F

or fashionistas in the city, there's no need to worry about missing out on the latest trends, as local fashion designers are constantly keeping fashion lovers up-to-date through their collections.

At five o'clock one afternoon, the rain was pouring down outside the Gran Melia Hotel in Kuningan, South Jakarta, causing severe traffic congestion in the capital's streets.

The rain and the traffic jams, however, did not stop fashion lovers from turning out to take a look at the latest trends showcased by designers from the Indonesian Fashion Designers Council (IPMI).

The theme for the council's 25th annual show was "Intuition", which reflected concerns over the environment, including political, social, cultural and economic.

"Intuition" was interpreted in various ways by nine designers: Carmanita, Era Soekamto, Ghea S. Panggabean, Kanaya Tabitha, Sutanto Danuwijaya, Syahreza Muslim, Tuty Cholid, Valentino Napitupulu and Yongki Budisutisna.

Organizing committee chairman Kanaya Kabitha said the participating designers presented sophisticated, modern and glamorous styles, predicted to be the trend.

Veteran designer Ghea S. Panggabean chose a bohemian look for her "Gypset" collection. She said the global trend in 2010 would be more free-style.

"Everything's OK for 2010. You can be yourself," she said.

In contrast to her previous collections, Ghea used more color, capturing a younger style than ever before with a touch of traditional motifs and fabrics such as ikat. The printed motifs came on chiffon, satin, crepe and hand-woven cloth.

"I prefer dark colors such as black and terracotta, but for the coming year I want to present something more colorful," she said.

One example was a blue-violet tube ikat dress paired with a jacket of the same pattern and fabric.

Another item was a colorful dress with large sleeves and a buckle at the front.

Ghea also displayed kaftans that featured printed motifs from Kalimantan, Afghanistan and Mexico in bright colors, including yellow, orange and red.

Kanaya also used shocking colors for her "Love In Rome" collection, saying the trend this year would be toward the free and individual.

She designed simple pieces, such as a glossy tube dress in shocking red with black accents along the chest, and a blue dress with similar black accents at the waist.

The designer also daringly combined a leopard-print motif with flower, geometric and tie-dye motifs.

While Ghea and Kanaya opted for bright colors, Yongki Budisu-tisna went with the classic black in his "Magical Black" creations, combining mini dresses with black stockings.

Era Soekamto, renowned for her pr*t-a-porter collection Urban Crew, introduced a lady-like style for the new year, combining rose accents and animal prints.

The designer said the idea was to make a woman look both sexy and elegant. She chose to design thigh-high slit dresses to enhance sex appeal.

One item was a mini thigh-high slit skirt with a rose motif, jacket and a shocking-pink belt.

Some traditional fabrics, such as South Sumatran jumputan (tie-dye), also featured in Era's collection.

A thigh-high slit gold evening dress was combined with a balloon-sleeved tie-dye bolero, while a purple tie-dye dress was paired with a jacket and big brown belt.

Tuty Cholid used batik and woven cloth from Nusa Penida for her line, Etalase. Carmanita also championed the use of local fabrics such as batik and ikat. She added silver and gold sequins to lighten up the clothes.

Young designer Syahreza Muslim brought in a feminine and futuristic look through his "Romantic Edgy" collection, playing with glossy colors and lots of ruffles. White, gray and black were the dominant shades.

A white top with ruffled sleeves and neckline, for instance, was matched with a shiny gray mini skirt and matching big belt, while a ruffled white blouse went with calf-length glossy gray pants.

For the evening dress, Syahreza designed a sheer shiny black dress with white ruffle details at the top.

Valentino Napitupulu and Sutanto Danuwijaya also offered full feminine outfits for women wanting to look glamorous and elegant.

Ruffles, fringes and laces peppered their collections. Valentino used a lot of gold, showing a glamorous style.

A white tube top with gold sequins was teamed up with a short gold skirt and stockings, while a white blouse with gold embellishments and short gold sleeves was matched with a gold bubble skirt.

Besides women's wear, Valentino also created men's suits in black and gold.

After the "Intuition" show, fashion lovers had the chance to see many other collections in the second sequence of the event, called "Rendezvous", in which each designer, from IPMI veteran Susan Budihardjo to younger talent Priyo Octaviano, showcased three outfits.

Susan, who presented three simple mini dresses, received a warm applause from the audience.