Young creative designers take it to the movies
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.