Freeze: Fashion justice, from four different angles

Sun, 05/11/2008 12:34 PM  |  Lifestyle

DIAZ

Hi there you all! Some of you may know my name from my days as a fashion illustrator. If you don't, please allow me to introduce myself.

I started my career in fashion at an early age, back then in the day, from being an assistant to one great, great local fashion designer, to an illustrator for books in Singapore. This was followed by a series of modeling and show stints there, while I was studying fashion design. Then I became a costume designer for music and theatrical shows, before diving headfirst into the men's mass-production garment industry.

When I arrived back in Jakarta, I took a class of fashion students under my wing, teaching them (almost) everything I know. Since then, I have worn many hats: teacher, illustrator, graphic designer, stylist, digital artist, creative director for photo/product shoots, advertisements and the like. I make a living this way, but also I do it in the name of fun!

As you can imagine, my work path has been somewhat colorful, but I'm not here to take you from A to Z in fashion history, nor to lecture you on style. I'm here to share points of view from the fashion world that may, or may not, be new to you.

Since I was cursed at birth with an eye for design (believe you me it can be expensive) I've taken it upon myself to take the edge off the sea of dreary clothing.

So what do you want to know about fashion? It's an industry where everyone is naturally nosy, and I'm guessing you are too.

Fashion and style have always been viewed from four major angles. Angle one is from the conceptual side. This is when the designers look for new ideas, do their research, gather information and think about the promotion of their collections, either through live fashion shows or the media.

This is also where the label's image is built up by experts to create new, fresh, innovative -- sometimes crazy -- shows, merchandise and visuals.

Illustration by Diaz

Angle Two, from the business side, is more like what we wear daily -- on our days off, at the office, and after five. We're physically surrounded by fashion in terms of the clothes on our backs, so it's easy to forget that ready-to-wear garments are mass produced and designed based on very analytical marketing strategies. Who is going to wear it? Will it be a hotcake in the market? Will the sales price cover the production costs? Will we be able to crush our competitors?

These are just some of the considerations of every fashion label. Very different from angle one, huh?

Angle three, from the culture and tradition side, is where fashion becomes part of our heritage. The most obvious examples are traditional textiles like batik, ulos, ikat, which are appreciated for their history and the process of making them, becoming a holistic element in fashion. Some traditional Indonesian dress is nowadays considered couture, or upmarket, inspiring women's evening and formal wear.

And angle four, the parody of fashion! This really is the fun part. Behind the scenes of fashion, there is something that really is worth a peek. The hilarious film The Devil Wears Prada certainly rings true. Apart from the blood, sweat and tears we put into our style establishments, we're also full of ambition, competition, domination, drama, hysteria and comedy. And among our ranks are bitches, phonies, victims and wannabes!

Through this column, I'm going to spill the beans on fashion from these four angles. It is dedicated to those who feel green in this "colorful" world, and who want to know what's "in", and what's not. It's not about taking fashion too seriously, it's more about how we live our fashion life. Don't look a gift horse -- or for that matter a clothes horse -- in the mouth. Just be ready, the facts can be surprising, inspiring, hyperbolic, ironic and even funny!

So which angle shall we take first? I'll see you next week. Don't be a stranger.

--Diaz

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