Bali Fashion Week kicked off Sunday with a carnival in Kuta that saw models showcase dresses made of natural and recycled materials.
The models stood on horse carriages as they moved down Jl. Melasti to Jl. Legian and then to Jl. Pantai Kuta as part of a fashion carnival that kick started the fashion event, which runs Monday to Friday.
Also during the carnival, dancers performed traditional dances, including the Kecak dance and the Kuda Lumping, or hubby horse dance, as hundreds of bystanders lining Kuta beach looked on.
Models at the carnival were dressed in clothes made by designers of the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association, including Muji Ananta and international designer Doii; a Korean-born designer based in Paris. The works of these designers will be showcased during the fashion week.
The designs were industrious and unorthodox, many made from flora and fauna.
Covered in leafs and sticks from head to toe, one model smiled before a bombardment of camera flashes. A hair adornment of gray leaves and wood carvings, which was nearly half as tall as the model, topped off the design.
Another model sported decorations made of gold wrapping paper. At her side stood a child wearing a dress made of the same material.
"This gold wrapping paper was used to wrap up prayer gifts. People usually just throw this paper away and now we have miles and miles of unused paper," said Mardiana Ika, creator of Bali Fashion Week.
"So the designers decided to use them to show that we should not just be throwing these precious materials away."
Ika said the event, which is themed Fashion Meets Nature, was aimed at informing fashion designers and garment producers of the importance of going green.
"Some of the designs that were proposed were actually more revolutionary. Several designers thought of designs made from seaweed and bamboo," she said.
"But we couldn't do it because the seaweed tore during the making process and it was just impossible to make the bamboo dress on time."
Ika said she was confident the event could inspire other fashion designers to utilize natural materials to create "sweet" designs.
She said fashion industry seminars, which will be held over the next four days at Garuda Wisnu Kencana in Jimbaran, would also strive to convince people in the industry to use natural materials in future fashion lines.
Bali Fashion Week is an annual international trade event conducted by the ModaBali Foundation and combines fashion, art and culture. The event, which was first held in 2000, is used as a platform for buyers and sellers to meet and discuss potential business relationships.
More than 450 international fashion buyers and those in related industries are expected to gather in Bali to partake in the event.
From Tuesday to Thursday, participants can witness a series of fashion shows displaying casual, evening and beach wear designed by various rising and established designers at Lotus Pond in Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park in Jimbaran.
And starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, participants can mingle with models and designers at a party after a fashion show on the Hard Rock Hotel's center stage.
