(JP/Niken Prathivi)For Amanda Soekasah, fashion has become the air she breathes. A daughter of notable Indonesian fashion designer Ghea Panggabean, she continues her mother’s self-titled brand along with her twin sister, Janna. Other than that, Amanda enjoyed her stint in Rectoverso, which opened on Valentine’s Day.

“Playing in Rectoverso was a coincidence actually. A good friend of mine, Marcella [Zalianty], debuted as a director in the movie and asked me to design the wardrobe.

But then, Happy [Salma], the other director in the movie, saw that I was a good match with a role in her story. I love movies, the stories in the Rectoverso novel, and, of course, the book’s author, Dee [Dewi Lestari]. Happy convinced me that I could do the part — and I did.

Regarding my future in film, as long as it is something that I can do, I will do it.

In the fashion world, my twin and I are developing my mother’s brand, and we’re planning to revive her print designs from the 80s and infuse a current flavor into them.

Fashion work wasn’t necessarily part of my life plan, because when I was a little girl I swore that I wouldn’t follow my mother’s path because she used to come home late. But I don’t know, maybe it’s all natural for me.

Besides the fashion business and acting, I write and emcee. In my spare time, I love fun things like, again, writing and watching movies.

I used to randomly mix coffees for my kind of ice-blended mug at home, but then I had trouble sleeping at night, so I quit.

Now I prefer redecorating my room, mostly out of boredom or when I think that the design is no longer suitable for a certain feng shui.

Surprisingly, the hobby has turned into another creative enterprise that I’m currently doing: Event decoration.

It started out of the blue, actually, when one of my friends was planning an event at some place. At that time, a design idea just popped into my head and I told her that the place should use the concept I had in mind. It was for free, I was just being helpful. But after that, it’s become kind of good [business].

There are many things that inspire me — if I just watch a movie, for example, I will have the idea in my head. I don’t know, but I think it’s something I get from my mother.

I’m passionate about traveling. My foremost memorable trip was when my twin and I went for a photo shoot in
Morocco. We got lost in Casablanca [western Morocco], because none of us knew French or Arabic, while most people there didn’t understand English. With help from my mother’s network, we were then able to also visit Marakech and Fez.

The country is my all time favorite destination, because I simply love its unique ethnic design — with Marakech being all in red, while Fez is in blue.”  

— Niken Prathivi

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