D

esigner Barli Asmara delivers beauty and inspiring looks with his latest collection, Motion Inspired.

Approaching the fall/winter season, the designer offered a little touch of bohemian, sending out dramatic looks to deliver an inspiring collection.

Through 24 creations presented at the recent Plaza Indonesia Fashion Week special edition, Barli presented loose-cutting designs that applied ruffles in the bust, arms and legs to give more volume.

Barli included various drapery details and stylish layerings reminiscent of the 1920s, accentuating the overall look with turbans – tied in to partly cover the hair with brooches.

“I was really inspired by 1920s fashion, especially which was well depicted in La Vie En Rose and Coco Before Chanel,” the designer says.

“Turbans were a big hit then. Most fashionable ladies wore turbans with a peak on the forehead – iconic, just like Coco Chanel.”

In choosing colors, Barli was loyal to the 1920s, which was known for a basic palette including bronze, beige, peach, nude, blue, cream, brown, dark purple and black.

He deliberately omitted elaborate motifs to give the spotlight to plainer designs.

“I didn’t use too many motifs because it’s a ready-to-wear collection. I wanted to give freedom for personal styling.”

He designed a long-sleeved dress in cream with long ruffles in the front and classically beautified with a bow tie.

“You can use the full suit from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., but then you can pull a bit for an absolutely different look for another occasion. I want simple wear that doesn’t make you change all the time,” said Barli.

If you are into bolder looks, Barli’s pink jumpsuit with a silvery necklace accessories plus a dark turban is a brave choice.

Another option for a fresher look was a blue-and-white batwing blouse matched with shimmery brown skinny pants.

Applying the a streetwear ethos, Barli experimented with a salem kimono caftan wrapped in a volume white bolero plus leggings accessorized with a pretty belt and a big-sized necklace.

“That’s three to four layers. If you take off one or two items, you can get another look. The belt can also be used to conceal the muffin-top tummy,” Barli said.

Ultimately, the true lady-look long and all-covered dress in bronze came out.

Within the iconic Coco Chanel dramatic ruffles plus a big blue stone necklace, a Paris ambience was suddenly in the air.

“The bronze dress is made of satin chiffon. You can see it is so much inspired by the lady look of Coco Chanel, turban and all,” he revealed.

All of Barli’s collection was made out of krepp-chiffon, lightweight taffeta, rayon, jersey and satin chiffon to give light sensations for the wearerw.

Although the collection was released during the fasting month, Barli said that it was not just for Muslim women.

“It actually can also be used for cocktail or business events,” he says.

“Ladies nowadays are the ones with a lot of activity in one day. I’d like to give them an easy ready-to-wear collection that hopefully can inspire them in fashion.”

— Photos by Ricky Yudhistira