'Tenun' to be shown at the Shangri-La

JAKARTA (JP): To commemorate his 10th anniversary of designing tenun, a traditional textile woven into haute couture creations, designer Nelwan Anwar is to display 120 outfits at a fashion exhibition in the Grand Ballroom, at the Shangri-La Jakarta on Nov. 2.

Nelwan told reporters during a press conference yesterday that the exhibition, titled Gelar Karya Satu Dasawarsa Nelwan Anwar (Ten years of nelwan Anwar's work) is aimed at promoting Indonesian woven fabric both on the local and international fashion markets.

"Unlike batik which has already gained popularity, tenun is still rarely worn by Indonesians. I really hope that people will start eying tenun textiles for both formal and informal outfits," said Nelwan who has been training and helping local weavers improve their designs and management skills for years.

To produce his haute couture dresses, Nelwan uses various woven fabrics made by local weavers from Troso Bugel Pecangaan, in Jepara (Central Java), Palu (Central Sulawesi), Sengkang Wajo regency (South Sulawesi), and Garut (West Java). (raw)