Sarong back in swing of things in fashion

Sarong back in swing of things in fashion

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): The sarong is no longer just a garment of
villagers or something casual to wear only in the home. Local
designers have recently been focusing on the sarong again in
their collections.

Ghea Panggabean pioneered the use of sarong in her designs
back in the 1980s. Then we had Samuel Wattimena, who created the
Borneo sarong look at the beginning of this decade. It was a big
hit at the time and many other designers followed the trend by
creating various kinds of sarong dresses. But the sarong inspired
outfits slowly disappeared from Jakarta's fashionable society.
But recently the trend has re-emerged.

Last month, the Bali-based fashion designer, Irsan, presented
his pelekat sarongs as sophisticated modern outfits. Ichwan Hakim
Thoha, 23, and Era Soekamto, 24, two of the youngest members of
Indonesian Fashion Designer Council (IPMI), have also picked up
on the sarong reemergence and will present their latest sarong
collections in the ballroom of the Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn
Hotel, Jakarta on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Ichwan Thoha, and his business partner, Era Soekamto -- no
relationship with former model Enny Soekamto -- have a fashion
label called Urban Crew. Their designs are a big hit among
Jakarta's young people. In their sarong based designs in their
newest "e-Techno" collection they do not use material
traditionally associated with sarongs.

"We will use Lycra, so that the sarongs in the collection have
a tube silhouette with folded, pleated, and wrinkled details,"
said Ichwan Thoha, or Icoen, a week prior to the show.

Icoen's use of Lycra is the result of a two-year search for a
better stretch fabric for his designs.

"Lycra's thread fiber is the answer to our needs of a modern
fabric that has elasticity and durability," said Era.

Lycra is appropriate for tight dresses and can also absorb
perspiration. "This kind of textile is very suitable for teenage
outfits," added Icoen, adding that famous international designers
such as Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani have also used Lycra as
their important fabrics.

Urban Crew had signed a legal cooperation with an
international Lycra producer. In October 1999, the Singapore
based Lycra producer, Du Pont Far East, will fly Urban Crew's
collection to the Lion City for a Lycra exhibition.

According to Icoen and Era, in their newest Urban Crew
collection, cargo trousers, capuchone shirts and imitation
pockets or zippers will not be seen.

"I am fed up with those trendy details. I believe they will be
out of date by the time my newest collection is launched," Icoen
predicted.

His 2000 e-Techno stretch collection, which will be presented
in the Crown Plaza, have plain colors such as brown, green,
purple, yellow, gray, dull pastels and transparents.

Urban Crew was built by Icoen and Era, right after the two
finished their studies in LaSalle Fashion College in 1996. They
began working with only two assistants but now they have 14
assistants and four outlets in leading department stores in
Jakarta.

Icoen and Era launch new collections every three months. Their
prices range from Rp 68,000 to Rp 368,000 per piece.

"We always put "eight" in our prices because we believe it is
a lucky number," joked Era, whose house on Jl. Radio Dalam, South
Jakarta, is used as Urban Crew's studio. "Don't call us a
boutique because we want to be a retail fashion chain in the
future. Urban Crew will be the Indonesian Saint Michael with more
than just clothes offered to the public," she said.