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A year of fabulous fashion
Tex Saverio: (Courtesy of Tex Saverio)Indonesiaâs fashion industry has upped its game, taking local and international audiences by storm with breathtaking designs
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Tex Saverio: (Courtesy of Tex Saverio)" height="213" width="600" border="0">Tex Saverio: (Courtesy of Tex Saverio)Indonesiaâs fashion industry has upped its game, taking local and international audiences by storm with breathtaking designs.
New designers have come up with fresh and creative ideas, joining veteran ones to pave the way forward for the countryâs fashion world.
Association of Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs (APPMI) chairman Taruna Kusmayadi said fashion events were now organized more often, happening almost every week across the country.
Such events, including fashion shows of upcoming designers and legendary names, were always crammed full of fashion lovers.
âItâs also nice to see many new names dressing up models in fashion magazines, and that means our fashion industry is moving very dynamically, providing customers with more choices,â he said.
Fashion observer Diaz Parzada, who is also the creative director of Jakarta Fashion Week, said that this year a lot of collaborations between local designers and major department stores had taken place.
âPremium retailers have started to accept local designers to use their platforms for their work. Before, it was very difficult for local designers to enter their market,â he said.
Upmarket French department store Galeries Lafayette in Pacific Place, South Jakarta, and Thailandâs Central Department store in Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta, sell the work of several local designers, such as Tex Saverio, Sapto Djojokartiko and Yosafat Dwi Kurniawan.
Priyo Oktaviano: (Courtesy of Jakarta Fashion Week/Dennie Ramon)
Diaz added that Plaza Indonesia shopping mall had opened its doors for more local designers and labels this year.
âThose department stores have high standards in selecting designers or labels that can work with them. The presence of local designers there shows that they can compete with international brands,â Diaz said, adding that many designers and big local garment manufacturers also inked deals to work together this year.
Aside from business deals, Diaz also took note of rising purchasing power for local designers and labels this year.
âCustomersâ awareness of local brands has been around for a few years, but this year, the willingness to spend on those brands is increasing,â he said. âThey have realized that with slightly more expensive prices from our local brands, they will get better quality and more unique designs,â he said.
With increasing buying power from the market, Diaz said more designers also focused on developing their ready-to-wear lines this year.
Three years ago, designers still produced a lot of high-end designs, thinking of themselves only as artists. This year, that has changed, as designers have understood that in addition to becoming an artist, they must also become entrepreneurs to survive.
âDesigners must not only think of the aesthetic sides, but also their business. But in the end, of course, their designs will determine if they can last or not,â he said.
Designer Sapto Djojokartiko is one designer who has shifted the business focus to ready-to-wear. As a new player, he has limited his made-to-order business and will further develop his ready-to-wear line so more people can know his work better.
âWe used to only produce niche products, collector-item sort of things. But I realized that I needed to make something else to make my brand last,â he said.
Throughout the year, he said he had learned a lot of business strategies to better determine his position in the fashion world.
Tex Saverio: <)
Tex Saverio: (Courtesy of Tex Saverio)
Indonesia's fashion industry has upped its game, taking local and international audiences by storm with breathtaking designs.
New designers have come up with fresh and creative ideas, joining veteran ones to pave the way forward for the country's fashion world.
Association of Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs (APPMI) chairman Taruna Kusmayadi said fashion events were now organized more often, happening almost every week across the country.
Such events, including fashion shows of upcoming designers and legendary names, were always crammed full of fashion lovers.
'It's also nice to see many new names dressing up models in fashion magazines, and that means our fashion industry is moving very dynamically, providing customers with more choices,' he said.
Fashion observer Diaz Parzada, who is also the creative director of Jakarta Fashion Week, said that this year a lot of collaborations between local designers and major department stores had taken place.
'Premium retailers have started to accept local designers to use their platforms for their work. Before, it was very difficult for local designers to enter their market,' he said.
