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Dynand Fariz: Jember's artistic costume designer
Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (right) wears the costume designed by Dynand Fariz
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Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (right) wears the costume designed by Dynand Fariz.(Courtesy Dynand Fariz)" width="341" border="0" height="527">Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (right) wears the costume designed by Dynand Fariz. (Courtesy Dynand Fariz)Grandeur, detail and elegance are just three words to describe the works of designer Dynand Fariz.
Such elements were evident in the costume he designed for Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira. The outfit won the Best National Costume award at the Miss Universe beauty pageant in January.
Fariz said that the costume, named âThe Chronicle of Borobudurâ, was inspired by Borobudur, the 9th-century Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java.
âBorobudur is a world-class Indonesian heritage site. I was so sure that it would immediately steal the worldâs attention just after hearing the name,â Fariz, who is also the founder of East Javaâs Jember Fashion Carnival (JFC), told The Jakarta Post.
Fariz said that it was a challenge to transform the essence of the temple into an attention-stealing costume. He spent months researching and developing draft concepts.
Greys and browns dominated the final piece, with some gold accents enhancing its elegance.
He formed steel into a skeleton that was put on Elviraâs back to sustain the mattress-made small stupas and the wings, which featured beads and plates as ornaments.
âEven if itâs a costume, it still has to feature a sense of fashion. For example, if Elvira put down the wings, it can complement the lower part of her dress,â Fariz said, adding that Elvira assembled the costume herself during the contest in the US.
(Courtesy Dynand Fariz)
Fariz attributed the win to the passion of his 10-person team. âThey put their dreams of winning into the costume,â he said. âThatâs why they were very thorough when they made it.â
He said he was not watching when Elvira won â he was busy teaching at ESMOD fashion school in Jakarta.
âI was very nervous, but I just left everything to God. Then I got a call from a friend, telling me that Elvira won,â Fariz said. âThis is a very wonderful gift; I feel really honored that I could help Indonesia for the first time to win best costume after 19 years of participation.â
The international victory was not his first. In 2014, Farizâs works won Best National Costume awards at the Miss International and Miss Supranational pageants.
He has also made costumes for many international menâs pageants, where heâs frequently taken home the top prize for costumes.
Born in Jember in 1963, Fariz said that he always loved fashion and that he learned the basics of making an outfit from his father, a part-time tailor.
His interest in making costumes was sparked in the early 1990s. Farizâs family typically gathered during the Idul Fitri holiday in Jember. However, as time passed; some found the gatherings boring and did not come back home.
Farizâs family then proposed launching a small carnival for the family to coincide with Idul Fitri.
âAt first, the family carnival was held modestly; I only determined the color or motifs for the carnival outfits. But slowly, we made it more complex, like having gypsy, cowboy or punk themes,â he said.
âOne day, I showed them how to make costumes using things I found in the house that we later used in the carnival.â The family carnivals eventually grew bigger, with more relatives and neighbors participating.
Fariz, who studied fine arts at IKIP Surabaya (now Surabaya State University) and who worked as a lecturer at the university after graduation, said he launched the carnival to realize a dream to make Jember as a fashion city.
He started studying at ESMOD in 1996 and spent three months in Paris to attend the schoolâs overseas teacher training program.
After returning to Indonesia, Fariz set up a fashion house in Jember that regularly held fashion weeks before he launched the JFC in 2003.
Conservative residents of Jember, however, initially opposed the event, according to Fariz.
âIn its third year, the regional council ordered the JFC to be disbanded, saying that it only degraded the morals of the young. But I kept on going,â he said, adding that a picture of the carnival published by Kompas daily led the council to back down.
The 3.6-kilometer parade has grown from 225 participants in its first edition to 1,350 participants last year, all of who trained with Fariz for months to prepare.
Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (right) <)
Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (right) wears the costume designed by Dynand Fariz. (Courtesy Dynand Fariz)
Grandeur, detail and elegance are just three words to describe the works of designer Dynand Fariz.
