Trend 2000 show combines diverse styles and influences

Text and photos by Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): The creations of Surabaya-based fashion designer Kiatna Kwanda, presented here last week, might remind one of John Locke's tabula rasa theory. Like Locke's theory of purity which was compared to white paper, Kiata offered the same philosophy in starting the third millennium with his entirely white stainless collections.

The designer, who does not intend to sell the dresses in the collection, as he did in his last two annual shows, adopted a feminine approach by using wrinkles and coin shaped detail with strong masculine horizontal and vertical lines as the spirit of his white silk. To make the perfect wrinkle as the dominant effect in his collection, Kiata put a coin in the silk, loosened up the thread and then took away the coin, just like the tie dye technique but without adding the color. And as a result, Kwanda received rapturous applause from the audience.

The Indonesian Fashion Designers Council, better known by its abbreviation IPMI, staged their 14th annual trend show for three days, starting on Monday, Nov. 22, at the Bidakara convention center, Jakarta. It took place just a few days after another organization, the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association (APPMI) held its annual Tendance Fashion show.

During the event, approximately five IPMI designers presented their collections individually each day.

"We have to start this international format because in the future there will be a need to place potential buyers -- mostly international ones -- for each designer," explained Sjamsidar Isa, IPMI's chairwoman, before the shows. She believed that following this, Paris' pret a porter format is a need for the Indonesian fashion industry development. "Actually we wanted to start it last year but the monetary crisis ruined that plan," she added.

With three month's preparation, the Trend 2000 fashion show costing more than Rp 400 million, was designed to promote IPMI's younger generations. In fact, only two senior designers took part in the event: Ghea Panggabean and Carmanita Mambu. Ghea closed the event consistent with her Asian ethnic approach. Borrowing from Indian styles whose fragile fabrics are light and bright, Ghea enlivened the night with a youthful spirit with the use of denims.

Carmanita faithfully stayed with her kebaya dresses. Her exploration for next year was white batik, as well as those of light brown, soft pink and silver. Other designers presented wedding gowns as their masterpieces, showed as the last outfit in the catwalk. Carmanita proudly presented her only male design, a black batik, presented by the famous music producer Jay Subiyakto.

IPMI also explored other generations. Didi Budihardjo, Widhi Budimulia, Cheppie and Sutanto Danuwijaya took the audience to Europe with their sleeveless ballgowns while Stephanus Hamy, Tuty Cholid and Rumah Mode Prayudi (Prayudi's boutique) explored silk Bugi Makasar sarongs and batik. Hamy turned the old fashioned Makasar sarong into a younger look with his bright coloring and used dynamic cutting for his bolero-ed mini skirts and pants.

Widhi Budimulia went with pastel colors for his coated trousers, sleeveless long dresses and knee-length skirts. Widhi introduced a vertical fish in fin-shaped detail as exclusive riffles to feminize his collection.

Bright colors were the order of the day for Cheppie. He used black metallic sequins to cover a red silk bustier and to make it devastating he added it to a backless long red silk dress. The gypsy look was Sutanto's choice. Taking cross cultural themes, Sutanto mixed glamourous colors such as red, green, orange and blue in feminine fabrics such as tulle, taffeta and chiffon. Sebastian Gunawan and Syahreza Muslim preferred Chinese-inspired red and gold dresses. Crystal and sequins in Sebastian and Syahreza's hands were placed harmoniously as the dress' illumination. It glittered. Not all of Sebastian's creations had trendy circle-shaped sequins as he still had his favorite, expensive lace. The rich fur lining in Sebastian dresses and trousers also indicated that they were not low-cost.

Going further was Ronald Very Gaghana whose collections were a unity of Asian, European, American and African inspirations. African paintings and American Indian bird feathers were well mixed in increasingly favorite tanned-skin color dresses or knee length pants. Ronald also offered tosca green and bright orange as the year 2000's color trend. For the millennium touch, he completed the collections with vinyl pants in honey color.

Unpredictable designs came from IPMI's youngest members. The widely talked about Urban Crew -- a label owned by Era Soekamto and Ichwan Toha -- appeared in Emergency Room's outfits. A nurse's white uniform and a gown usually worn by a doctor in the operating theater were modified into trendy, fashionable and even naughty outfits.

Oscar Lawalata went wild with Makassar silk in his look-like-a-kimono's kebaya and baju bodo collection. Still consistent with his button-free style, Oscar used complicated folds in his long and light pastel dresses.

In short, IPMI wanted to announce its readiness to provide almost all the needs of the fashion industry, internationally of course.