Some 50 top designers to stage latest collections at Fashion Week
JAKARTA (JP): Some 50 top fashion designers will present their collections during Indonesian Fashion Week, which will be held in conjunction with the Asia Global Sourcing textile and apparel exhibition.
The event, which is organized by PT Rantai Expo International in cooperation with the London-based ITE Group Plc., is billed as Indonesia's biggest fashion event of the year.
The event will include catwalk shows featuring the latest ready-to-wear and haute couture collections of famous designers like Guruh Soekarnoputra, Poppy Dharsono, Musa Widyatmoldjo, Taruna K. Kusmayadi, Raizal Rais, Dina Midiani, Weeta Djemat, Oscar Lawalata, RM Prayudi, Yongki Budi Sutisna, Sthepanus Hami and Era M. Sukamto.
The Indonesian designers will present their collections (amounting to over 1,200 outfits) at a specially designed catwalk area on the Mezzanine level of JCC Lobby.
The show is the first of such event, which involves both designers and textile producers. Many years ago, an attempt was made to bring together fashion designers and textile companies but this endeavor has not materialized until this upcoming fashion show, the fruit of a rare cooperation between these two major elements in the fashion world.
Eko Prabowo of Rantai said that as designers depended heavily on textile and were therefore inseparable from the textile industry, the two of them had to form a harmonious partnership.
In advanced countries, he noted, fashion designers and the textile industry always foster good cooperation to ensure that the fashion industry will develop.
Indonesian Fashion Week, to be held from October 25 to 27, is also the fruit of cooperation with the Association of Fashion Designing Entrepreneurs (APPMI), established through Poppy Dharsono, Musa and Taruna, and the Indonesian Fashion Designer's Council (IPMI).
Eko said that fashion designers not belonging to any fashion organization, like Adjie Notonegoro for example, have also be invited to join the schedule. Rantai, he added, would like to establish a common vision in the face of a globalized market.
In the upcoming fashion week, APPMI, IPMI and individual fashion designers will present their works on a three-day fashion show. Invited guests at this exclusive event include the many international and regional buyers taking part in the exhibition, as well as the international fashion press and top celebrities from Indonesia. Obviously, this fashion show will be a golden opportunity that local fashion designers must never miss.
"Honestly, I'm personally pleased that APPMI is involved in this exhibition. This means that our own annual show on fashion trends will this year be part of this international exhibition," said Taruna K. Kusmayadi, a fashion designer of APPMI. "We are interested to participate because they show a serious interest in fashion development in Indonesia, and also, particularly, because they will invite world-class buyers like DKNY and Top Shop of UK and GAP of USA," he noted.
Taruna also said that 27 APPMI members had registered to join the fashion show. They are among others Musa Widyatmodjo, Dina Midiani, Raizal Rais, Poppy Dharsono and Dimas Mahendra. Each designer will display 30 designs of the 2002 trend.
These designers have been preparing for this show for three months now, Taruna said, adding that this time can APPMI feel slightly relieved knowing that the logistics of the event are being taken care of by a professional organizer.
Indonesian Fashion Week has provided them with all the necessary facilities and APPMI members will only have to tap this golden opportunity as best they can, he said.
Although they have to prepare for their participation more hurriedly, Denny Wirawan of IPMI said that the invitation to join Indonesian Fashion Week is warmly welcomed. Nine IPMI members, among whom are Stephanus Hamy and Era M. Sukamto, will display their designs in a special show designated to introduce the trend favorite among IPMI members, he noted, adding that each designer would feature about 20 designs.
Meanwhile, Prajudi Fashion House and several other top designers have been selected by the event committee to hold a solo show which will each feature 60 designs of the year 2000 trend.
The question that remains is whether the mission of this Indonesian Fashion Week 2001, a combination of fashion exhibition and conference, to bring together textile producers, fashion designers and garment exporters to jointly face the globalized market will ever be realized.
This is something that only the players in this fashion industry that can answer. As long as they work professionally and understand the rule of the game in international business transactions, it is not unlikely that this great ambition may become a reality.
One thing that is worth admiring is the effort to bring together producers and buyers in the upcoming Indonesian Fashion Week. This will be the first exhibition in Indonesia's fashion history to substantially contribute to the promotion of the country's fashion industry.(Asniar Sahab)