year-old Anissa Kunthi Kusumawardhani.
The student of the school of sociology at a university in Bandung -- who took a course at a school of design in her hometown -- won the jackpot by taking the Grand Prize in Fashion Accessory at the contest, which took place on Dec. 17, at the Caroussel du Louvre, Paris.
The excited Anissa, who attended the announcement, won an Air France return ticket from Jakarta to Paris and 3,000 euros (around US$3,000) plus her certificate and an additional 2,000 euros from the Art Profession Association.
With the theme "Fashion and Love" for both garment and accessory entries, Anissa managed to illustrate the possession of love in her scarf design, Possessive.
Two stuffed gloves in fuchsia red tones encircle the lover's neck from which the floral pink brocade scarf flows down. The jury, including world-class designer Pierre Cardin, fell for the simplicity and inventiveness of an accessory of a type now much in use in wintry Europe.
Anissa's victory is a follow-up of another Indonesian young designer, Rusly Tjohnardi, who won the prize in 2000. In 1996, Abineri Ang won the Grand Prize for fashion besides the other Indonesian Accessory prize winner two years previously.
"This is great and it's a wonderful incentive for Indonesian fashion students. This victory will keep Indonesia on the map of fashion creation," exclaimed Pia Alisjahbana of the Femina Group.
Since 1983, Air France and the Syndical for French Fashion have sponsored this contest that has drawn young fashion students from 18 countries in Asia, America and South America. Indonesia has so far participated 11 times.
Dewi magazine organized the selection for the contest. This year, the magazine staged a similar contest on Oct. 31 at Hotel Mulia Senayan, Central Jakarta. The jury chose 10 finalists for the garment contest and five for the accessory contest.
Unfortunately, Muthia Ratna Wijaya, of the Susan Budiarjo Fashion School in Jakarta, missed out on the main fashion prize -- an Air France return ticket from Jakarta to Paris, a year's tuition at the Syndical Fashion School and 3,000 euros -- as the award went to Chinese Chin Chi, whose creation was a simple white long wedding dress with a shawl collar.
But Muthia, who also attended the event, was awarded one of three Special Mention prizes of 450 euros.
Muthia created an outfit named Memento. Material documenting memories, strips of tape recordings and celluloid film were woven into a patchworked miniskirt with strips dangling below. The top was held in place by a plaited cat collar of the same strands from which strips fell loosely to join the waistline of the miniskirt with a bare back. Silver strips were worked into the elegant brown and black evening outfit.