Norman puts sparkle into Jakarta fashion

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): Fashion accessories have a long history in Indonesia. The country's rich fashion culture is reflected in the glittering appearance of an Indonesian woman, fitted out from head to toe, at special occasions.

The traditional way of dressing up in one's finery continues today. Different types of headwear, earrings, bracelets, anklets, necklaces and rings are considered an inseparable part of local fashion, especially items made from gold, which are also considered status symbols.

There are shops selling gold as a fashion accessory in every corner of big cities, even the suburbs, in the country. It is no wonder that Singaporean jewelry designer Norman Ang said 50 percent of his loyal costumers were Indonesians. Despite the fact that the country has not fully recovered from the monetary crisis, the jewelry trade is still doing big business in Jakarta.

That is the main reason Norman, 36, has opened his second jewelry boutique in the capital. The owner of Heliopolis Accessories, a boutique in Le Meridien Hotel Singapore, opened his branch with a fashion show at the Regent Hotel Jakarta last week.

"In term of business, I'd like to be closer to my customers so they don't have to fly to Singapore because of me anymore, and secondly, I hope it will increase a more progressive market here," said Norman, who kept to a tight schedule during his visit.

He provided his jewelry for at least three big fashion shows in Jakarta, including a memorial show for Kim Thong Bridal House in Kempinski Hotel, one for hairdresser Peter Saerang and, of course, his own show with the help of customers-turned-friends Susan Budihardjo, Sebastian Gunawan, Eddy Betty and Didi Budiardjo, all designers themselves.

The local designers' collections acted as an artistic canvas for a colorful palette of fashion accessories made by Heliopolis. The western bridal gowns from Susan Budihardjo, bustier-look long evening dresses of Didi and Sebastian, plus the Indonesian traditional sarung kebaya inspired creations of Eddy Betty were harmonically packaged with tiaras, huge earrings and layered necklaces, not to mention fully ornamented bracelets.

It also offered a smart solution in coloring in fashion; like those only willing to choose white as a wedding dress can always turn to colorful accessories to spice the colors up, as shown by Susan and Sebastian who matched shiny reddish jewelry with broken-white bridal gowns. Eddy Betty successfully modernized the traditional value of classical sarung kebaya into a younger look by matching it with the colorful, contemporary designs of accessories from Heliopolis.

Norman claimed Heliopolis was alone in doing professional jewelry in Singapore.

"I have been specializing in bridal and evening jewelry for the last 10 years," he said. His creations are predominantly in metal plate, such as gold, silver, palladium and radium, but he also uses well-known Swarovski crystal for its exclusive stones. The expensive materials correspond into high price tags for Heliopolis accessories, starting from Rp 300,000 for earrings, up to Rp 4 million for a necklace.

Norman's confidence in selling fashion accessories came from experience. He sticks to what he knows best.

"I never do fashion designs," he said. It works well. Local publications have helped in building his reputation; people flocked to his jewelry boutique after it was featured in Female and Her World magazines.

"My Indonesian clients also found me in those publications," he said. Most of the clients became loyal ones without further huge promotional efforts because Norman always keeps their satisfaction guaranteed. His key is to treating them personally and professionally, which is often overlooked by local fashion producers.