'Pencak silat' gives designers new ideas

Muara Bagdja, Contributor, Jakarta

Doors adorned with Jepara styled carvings were erected on stage, their left and right covered by climbing plants with a pair of large jugs on their sides. All walls of the room were draped in black with bamboo trees around.

This was the setting created to make visitors feel the atmosphere of a pencak silat (traditional martial arts) training camp when they enjoyed the Pencak Silat Arts Portrait program at Gran Melia, South Jakarta, on Oct. 21.

The Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) presented the works of painters, fashion designers and musicians with elements of the martial arts.

Canvases with various movements in pencak silat were on display in the lobby. The unique pieces were created by 10 noted Indonesian painters: Adam Lay, Benny Setiawan, Irwan Widjayanto, Jiehan, Kartika Affandi, M Mansyur HB, Nyman Erawan, Nyoman Gunarsa, Syis Paindow and Yulis Indra Setyohadi.

Fifty young pencak silat fighters demonstrated their skills to the accompaniment of live music with ethnic rhythms performed by Jakarta's Lab Music group.

Six leading designers -- Denny Wirawan, Ghea Panggabean, Oscar Lawalata, Ramli, Stephanus Hamy and Tuti Cholid -- filled the highlights of the program by interpreting pencak silat suits and turning them into attractive daily wear.

"We invite the designers to promote pencak silat to make our traditional martial arts more popular, like karate in Japan and kung fu in China," IPSI Chairman Eddy Nalapraya told a press conference.

Fashion designers had a chance to learn new ideas as they have unlimited sources of inspiration, including local arts and culture in the form of traditional textiles and costumes.

"I've responded to IPSI's idea because I like something new in fashion and I'm inclined to try anything bearing Indonesian elements, such as pencak silat," said Oscar.

Oscar applied pencak silat garb in a black sexy gown with superimposed stitches on a waist band or on the back. His men's wear included a collarless black shirt with the same stitches on the chest, to suit a black piece of sarong.

"Some feminine movements of self defense are combined with the tough side of the art, to produce the soft gown bearing the eye- catching stitches," he said.

Ramli, like Oscar, also chose all-black designs. For ladies, he created a blouse and tulle pants decorated with beads and combined with a sarong of the same material on the waist. Loose batik pants and jackets were designed for men, a style he had flaunted in previous shows.

"I have often taken traditional costumes as inspiration. I have no trouble at all to absorb pencak silat costumes," he said.

Ethnic designer Ghea opted to feature pants and blouses with chest embroidery, carrying broad belts and head bands. Using light and thin material of mild colors, her collection ranged from nude to light blue colors.

Tuti also used colors to make her designs attractive. Dominated by bright colors, her works comprised of blouses and pants with camisoles being encircled by belt-like bands.

As for Denny, he turned pencak silat costumes into embroidered blouses and pants with all-white silk and shantung material, making his designs very chic.

Stephanus's designs came in layer pieces with broad waist bands, as part of his collection presented in his solo exhibition themed Mongolia some weeks earlier.

The designers, instead of creating costumes for pencak silat fighters, processed the martial art suits into fashionable daily wear, as an adaptation that will make a style of its own amid the prevailing trends.

"Let's hope pencak silat styled garb will be in vogue," said Asniar Sahab of Bestline Public Relations and Event Organizers, acting as executive producer of this event.

Unusual sources of ideas can sometimes make works of art and fashion even more appealing and enhance their value. With the diverse trends lately being governed by glamorous and romantic styles, the time has come to introduce new ideas.

Despite the visual prominence of the fashion display in the four-day program, pencak silat paintings also received ample attention, with 12 of the pictures on show purchased by collectors.