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The dress of modern royals
A playful touch: A model wears a one-shouldered dress, one of Iwan Tirta Private Collectionâs latest creations
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A playful touch: A model wears a one-shouldered dress, one of Iwan Tirta Private Collection's latest creations.
Grand and elegant expressions of Javanese royal regalia are the main inspiration for Iwan Tirta Private Collection's latest creation for its 2014 Spring collection.
The label's creative director, Era Soekamto, chose sawunggaling, the batik maestro's iconic motif, for the collection.
She said the motif was deliberately picked because it carried a special message regarding this year's elections.
'[As a designer] we have the privilege of delivering social messages to the public,' she said after a preview show at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta.
'Sawunggaling represents beauty and power. It means that power doesn't always have to be physical, but it can also be negotiation, oration and firmness. You can be powerful, but still graceful. That's the essence of the sawunggaling motif that I'd like to share.'
Long before batik was back in the spotlight, Nusjirwan Tirtaamidjaja ' popularly known as Iwan Tirta ' was already passionate about the fabric. A year after the batik master passed away in 2010, he 'came back to life' with Iwan Tirta Private Collection, which he had set in motion before passing.
Era said she wanted Iwan Tirta batik to touch many lives.
Batik, she said, had always been associated with traditional patterns, old souls and heavy motifs. 'Yet, I want batik to grow into more than just something that is celebrated on the surface. I want people to not just wear batik, but also know what batik and its motifs mean, especially young people,' Era says.
Era worked with Wanda House of Jewels to provide jewelry sets for the Iwan Tirta label this season to make the collection look internationally classic while young and dynamic at the same time.
For the 24 designs, Era offered a playful touch with one-shouldered, sleeveless and short-sleeved knee-length dresses as well as long dresses for the women's collection.
A red sleeveless knee-length dress, for instance, is simple yet bold with see-through material on top while the bottom is striped with big motif lines of black and white.
For a more formal look, a toned-down grey short-sleeved knee-length dress with an understated belt and pleats accessory is a perfect choice for a daytime event.
The label also has a hassle-free flowing long dress with a mermaid cut, which comes in a brown with sheer material for the top.
In styling, Era applied creative styling for the young from a piece of the batik fabric, turned into one-shouldered knee-length dress ' lending a modern but sexy feel. A similar cut is also available in pale blue color.
In the men's line, the label presents classic long-sleeved shirts, perfect for formal occasions.
In an effort to lend a modern feel to the overall collection, Era applied the concept of terang bulan (moonlight) to the composition of her designs.
'Through terang bulan you put imagery composition on the bottom part of the dress, and leave the top part with empty space,' she says.
'However, although it may look empty in the top area, you still put a similar complex treatment at
the bottom part during the batik process,' explained Era, adding that she spent nine months designing and producing the whole collection set.
The creative designer said the terang bulan concept was perfect to approach young people, especially those favoring a European style.
Era's choice of colors also plays an important part in the collection. Besides the usual royal colors like black, brown and gold, the latest Iwan Tirta Private Collection also uses silver, grey, baby blue and cream.
The label also uses exclusive materials such as cotton, silk, organza and linen for the all-handmade batik ateliers.
'The composition for each piece in the collection is very dynamic. You'll see one with a quite heavy texture with a saturated motif but the prada [lines in golden color] are quite strong. Overall, it is very balanced,' Era said.
' Photos courtesy of Grand Hyatt Jakarta
