Young creative designers take it to the movies

By Adrian Smith

JAKARTA (JP): Cinema is the commanding art form. Perhaps no other form of expression has captured and influenced the popular modern imagination to quite the same extent. With such rich visual planes spanning the past century, it provides a delectable feast for all those wishing to fashion their fantasies.

That was the task set for young designers across the nation, with the finalists "fashioning" it out at Plaza Senayan in the Grand Final of the Indonesian Creative Fashion Contest 2001 last Sunday.

This was no staid "ready-to-wear" collection on display. It was the opportunity for talented youngsters with a flair for fashion to unleash their wildest imagination, casting their cinematic fantasies onto corporeal cloth.

With the theme set in celluloid, the choice of subject was, as one might expect, more amorphous and eclectic; from identifiable fictional luminaries such as Terminator, Charlie Chaplin, Cleopatra to more conceptual celluloid spaces such as The Coquettish Maid In The City, Thumbellina a Metamorph, Queen of Death and Barong Sai Girl.

"The Oscar is a monumental piece of artwork and I wanted to incorporate that into my design. My favorite films are from Hollywood and my favorite actress is Sara Betts," said one contender, Laksmi Rahayu from Bandung.

"I just like women in military uniform and G.I. Joe was the best film of all time. Demi Moore ... she was just the best," said Roy Mulyanto of his Military Camp Girl.

How did the designers come up with their designs?

"I was interested in Egyptian philosophy, the triangulation of the Gods, human beings and the Earth. That's why my design is made of triangles, " said Ratna Santoso, the creator of View of the Light.

Many of the designs took on opposing themes and sought to materially amalgamate them. The eventual winner, Ahmad Aziz, came up with something that fused a futuristic robotic creation with classical Indonesian fabrics and style. The result looked like a cross between Robocop and Darth Vader wearing a sarong and blangkon (traditional Javanese men's hat).

The combination of seemingly incongruous materials was creative to say the least, with elastic rubber and stainless steel fittings on acrylic as just a tantalizing taster of what was on offer.

Indeed, a popular theme among many was to develop a creation to commingle Hollywood dreams with Indonesian fashion traditions, though, with hindsight, Ahmad's design appeared more clearly communicated and confidently executed perhaps than others.

Some took on different aspects of visual representation altogether.

"My design was divided into two; the military camouflage was the masculine side while the plain pastel color was the feminine side. I wanted my design to bring the two sides together", Roy described.

Woody Allen is famous for having shunned the Oscars when one of his past films was nominated, his argument being that it was ridiculous for anyone to imagine that is possible to judge one film against another. When fashions designs have already reached such a high standard and have cat-walked off the spectrum of daily practicability what do judges look for?

"They will be judging us on the design concept. This involves how well the idea is communicated and carried out, such as the cut of the fabric and how creatively the materials are combined and used", one of the contestants told me backstage prior to the show.

The official response came from one of the managers, "The criteria of this project is to have talented young designers who have financial obstacles. We have selected the grand finalists due to their background and design. We emphasize the creativity through the use of materials, using the theme of film"."

The show took off with suitable aplomb. The atrium of Plaza Senayan transformed into a theatrical stage. The exposed multi- storied shopping mall provided natural balconies thronging with avid voyeurs.

With such fantasies on freeload, the architectural atmosphere could have appeared reminiscent of a galleried arena tempered by late 20th century consumerism. Musical numbers such as "Shakin' that ass", though, helped to bring me down to reality.

Rounds of applause greeted each entrant. The models donned in their designer's creation strutted their stuff. Santosa Lauw's "Cleopatra" even had a group of hunky men clad in ancient Egyptian wear to carry the model up and down.

The winners of such a show can hope to go onto greater things. The publicity they receive gives them a higher profile and the prize money and scholarships allow them to concentrate, with greater ease, on their vocation, a seasoned fashion journalist told me.

If the current, more down-to-earth designs of last year's winner are anything to go by, Ahmad Aziz has a promising and creative future ahead of him.