Young designers dominate annual show
By Agni Amorita
JAKARTA (JP): Young designers dominated the annual trends show at the Indonesian Fashion Design Council (IPMI) at the Bidakara Building last week.
Young talents like Oscar Lawalata, Era M.Sukamto, Dandy Burhan and others have rejuvenated the local runaway, packing in fashion enthusiasts.
It was expected the week-long annual show would set the fashion trend for 2001. And Dandy Burhan didn't disappoint, starting the trend show with his seductive and provocative collections.
The graduate of Berlin's Lette-Verein Fashion Institute tried to shock viewers with his nudity-inspired collections. His enticing designs were marked with exotic touches such as bird feather detailing to conjure up primitive images.
Stephanus Hamy, a senior member of IPMI, offered his favorite pleated outfits, tailored in varying styles, cut, colors and fabrics.
Oscar Lawalata kept his faith with Indonesian traditional inspiration. He explored various folklore themes. In one session, he transformed the traditional Javanese kebaya (blouse) into a feminine coat. Oscar also created an outstanding skirt using batik.
In addition to his female collections, Oscar also presented a series of male outfits. He boldly fused classical or traditional with contemporary styles.
Another designer who delighted the audience was Valentino Napitupulu. Valentino displayed sets of elegant black dresses adorned with lace or silk. Valentino's collections were mostly simple, chic and exquisite.
Denny Wirawan chose to create oldies styles with bright- colored A-line dresses, while Surabaya-based designer Sutanto Danuwijaya showed his delicate collections of wrinkled dresses.
Era M Sukamto, who is famous for her joint label, Urban Crew, with designer Ichwan Thoha, cheered the trend show with her naughty collections. Hot pants and bikini tops were decorated with beads and ruffled threads. Her color tones varied from natural ones such as brown or maroon to the bright gold.
House of Prayudi, named after the late designer, amused viewers with refined and tasteful pieces.
The boutique is now home to many young talents. Liliana Lim, for example, showed her skill in creating romantic collections with asymmetrical designs. Red and gold color dominated the house's creations.
To create romantic clothes, Liliana used delicate fabrics like chiffon, tulle in soft and gold color.
Hutama Adhi introduced his tailored suits. This time he went lighter by adding some curvy cuts. Tuty Cholid went stronger in her feminine trademark by putting floral ornaments on her stylish long dresses. Syahreza Muslim showed his floral ornaments in the texture of flower embroidery.
This year's trend show did not present collections from senior designers grouped in IPMI such as Biyan, Chosy Latu, Ghea S. Panggabean and Sebastian Gunawan.
"I have already organized my own show," said Sebastian or Seba. Like Seba, other senior designers such as Didi Budihardjo and Eddy Betty also held their own.
Despite the absence of senior designers, this annual trend show still offered optimism. These young designers have done their jobs very well to take over their senior compatriots to determine the fashion trend in the coming years.