Indonesian fashion designers paired clean, urban styles
with traditional batiks and designs inspired by ancient temples at the
sixth annual Jakarta Fashion Week.
Local designers in Asia's fourth largest economy looked
to the past and their heritage to gain a foothold in the international
fashion market, a hope expressed in the week's theme "Indonesia Today,
The World Tomorrow."
"This collection sums up 40 years of my work," said
Josephine Komara, who is also known as Obin, a noted batik artisan who
showcased eclectic designs with radiant silks.
Although Obin has shops in Singapore and Japan, she is
most successful in her own country. There are other success stories like
hers but Indonesia lacks a brand with global recognition, unlike its
Southeast Asian neighbours such as the Malaysian Vincci and Singapore's
Charles & Keith.
But the London-based Centre for Fashion Enterprise
(CFE) hopes to change this, propelling young Indonesian designers to the
international stage through a mentoring program. Experts say one of the
biggest problems is inexperience and a short history of aiming at
international markets.
"By going international, it means they have to be ready
for what the market needs," said Toby Meadows, a CFE consultant. "It
might be overwhelming for them because creating winter wear might never
have crossed their minds. But if you have a brand, the buyers expect you
to have a Fall/Winter collection as well."
The fundamentals for international recognition are
already there. Designers Yosafat Dwi Kuniawan and Jeffrey Tan offered
high fashion and urban cut pret a porter collections, while Barli Asmara
and Albert Yanuar went for glamourous dresses with a costume-like
touch.
Dian Pelangi, in a nod to local fashion, showed
contemporary designs incorporating the hijab that many Indonesian women
use to cover their heads.
All are among eight local designers and labels in CFE's
mentoring programme, which they hope will propel them onto the
international scene.
None of the designers have dealt with international
buyers, although Barli and Yosafat have showed their collections in
fashion weeks overseas. Most are still struggling with branding and
business plans over creativity and design ideas.
"I went for a showcase in China Fashion Week in 2009,
but there wasn't any actual trading," said Yosafat, 23, whose designs
are inspired by the ancient Javanese Borobudur temple.
"I simply don't know how to sell and deliver and I've made some big mistakes in my business."
The CFE mentoring programme, which is backed by the
Indonesian and British governments, includes three years of training in
branding, pricing, production and marketing. It also helps connect young
designers with prospective buyers and to decide which market suits them
best.
"I made some dresses for overseas clients in Kuala
Lumpur or Singapore," said Albert Yanuar, whose designs are inspired by
the shapes of traditional Wayang shadow puppets. "My dresses seem to fit
into Asian markets such as China, Korea, Hong Kong or Singapore."
One success story is Ardistia, who started her label
when she was based in New York and later expanded to the Indonesian
market with her clean, urban look. Her designs have been shown in
department stores in the United States, Canada and France.
Given the growing wealth and middle classes of Asia,
Meadows encourages Indonesian designers to broaden their outlook and not
just target the most established, traditional fashion markets.
"People often aim for New York and London, while
purchasing power is big in Asia," he said. "So why not also target that,
and not just focus on the U.S. and the European market? It would be
silly to overlook Asia while it's so near and feasible." (Reporting by
Andjarsari Paramaditha; editing by Elaine Lies and Patricia Reaney)
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