Indonesia with its diverse cultural heritage and richness never fail to inspire designers to dig into these beauty and create a fashion statement. Wrapped in beautiful pieces created by 9 members of IPMI, we were presented the beauty to the front of our eyes. The theme for the afternoon show for IPMI was Precious Indonesia, so it was only natural if most of the collections were showing clear statement of the Indonesian heritage influences. I say most, because not all of them have clear reflection on this.
The 10 designers presented their collections that afternoon were Liliana Lim, Kanaya Tabitha, Stephanus Hamy, Sutanto Danuwidjaja, Valentino Napitupulu, Yongki Budisutisna, Tuti Cholid, Widhi Budimulia, Era Soekamto and Adesagi Kierana. With the exception of Kanaya Tabitha, Era Soekamto and Adesagi Kierana, you see clearly a sketch of Indonesia through the selection of textiles used at the clothes.
Liliana Lim opened the show with her ready to wear that use tenun with lots of origami touch on the pieces. Grey leads the collection with summer oriented colours such as yellow, red and orange following it. The collection truly shows that tenun is a part of our heritage that can be worn on day to day basis and not just to a formal occasions.
Stephanus Hamy, following his show with Pesona earlier in the day still used tenun as the basis for his collection. Carrying the theme Gendongan showed the strong character of the textile which was used as baby carrier and was explored through the wide layer of fabrics use in his collection.
Through the collection titled Exquisite Nature of Andalas, Tuti Cholid translated tunic, baju kurung and kebaya melayu into a modern language. She used tenun rang-rang Nusa Penida and the motif of tenun ikat cepuk that looeds very traditional but able to make it into a modern formal wear.
Widhi Budimulia once again showed that he’s the master of grand ballroom gown. Carrying the theme Bohemian Luxury, with the help of tenun Makassar which is rich in colours, he created astounding gowns that flow with ease as you move, that created an elegant silhouette.
Ethnician from Toba by Valentino Napitupulu showed a lighter approach to elegance through the use of lighter materials and beige as a partnering hues to the collection. Using Batik Toba, the collection wanted to depict a chic and sophisticated image. The accessories that finished the clothes made a statement on its own.
On the other hand, Yongki Budhisutisna although using different textile from Indonesia with a retro touch, it really showed that traditional textile can rock too! It did not at the slightest show that the textile denote old or boring. Decorated with studs and other embellishment, it surely lived up the traditional straits in the textile. Bravo! All I can say is Yongki, you truly rocked the runway!
The collection from Sutanto Danuwidjaja had the most eye-catching hair do of all the show during the Fashion Week. The models were sporting the afro hair do while parading feminine frocks. The detailing on the clothes kind of resembled flower pods. It looked like a flower bloomed into the dresses. The theme was apparently Beauty of Nature where it used batik as a base.
Kata by Kanaya Tabitha showed not so obvious relation to Indonesia, but through Secret Journey collection and the prints painted on the dresses it gave a hint of the richness our country has. The prints and colours were loud and they instantly brightened up your day! Through the sleek cut and the silk the collection screamed glamour!
I was hoping for something different from Era Soekamto, but apparently she brought back Urban Crew to life! I’m not really aware whether all this time the label was still in existence, but it is the first I’ve heard about the label after years. The Urban Crew collection titled Union of Galaxies brought simple casual pieces into the runway using a mix of bright as well as staple colours. It portrayed the vision in the future of diversity in culture that reflected in retro and exotic pieces. It will be interesting to look how Urban Crew will move forward from here, whether it will keep reminiscing on the retro inspired theme or it will go wild to something completely new but still with a touch of retro.
The last one is Adesagi Kierana, which I will not comment much. I’ll give him the honour of a separate post but I’ll give you just one picture as a teaser 🙂
