Rinaldy's 'Sedimentation': An extravaganza of dazzling accessories

Muara Bagdja, Contributor, Jakarta

Indonesia's world of fashion has numerous renowned designers but ironically there are only a few accessory makers. Fashionistas maintain that one's performance will not be perfect without the accompaniment of matching accessories.

It is good to know that amid the scarcity, we still have Rinaldy A. Yunardi, a gifted accessory designer who featured his great collections at Plaza Bapindo, South Jakarta, early this month.

His Sedimentation solo performance surely reflected his maturity in terms of creativity and design. It was totally different from his previous exhibition two years ago which predominantly featured ordinary crystal chokers. Almost every single piece of his creations were attractive, making his show the most thrilling to see among others exhibited during the Jakarta Fashion Week, which began in early October.

This time Rinaldy not only proved himself capable of designing jewelry, binding and combining various types of stones but he was also expert in making fur bags and hats. His other masterpieces that highlighted the show were jewelry that adorned the chest and wrapped the body of his model and a feather hat in the form of a fountain on her head, giving the model the combined impressions of Josephine Baker, the cabaret dancer of the 1920s and the styles of Hollywood stars of the 1950s.

"My mission is to feature new collections, especially in the use of ethnic stones of various colors combined, studded and arranged in a modern way. Besides, I want to show unlimited creativity with bags, hats and jewelry designs. It's up to the taste of the customers. I just want to show them that they are works of art," he said, still giddy from all the praise he received one day after his show.

The performance began with models wrapped in white gowns carrying various types of square bags studded with stones or feathers.

"I deliberately feature handbags with new designs shaped in hard cases. We already have them in Indonesia but not created by local designers," he said.

The show continued with necklace designs and belts.

Rinaldy showed his creativity in combining a wide variety of natural stones of different characters in a beautiful string. Amber, moonstone and turquoise were all combined with carved stones from China and American diamonds to make them more glamorous. Then out came five feather hats to accentuate the atmosphere.

The audience gave a thunderous applause when he presented his unique design: Three small bags terraced according to their sizes. Then a model appeared wearing a necklace of various stones covering her shoulders and lower parts of her body like African- style skirts.

A crystal belt designed like a wreath suddenly drew the attention of a fashion magazine.

"I will wear the belt with simple cloth and sleeveless undershirt. It's cool, isn't it?" he said.

"I really love the black feather hat," designer Susan Budiharjo said, pointing to a hat made of eagle feathers shaped like two spreading wings with part of them covering the face of the model.

The show became more attractive when it featured wedding gowns and evening dresses by famous designers such as Sebastian Gunawan, Didi Budihardjo, Susan Budihardjo, Eddy Betty and Adrian Gan. All these glamorous gowns sparkled with accessories designed by Rinaldy.

The cooperation that Rinaldy has established with fashion designers manifested total creativity. Take, for example, the crystal necklace with stems protruding towards the face of the model, which was worn by the model demonstrating a colorful gown designed by Didi Budihardjo. On each of the stems one sees a butterfly. This accessory was very impressive because as the model walked on, her face seemed to be surrounded by butterflies. How romantic ......

Rinaldy began his career in 1997. His name began to be noticed when he designed accessories for the show of the collection of a number of top fashion designers in the next year. Since then, he has established a reputation to be reckoned with in the fashion world.

At first, his glamorous style attracted would-be brides and women needing special accessories for their evening dresses. Then he began to attract people in the entertainment business. The head dress that he has designed, for example, can be seen in the video clip of noted singer Titi DJ when singing Sang Dewi (The Goddess). "The Goddess" herself sang two songs in the show of the accessories that night.

Today accessories have played a considerable role in women's lives in major cities. They are worn not only to improve a woman's appearance but also to make her feel more beautiful. They are also part of the effect of a sparkling stage. Previously, accessories were worn only by primitive people to indicate their social status. The head dress made of the feather of a bird of paradise and worn by a member of a particular tribe in Papua, for example, shows that he is a tribal chief.

Accessories have shown an increasingly good prospect recently although there are still a few designers of accessories.

"Accessories have become more acceptable now. But I have created accessories whose image is not only to give support but become the focus of appearance. So, you only need to put on a modest gown and lend prominence to your accessories," he noted.

Unfortunately, for the time being he has decided not to enlarge his collection. The constraint is the type of the natural stones, some of which he purchased abroad and spent a lot of money for. For this reason he has designed only one accessory made of the feathers of a parakeet.

"I got the feathers from my friend's dead parakeet. So, I don't known when else I can have the same feathers again. Of course, there are synthetics but they are available abroad at a very high price.