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Era Soekamto conveys the love of light in new collection
Renowned designer Era Soekamto has chosen to present touches of light as an expression of love in her new Asmaradhana collection.
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Models against a classical Javanese house-themed backdrop. Era Soekamto relates love and light through her Asmaradhana collection presented at the IPMI Trend Show 2017. (JP/Masajeng Rahmiasri)
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here are more ways than one to describe love, and renowned designer Era Soekamto has chosen to present a form of this feeling through touches of light in her Asmaradhana collection.
The new collection, which was presented at the IPMI Trend Show 2017's White Cube on Tuesday, comprises Organza silk ready-to-wear clothes dyed in colors Era thinks describe love best: white and gold. “To me, love is God. God is the light,” Era said after the fashion show.
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The designer behind Iwan Tirta Private Collection stated that all the looks she presented were created through the Prada technique—a traditional, manual Javanese painting technique that utilizes canting and gold dust or gold leaf. She described the technique as similar to batik making, except that the process did not involve the use of malam (hot liquid wax).
“This is the Era Soekamto Collection, different from my work for Iwan Tirta Private Collection. I’m showing a more ultra-feminine, delicate and unknown side of mine,” Era explained. She said that after focusing solely on Iwan Tirta Collection for the past four years, she felt the time had come to push her own items.
Era said the Javanese poem Asmaradana was the inspiration behind her collection, emphasizing that she wanted to deliver the poem’s message that "everything is done with love". She also tried to connect the theme of love with the concept of light. “There's nothing that can make us prettier than the light inside us. If we are connected with God inside us, we will shine,” she said, referring to the inner beauty.
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The designer said it had taken her six months to finish the whole collection, which contained references to the kebaya. She also commented on the concept of her show on Tuesday, which deviated from the conventional runway concept and instead used Javanese-style decorations. "I want to invite people to the older, classical days through my show, so that people will remember those days and history." Thus, she used a Javanese house-inspired backdrop for the stage, complete with old family portraits.
With regard to 2017 trends, Era said her fashion statements were Organza silk, matching patterns, white and champagne colors, loose skirts, handkerchief skirts as well as the Prada technique to add a local element. She also stated that there were many designers who used national themes. “That could be a trend; hopefully it could (even) become a global trend,” she said. (kes)
