New boutiques sate teens' thirst for artists' used clothes
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.