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Wealth, Prosperity & Silk The Lunar New Year Fashion
Chinese flair: Ghea Panggabean’s Chinese-inspired Lunar New Year collection makes an impact with its bold reds
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Chinese flair: Ghea Panggabean’s Chinese-inspired Lunar New Year collection makes an impact with its bold reds.
Embroidery, Chinese motifs, bold colors and silk set the tone for the Lunar New Year for fashion.
Renowned designer Ghea Panggabean launched a new collection, titled “Selendang Padang” (Padang’s Shawl), to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year.
The latest designs feature bold red and green silks, pastels and black — all accented with traditional floral embroidery designs.
Ghea called the inspiration for her latest line “modern Indo Chinoiserie.”
“Chinoiserie” traditionally refers to the imitation of Chinese motifs in Western fashion, but Ghea’s line embraces traditional Indonesian fashion, in this case Minangkabau in West Sumatra.
“The Chinese influence is very strong in Indonesia,” Ghea says. “Through the Silk Road in the past when the influence of India and China came to Indonesia. And it came through Sumatra — Minangkabau, and they adapted all the embroidery that you see in the coats, all the symbols.”
Traditional costume of the Minangkabau people is characterized by its vibrant red and gold patterns, woven with floral motifs.
Ghea’s Lunar New Year collection incorporated these elements, with the aim to help the fashion world learn about Indonesia’s culture and history, especially the Chinese’s influences, through her designs.
“Since the first day of my career, that was my mission — I want to tell the story of my country through my collections. So, when people ask, ‘where is this from?’ I can say ‘this is from Minangkabau’.”
Since the beginning of her career more than 35 years ago, Ghea said she is always passionate about her heritage and culture, the things that give her an identity and makes her stand out from her European counterparts in the fashion world.
“I’m an Indonesian designer. I’m not English, French, or Italian. If Dolce Gabbana can bring forth the Italian culture, why can’t I bring the Indonesian?”
In her new line, Ghea wanted to add a modern flair to the traditional Chinese and Indonesian designs.
“I wanted to show that from that inspiration — Chinese and Indonesian — that you can make it into modern cheongsams, into kebayas, into tunics, and I wanted to make my collection versatile.”
One eye-catching outfit which really captured the spirit of the season included a red silk cheongsam-inspired dress with a collar embroidered with an intricate green, purple and white floral pattern. This dress was paired with an embroidered coat in matching red silk and a stunning golden Minangkabau-style necklace and bracelet.
Another crowd-pleaser matched an ankle-length gold silk skirt with a black chiffon overlay to a black floral printed cheongsam-style coat. The buttons down the front were certainly reminiscent of the garment traditionally worn by men, but the vibrant blue and red floral print, which stood out even more on the black fabric, added a modern, feminine touch.
Ghea’s showcase also included a pair of outfits from her Ghea Kids children’s line, which was relaunched in 2010 inspired by the birth of her first granddaughter. Her granddaughters took to the runway to model the “Romantic Minangkabau” pastel qipao inspired outfits.
Fashion icon Sebastian Gunawan, behind the brand Votum, and artist Cristina Panarese also launched their New Year range, “Eclectic Treasures.”
The collection mixes Eastern and Western aesthetic values, combining traditional batik-style prints and Chinese knots with European lace. The designs were embellished with faux crystals and beads to bring the treasure theme to life.
Chinese superstition believes the colors red, green and purple are lucky colors, especially for those born in the Year of the Dog.
These colors could be seen throughout the outfits in the showcase, with vibrant greens and red coloring the runway. Outfits with a black base and intricate embroidery were also presented.
Ghea believes the Lunar New Year will bring lots of fresh ideas to the Indonesian fashion scene. “It is the Year of the Dog, so lots of success is coming, lots of creativity and I think it’s
a new era, lots of new light coming.”
— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
— Photos by JP/Allison Hore