Upmarket French department store Galeries Lafayette in Pacific Place, South Jakarta, and Thailand's Central Department store in Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta, sell the work of several local designers, such as Tex Saverio, Sapto Djojokartiko and Yosafat Dwi Kurniawan.
Diaz added that Plaza Indonesia shopping mall had opened its doors for more local designers and labels this year.
'Those department stores have high standards in selecting designers or labels that can work with them. The presence of local designers there shows that they can compete with international brands,' Diaz said, adding that many designers and big local garment manufacturers also inked deals to work together this year.
Aside from business deals, Diaz also took note of rising purchasing power for local designers and labels this year.
'Customers' awareness of local brands has been around for a few years, but this year, the willingness to spend on those brands is increasing,' he said. 'They have realized that with slightly more expensive prices from our local brands, they will get better quality and more unique designs,' he said.
With increasing buying power from the market, Diaz said more designers also focused on developing their ready-to-wear lines this year.
Three years ago, designers still produced a lot of high-end designs, thinking of themselves only as artists. This year, that has changed, as designers have understood that in addition to becoming an artist, they must also become entrepreneurs to survive.
'Designers must not only think of the aesthetic sides, but also their business. But in the end, of course, their designs will determine if they can last or not,' he said.
Designer Sapto Djojokartiko is one designer who has shifted the business focus to ready-to-wear. As a new player, he has limited his made-to-order business and will further develop his ready-to-wear line so more people can know his work better.
'We used to only produce niche products, collector-item sort of things. But I realized that I needed to make something else to make my brand last,' he said.
Throughout the year, he said he had learned a lot of business strategies to better determine his position in the fashion world.
One of his strategies is to sell his designs through department stores, including Galeries Lafayette, until he can set up his own boutique. He said he had made a lot of design adjustments to be able to sell his products in the galleries, but still keeping Sapto's signature style, which usually featured motifs or used textured materials.
Another strategy is to make the most of social media for his business development, offering a pre-order system through Instagram, Path and an email newsletter.
'The pre-order system works well for me. I thought people would mind paying in advance and receive the clothes a month later. But in fact, they're okay with it and lots of people come to my studio to pre-order,' Sapto said.
'All in all, 2014 was when I became more mature in doing business,' he said, adding that his next challenge was to ensure a proper production process as he would sell more ready-to-wear designs in department stores next year.
Another highlight of 2014 was the rising popularity of Muslim wear, gaining a respected position in fashion where it was no longer seen as secondary in the business.
Such work is greatly loved and worn by Muslims and non-Muslims alike in Indonesia and abroad.
Earlier this year, NurZahra's participation in Tokyo Fashion Week received a great response from the audience as she presented Muslim wear that adopted Islamic geometric designs that were made in ecofriendly material by using the batik process.
'I didn't have big expectations when I participated in Tokyo Fashion Week, I just wanted to represent Indonesian Muslim wear. But my designs received a great response from international media and fashion observers, and I realized that they are also wearable for international customers,' NurZahra's designer Windri Widiesta Dhari said.
Since then, NurZahra has been featured in many international fashion magazines, including Vogue Italy and Harper's Bazaar US.
For Windri, 2014 saw momentum generated for promoting NurZahra as an established brand in the fashion world.
Despite the strong performance of Indonesia's fashion industry this year, Diaz keeps urging designers to always prepare for the international market, especially for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is slated for 2015.
'When I visited Singapore and Thailand, discussions on impact of the AEC on fashion had begun. Designers, garment manufacturers and the government here must start to put this [the AEC] in their future strategies as it will definitely impact our fashion industry,' he said.
According to Diaz, more Indonesian designers will participate in international fashion events next year, such as Albert Yanuar and Patrick Owen in Hong Kong Fashion Week; Peggy Hartanto, Major Minor and Toton in Paris Fashion Week; and Tex Saverio to perform again in Paris Fashion Week.
