Retro style: Models showcase designer Adrian Gan’s creations with a giant sparkling disco ball as the stage’s backdrop in Jakarta.

With his latest collection, renowned designer Adrian Gan makes right what once went wrong in 1980s fashion.

A giant sparkling disco ball appeared at the stage’s backdrop with music, a mix of pop and traditional songs, blaring and filling the ballroom of the Harris hotel in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.  

Moments later, the room went pitch black until a glimmer of light formed silhouettes of models at the edge of the runway, marking the beginning of a fashion show by designer Adrian Gan.

Titled Eloquence of the Eighties, the show threw the audience back into the festivity of the 1980s.

The 1980s, for some designers, is perceived as the dark ages of the fashion world with its free and chaotic style and peculiar, if not weird, haircuts.

“It is an experimental era after the war period,” fashion designer Oscar Lawalata once said, trying to explain the obscureness of 1980s designs.

Yet, Adrian took that risk, adopting all the 1980s elements for his latest collections with block colors, unconventional cuts and a variety of styles and details on collars and belts, turning them into vibrant and enchanting designs.

His recipe this time involves the infusion of a traditional element in the form of colorful songket woven fabrics from West Sumatra and Japanese-inspired clothing.

The result is a radiant collection of skillful drapery and strong silhouette with clashing colors to emphasize the fun and playful looks of the 1980s.

The 1980s elements come out fierce in the form of shoulder jackets, tapered and draped tops and oversized belts. Meanwhile, the Japan invasion is evident in the kimono and obi details seen in several pieces.  

That night, Adrian presented 15 cocktail dresses and 11 nightgowns — all made from beautifully woven songket.

For the collections, Adrian worked together with Pantaloom — a company established by Swedish couple Bernhard Bart and Erika Dubler, who have dedicated their lives to preserve rare songket patterns.

 “Our songket are special because they are made from thread and silk,” Bart said in the opening video before the show.

Another specialty of Pantaloom’s handmade songket are their beautiful patterns that are replicated from ancient traditional motifs.

Adrian admitted that using songket as the main material was very challenging.

“Usually songket is only for cloths or scarves. But that fact challenged me to design something from songket,” Adrian says.

In some of his designs, it is apparent how Adrian tries to maintain the beauty of songket by leaving it untouched.

Some of the dresses are designed with minimal cuts so as to maintain the charm of songket as one single cloth intact. The songket are made into scarves that can function as a jacket, or long coat and gown that still expose the pretty patterns.

The fusion of songket and Japanese-styled designs really work in the hands of the talented Adrian, a designer with more than three decades of experience in the fashion industry.

That night, the party ended as a model donning a lovely white gown made from songket walked down the runway, leaving the audience once again gasping.

At the end, the 1980s no longer seemed weird or uncanny, as Adrian offered an unforgettable night that redefined the dark era in fashion.  

— Photos by JP/Jerry Adiguna