Such elements were evident in the costume he designed for Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira. The outfit won the Best National Costume award at the Miss Universe beauty pageant in January.
Fariz said that the costume, named 'The Chronicle of Borobudur', was inspired by Borobudur, the 9th-century Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java.
'Borobudur is a world-class Indonesian heritage site. I was so sure that it would immediately steal the world's attention just after hearing the name,' Fariz, who is also the founder of East Java's Jember Fashion Carnival (JFC), told The Jakarta Post.
Fariz said that it was a challenge to transform the essence of the temple into an attention-stealing costume. He spent months researching and developing draft concepts.
Greys and browns dominated the final piece, with some gold accents enhancing its elegance.
He formed steel into a skeleton that was put on Elvira's back to sustain the mattress-made small stupas and the wings, which featured beads and plates as ornaments.
'Even if it's a costume, it still has to feature a sense of fashion. For example, if Elvira put down the wings, it can complement the lower part of her dress,' Fariz said, adding that Elvira assembled the costume herself during the contest in the US.
Fariz attributed the win to the passion of his 10-person team. 'They put their dreams of winning into the costume,' he said. 'That's why they were very thorough when they made it.'
He said he was not watching when Elvira won ' he was busy teaching at ESMOD fashion school in Jakarta.
'I was very nervous, but I just left everything to God. Then I got a call from a friend, telling me that Elvira won,' Fariz said. 'This is a very wonderful gift; I feel really honored that I could help Indonesia for the first time to win best costume after 19 years of participation.'
The international victory was not his first. In 2014, Fariz's works won Best National Costume awards at the Miss International and Miss Supranational pageants.
He has also made costumes for many international men's pageants, where he's frequently taken home the top prize for costumes.
Born in Jember in 1963, Fariz said that he always loved fashion and that he learned the basics of making an outfit from his father, a part-time tailor.
His interest in making costumes was sparked in the early 1990s. Fariz's family typically gathered during the Idul Fitri holiday in Jember. However, as time passed; some found the gatherings boring and did not come back home.
Fariz's family then proposed launching a small carnival for the family to coincide with Idul Fitri.
'At first, the family carnival was held modestly; I only determined the color or motifs for the carnival outfits. But slowly, we made it more complex, like having gypsy, cowboy or punk themes,' he said.
'One day, I showed them how to make costumes using things I found in the house that we later used in the carnival.' The family carnivals eventually grew bigger, with more relatives and neighbors participating.
Fariz, who studied fine arts at IKIP Surabaya (now Surabaya State University) and who worked as a lecturer at the university after graduation, said he launched the carnival to realize a dream to make Jember as a fashion city.
He started studying at ESMOD in 1996 and spent three months in Paris to attend the school's overseas teacher training program.
After returning to Indonesia, Fariz set up a fashion house in Jember that regularly held fashion weeks before he launched the JFC in 2003.
Conservative residents of Jember, however, initially opposed the event, according to Fariz.
'In its third year, the regional council ordered the JFC to be disbanded, saying that it only degraded the morals of the young. But I kept on going,' he said, adding that a picture of the carnival published by Kompas daily led the council to back down.
The 3.6-kilometer parade has grown from 225 participants in its first edition to 1,350 participants last year, all of who trained with Fariz for months to prepare.
The JFC, which has attracted more than 3,000 local and international media guests, is slated to hold its 14th iteration from Aug. 26 from 30.
Fariz, who commutes between Jakarta and Jember every week due to work, said he wanted to open a carnival museum in Jember for his works and for those who have participated in the JFC.
As the chairman of Indonesian Carnival Association, Fariz said that he wanted more people to become costume designers.
'A parade is essential nowadays, as it is part of the celebration,' Fariz says. 'The presence of a costume designer is important to keep the creativity rolling, but they have to have a firm concept, content and format.'
