TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Dewi Fashion Knights: Touched by the world's heritage
( Auguste Soesastro)In design, one thing can inspire another in creating â or recreating â a masterpiece
Change Size
( Auguste Soesastro)
In design, one thing can inspire another in creating ' or recreating ' a masterpiece.
On the last day of Jakarta Fashion Week 2015 at the Senayan City shopping mall, five hip Indonesian fashion designers shared insightful pieces, drawn from various cultures around the globe, in the Dewi Fashion Knights show.
Taking 'A Journey to the World' as the show's theme, vibrant Auguste Soesastro with his Kraton line exposed a powerful collection mixing Peranakan culture and tsarist Russia.
As a background for his latest designs, Auguste said that his ancestors from China came to Indonesia in the 16th century ' a period when only men were allowed to exit the country.
Those men married local Javanese women and produced offspring of mixed-race, commonly known as the Peranakan.
'I use batik pesisiran [coastal] of the Peranakan as material and married it to with [the fashions of] the tsars of Russia for the collection,' said Auguste during a press conference prior to the show, dedicating his show to his three great-grandmothers who were master batik makers.
In a collection of 12 looks called 'Nyonya at the Kremlin', Auguste celebrated the melding of the two cultures in packaging suitable for today's career women.
A knee-length white-and-blue dress with floral ornaments, for example, was beautifully mixed with a red jacket, giving a classic look in a relaxed way.
Sapto Djojokartiko ' an artisan known for his edgy style ' presented 'Saptodjojokartiko Pret-a-Couture Evening Wear 2015', which he said stemmed from his curiosity about Mata Hari, also known as Margaretha Geertruida, a legendary artist and spy who spent time in the Dutch East Indies.
'My new collection is basically bringing up Mata Hari's interpretation about the Dutch East Indies in her dance performance,' Sapto said.
In the drawings, Sapto transformed his idea into modern silhouettes. The collection was embellished with beadings in complicated patterns, which made the pieces wearable pieces of arts that used fabrics such as gazar, organza, damask and lurex.
Making his sixth appearance at Dewi Fashion Knights, Priyo Oktaviano displayed 13 items with cooler colors to represent the charm of the African jungle.
'I was in a mellow mood while creating my new collection, so I used a lot of blue colors in it,' Priyo said.
Priyo applied a lot of denim combined with silk tiles, chiffon and linen for the collection, titled 'African Blu'. He also added drapery, embroidery as well crystal studs that were perfectly matched with stripes and woven fabrics from Klaten, Central Java.
The remaining two designers were first-timers at Dewa Knights.
Magical views of the Arctic and Antarctica bewitched Vinora Ng when creating a monochromatic collection for her Vinora brand.
Vinora created eight looks for her demi coutoure collection that altered perceptions of basic pieces such as shirts and tailored jackets, giving a surreal effect through silhouettes.
NurZahra, a premium brand of modest fashion, showed off a collection adapted from Navajo Indian culture.
Windri Widiesta Dhari, creator and designer of NurZahra, chose 'Sacagawea' as the name of her new collection.
Sacagawea is the famous Lemhi Shoshone woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark in their exploration of the western US between 1804 and 1806.
The collection is rich with tribal and folk-art motifs that expose ethnically androgynous silhouettes with flare pants, A-lines and loose-fit outers.
Using colors such as browns, light blues and dark blues and layered styling, NurZahra seems to give a gesture that her drawings aren't just dedicated to wearing all-covering clothing.
' Photos Courtesy JFW/Budi Harianto
