Biyan Wanaatmadja

The Jakarta Post   |  Wed, 01/23/2008 11:17 AM  |  Firm Favourites

Biyan Wanaatmadja is a dignified presence. The soft-spoken designer does not rabbit on garrulously as an ego gone wild (no need to fear a Marc Jacobs-style radical reinvention or John Galliano publicity stunt from him), but lets his reputation for crafting sumptuously ethereal creations speak for him. From the mid-1980s, celebrities and career women with a little extra cash on hand have flocked to him to make them feel like earth angels. He sells his designs abroad and recently branched out into the lifestyle concept of Biyan Living, but he is still taking things slowly. “I don’t like to move too fast,” he says in his sedate South Jakarta studio. “Sometimes people tell me, ‘you have to move faster,’ but I believe we have to listen to ourselves. That’s our best friend.”

Jeans and white shirt
That’s my daily equipment for going to work every day. It’s casual but it can be formal. Best of all it’s not complicated. I like straight-cut jeans; they make me look slimmer even though I’m not that slim.

Dogs
I have three dogs; two golden retrievers and a labrador. They are like my family to me.

Cologne
I like citrusy smells that keep you feeling fresh during the day. I like several different types but it always goes back to the same thing: the right ingredients and it isn’t artificial, because it shouldn’t make you smell like you just came out of a perfumery. The fragrance must blend with your personality and your body. That is most important about cologne and perfumes.

Tolstoy’s A Calendar of Wisdom
It’s like soul nourishment for me. With everything moving so fast, it’s easy to forget the essence of life of itself. This is a good book to remind you. It opens your mind to being positive and kind. It’s easy to understand because it’s about daily life. It’s such an old book but it shows that the problems we are facing now really haven’t changed from 100 years ago.

Crossgrain Ribbon
I love this; it gives you the feeling of using something from the past but it’s luxurious. All fashion designers start with the basics in tailoring. There is a certain attachment to it. There is a history behind it.

Painting
I am interested in modern Indonesian painting. I think Indonesian art is among the most important today in southern Asia after China. I found this work, Sepanjang Hidup (All Through Life) by a young Balinese artist, Waka. I love the philosophy behind it: a duck farmer who has been very faithful to his livelihood from the time he was young until when he is old, and can no longer count his ducks anymore.

Pilates
I had a problem with my breathing a while ago. I don’t do heavy exercise but I do exercise regularly. I like to stretch and balance at the end of the day. Many of us forget to breathe properly when we are busy, occupied with many things or talking to people. The right breathing has to be through our body. I have been doing pilates for about two years and I feel good results.

Chinese Statuette
This figurine (“Fat Lady” from the Tang dynasty) is amazing to me. The shape is so simple, yet at the same time so rich and modern, uncluttered. I try to visualize how people lived at that time by looking at it. Modern is one thing, but we also have to be able to learn from the past.

+ Bruce Emond

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