New boutiques sate teens' thirst for artists' used clothes

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): Gudang Barengan Boutique on Jl. Anggrek in Fatmawati area, South Jakarta, remains busy even as its owner, actress Elma Theana, is busy preparing for her wedding day.

"On Sundays, a good many people come here to shop," said Elma, who will marry automotive businessman Ferry Indarto on Dec. 6. "On work days, not many come here. It's a crisis, as you know."

The crisis is precisely when she started the boutique. This year, Elma, 24, refused to extend her contract with Multivision Plus, producers of various television series. She has played in only one series this year, Mama, an RCTI in-house production.

"Other production houses are beginning to revive," said Elma, who will star in an information film by Mira Lesmana, with Unicef sponsorship, on the health of mothers and children.

Before she opened the boutique, Elma ran a cafe specializing in fruit drinks in Tirtayasa, South Jakarta, with four of her friends.

"Because of the krismon (monetary crisis), we were forced to shut down the cafe because the price of milk increased three fold," she explained.

After the cafe went bankrupt, she considered starting a beauty salon. Then she "helped" her friends manage a soybean juice stand but the project wasn't successful.

Late last year, when acting jobs were rare, Elma often hung out with fellow actors; sometimes they went jogging. It was during that time when she hit on the idea of selling artists' old clothes.

"I knew there were a lot of people crazy for their favorite artists. And I knew that many artists would hang their clothes in their wardrobes after wearing them once or twice," she said.

She explained that local artists thought they were not "fashionable" if they did not wear a new costume for every appearance.

So she forgot her plan to open a beauty salon and opened the boutique selling artists' used clothes instead, starting with a capital of Rp 5 million. It broke even after two months.

Now, with a monthly net profit of Rp 4 million, the boutique sells items with prices ranging from Rp 10,000 to Rp 1 million.

The most expensive item currently on sale is pop singer Kris Dayanti's night gown, with a Rp 1 million tag on it. "It's a well-known foreign brand and Rp 1 million is fair enough."

Aside from used clothing, the boutique also sells brand new items.

A senior high school student from South Jakarta, Tarida Siahaan, who went window shopping at the boutique last week, said the most sought after items were outfits that artists wore in a national televised event.

Besides, she said, the clothes of favorite artists are in high demand -- doesn't matter whether they the buyer.

"The clothes will be considered even more valuable if a buyer has the artists' picture and autograph," said Tarida, who dreams of having the T-shirts Elma wore in Mama.

"I adore her so much that even when she has her hair cut, I have mine cut, too."

For Tarida, wearing clothes once belonging to an artist is prestigious and she doesn't mind being sneered at as being unable to buy new clothes.

"I'm proud to have Elma's clothes," she grinned. She always carries Elma's picture in her pocket to prove to anyone who doubts the clothes she boasts about were formerly Elma's.

Teenagers like Tarida represent Elma's main customers.

Nitnot's Gallery, a boutique in Kalibata, South Jakarta, belonging to pop singer Nita Tilana also targets teenagers. The gallery has a speciality: bright colors with cute motives popular among teenagers.

"At the moment, purple and gray are the most popular colors," Nita said.

The gallery, which occupies Nita's living room, opened shortly after Gudang Barengan.

"I'm happily surprised we share a similar idea," said Elma on Nita's idea to open the gallery.

"I'm sure artists will not waste their clothes by storing them in their wardrobes. You know youngsters, they love buying things. They don't have to have a reason," she said.

Nita, who swears she is no copycat, is serious about managing her used-clothes gallery.

"I have always loved fashion," said Nita, who designed her own dress when she went on stage when she was a six grader.

Her boutique idea came from an experience while she was on tour in the provinces, where her fans came and asked for anything belonging to her for a keepsake.

"I struck on the idea that I should have a place where my fans can drop by when they are in Jakarta," she recalled.

Nita nurtured her business talent during high school, in her home town, Bandung, where she used to sell T-shirts to her classmates. Fashion designing is her other talent beside singing.

"People are beginning to realize this. Some have asked me to design their clothes," she said. "I have to admit I'm a beginner but I enjoy the job."

Her boutique sells not only artists' used clothes but also new ones she has designed.

The "funky attire" she designs can cost anything from Rp 25,000 to several hundred thousand rupiah.

The most expensive item in her boutique is singer Yuni Shara's foreign brand dress offered for Rp 900,000.

On the occasion of the Melbourne Cup reception at Hotel Regent on Nov. 3, Nita presented an animal print collection she designed.

Although her Jakarta boutique is still small, she has plans to open branches in other cities.

"A friend of mine in Surabaya offered cooperation," said the singer, who loves wearing boots the same color as her mini skirt or her wig.

She opened a Surabaya gallery in the middle of this year. She plans to open more boutiques in Bandung, West Java, and Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

"The prospects are bright," she said, adding that she obtained used clothing from her fellow artists once a month.

Included in her clothes for sale are used outfits from her former boyfriend Nugie Nugraha, a New Age singer.