West Jakarta Housewives Scour Neighbourhood for Bottle Waste to Join Fashion Show

A fashion show in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta, drew attention because the outfits were made from recycled waste. The majority of participants were housewives.

One of the housewives taking part was Wulan (54), a resident of RT 06 RW 03 Kemanggisan. Wulan, who wore an outfit made from bottle waste, carried the concept of ‘Bottle Princess’ in her costume.

“The story is Bottle Princess. Recycled from bottles,” Wulan said after the competition at the Kemanggisan sub-district office on Monday (24/8/2026).

Wulan then recounted her struggle to find bottle waste to make the costume. She admitted she had gone around collecting bottles from her home, the mosque, and a hall often used for parties.

“The hard part was finding the waste materials. We went around scavenging, so to speak. There were some at home, from the nearby mosque, from the building hall where people often hold celebrations, we collected them,” she said.

The collected bottles were then processed before becoming an outfit. Wulan said her costume concept was inspired by YouTube.

“First we washed them. We washed them clean, then the painting process, and after painting, cutting. The concept came from YouTube, and from my child too. My child is also a designer,” she said.

In the show, Wulan also carried a stick with a poster reading ‘76th Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia, Don’t Let My Earth Eat Waste’. She explained the message was meant to encourage people not to leave litter scattered around.

“This is, don’t let the earth eat waste. It means if there is rubbish on the street, we pick it up. Like that, don’t just leave it,” she said.

Besides Wulan, another housewife named Sri Pujiastuti (47) also took part in the competition. For her costume, she used corn husks and flour packaging as materials, carrying the concept of ‘Corn Princess’.

“Yes, we are carrying Corn Princess. Our concept here uses corn husks and recycled plastic, from flour packaging. The rest is from recycled plastics,” Sri said.

Sri then explained the process of making her costume. She described how washing and attaching materials were all part of the process to produce a complete ‘Corn Princess’ costume.

“The crown is made from spoons and wire. We washed the recycled spoons clean with warm water. The stick is made from recycled plastic from flour, tapioca flour, wheat flour. This part is corn husk. We made the corn husk, dried it first, then attached it piece by piece. The rest is plastic,” she said.

Sri said she was proud to take part in the fashion show at the Kemanggisan sub-district office.

“It is a source of pride for me to create a fashion show at the Kemanggisan sub-district office. I am very proud,” she said.

Based on observations at the location, participants consisting of housewives, young people, and children were seen already wearing outfits made from recycled waste. The participants appeared to decorate the waste with various themes, and the majority were dressed in red and white.

The participants in the competition looked enthusiastic when their names were called to the catwalk. Some of them also danced to the music accompanying their performances, greeted by cheers and laughter from the audience.