Wood shavings head for Osaka in fashion contest

Wood shavings head for Osaka in fashion contest

By Izabel Deuff

JAKARTA (JP): Is there hope that the crisis could be a
challenging source of creativity, rather than applying the brakes
on the Indonesian fashion momentum?

The Association of Indonesian Fashion Designers and
Manufacturers (APPMI) wanted to think so: despite the fierce
crisis hitting Indonesia and thanks to its sponsors including
Texmaco, and the support of Esmod, an international fashion
school, it held the Indonesian final of the Asian Fashion Grand
Prix Contest on July 2.

Unlike previous years when the contest, the fifth to be held
here, took place in prestigious hotels, the 1998 Indonesian
Fashion Grand Prix Contest occurred in the newly opened Waroeng
Kemang restaurant, South Jakarta.

"Hotel rooms are very expensive and this place ... can welcome
250 people," said the APPMI international director, Taruna K.
Kusmayadi. Finalists will participate in the Asian Fashion Grand
Prix Contest due to be held in Osaka on Nov. 18.

Indeed, there was quite a crowd attending the fashion show
involving 40 finalists. They had been screened from 188 entries
of under-30-year-old students from eight fashion schools in
Jakarta.

The jury was chaired by designer Thomas Sigar, and members
included Rae Sita Supit, general manager of promotions of the
Pasaraya department store and Firman Ichsan, a photographer.

Following an opening address by Poppy Dharsono, well-known
designer and president of APPMI, the audience was suddenly
plunged into a violet half-light setting.

Fitting the scenery composed of motorcycles hung from the
ceiling, the venue was instantly full of the humming of
motorcycles and white spotlights twirling on the white podium,
waiting for the first top models.

The various materials and crazy-shaped garments followed one
another.

Most of the presented designs seemed to stress the originality
of the materials more than the shape of the designs. Short skirts
and long coats dominated the fashion show as well as the low-
waisted features of skirts, trousers and shorts in line with the
latest trends.

Some of the designs were notable because of their
unwearability; one with a very straight and long papier-mach-
like dress forced the model to take many precautions not to trip
on the steps.

Another one featured a futuristic design of a dress silvered
with metal wires and rings, all linked together and wrapping the
model's neck and arms so that she could hardly move.

This design was one of the lengthy robot-like and space-
influenced series, harking of the works of Spanish designer Paco
Rabanne. Ethnic-theme entries, mostly with wicker, wood, leaves
or flower motives were also paramount in hats, skirts and
sandals.

Yasmina Benlalam, the French professor of Esmod Jakarta, said
ethnic themes here were getting to be a bit too repetitious.

"Unfortunately, Indonesian students always come back to ethnic
aspects. They (including jury members) favor brown colors and
rustic materials."

However, many fashion followers here accepted such designs,
she noted. "Leaves and branches suit people here. They can't do
without them."

She added: "What bothered me is that the shoes didn't fit the
clothes. They were too much or too less."

A few designs also lacked sewing -- hems were missing at the
bottom of dresses, giving the impression that perhaps beautiful
cuts were only the prerogative of haute couture clothes.

APPMI international director Taruna described the fashion show
as following: "These clothes are not haute couture nor ready-to-
wear. They could be clothes people would dress up fancy in Paris
or New York. What would be more suitable in Indonesia is a ready-
to-wear de luxe (style), something light and flowing."

The jury's criteria were innovation of materials, the effect
on stage, the silhouette of the garment and its consistency.

The first prize of a one-year scholarship at Esmod and Rp 1.5
million went to Deviani Natalina. She was a finalist in the 1997
International Young Fashion Designers Contest in Jakarta, held to
select entrants to the Paris grand final.

Deviani's long brown coat caught the jurors' eyes with its
meranti (sal) wood shavings arranged in vertical lines and in
flower shapes. Interestingly, she said she had drawn inspiration
from wooden shavings left after the construction of neighborhood
security posts during the May riots.

Second and third prizes, respectively Rp 1.25 million and Rp 1
million, were awarded to Ida Maryani and Fitri Laela, both
studying in Interstudi school.

Their designs looked alike: Ida's long-sleeved overgarment
was made of pastel green and wax-paper squares sewed together and
was worn with colorful trousers made of banana tree leaves,
cassava leaves and other sequins.

Fitri's creation included an open down the front tunic with a
long apple-green straight skirt underneath. The sleeveless tunic
looked like a tartan tangle of green, yellow and orange latex
stems edged with a white downy fringe.

In the Osaka event, the three finalists will compete with
finalists from 10 Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan and
China. The winner will receive 2 million (about Rp 200 million)
and have their design displayed in a Japanese museum.

Taruna hoped the event would increase awareness on supporting
young designers, saying that the government and companies so far
focused only on labor in the textile industry.