Expect to see a renaissance of tenun (hand-woven fabric) on the streets with Ikat Indonesia’s newest collection this season.

In its seventh year, Ikat Indonesia eschewed the usual spring-summer, fall-winter category.

Didiet Maulana, the brand’s creative director, said the change was because of Indonesia’s climate, which lacked seasons because of its equatorial location. Instead, he preferred to use Mentari and Purnama, corresponding to spring and fall respectively.

For Mentari 2018, Ikat Indonesia brought out 50 looks of summer outfits in a collection titled Surya, the Sanskrit word for the sun. The collection, which included pieces ranging from jackets to shoes, is cut entirely from naturally dyed tenun in earthy tones, made by artisan weavers across Indonesia. 

Ensembles were seen in a boxy, loose silhouette. While the presentation styled the pieces cut from the same fabric accordingly, they can be purchased separately.

A cropped jacket in multicolored red/brown tenun lurik with unfinished detailing was styled with straight-leg trousers from the same fabric and a striped crop top. The same styling seemed to be a recurring trend in the presentation, seen on a model wearing a white bustier, layered under a red coat, styled with wide-leg trousers and a short scarf.

While most of the patterned fabrics in the collection are dominated by strong colors such as orange and red, an off-white tenun ikat with multicolored patterns freshens up the presentation. The fabric was seen on tops and shorts, styled with other pieces with different patterns.

For menswear, a line of shirts, trousers and jackets are offered in bold patterns, styled accordingly but can be worn separately for those not wanting to be too excessively coordinated. A bomber jacket in multicolored red/brown tenun lurik was layered over a white shirt, styled with matching tenun straight-leg trousers.

Surya also marks Ikat Indonesia’s first foray into swimwear. According to Didiet, the addition of swimwear into the brand’s repertoire is because of his friends’ penchant for traveling and swimming.

“I saw this as an opportunity, as there are no local brands that anticipate people wanting to wear something with a touch of Indonesia,” Didiet said.

Obviously, the bikinis and swimming shorts were not made from tenun, but used patterns reminiscent of the handmade fabric. A blue one-piece with a plunging neckline used a multicolored ikat pattern, while a pair of swimming trunks was seen in light green ikat pattern.

Didiet said the color and styling choices in the collection refers to the optimism represented by the sun.

“The cut and silhouette is also something new. I worked with my team, who are part of the younger generation, so this encouraged me to think outside of the box,” Didiet said.

For the collection, Ikat Indonesia collaborated with e-commerce platform JD.id to exclusively stock the pieces on its website. 

Attendees of the fashion show were provided with a QR code-equipped catalog, allowing them to visit the landing page of the brand’s offerings.

Interestingly, the collaboration adopted a “see now, buy now” system, which was made popular by British label Burberry in 2016. The approach allows customers to purchase the clothes as soon as they hit the runway, as opposed to waiting several months before the collection finally shows up in retail stores.

Didiet said the “see now, buy now” system is anticipated to be the future of fashion shows and Ikat Indonesia is likely to adopt the system for future collections. 

With increasing digitization and youth-driven trends, jumping on the bandwagon to promote traditional Indonesian fabrics with high-street prices is a sensible idea. (jlm)

— Photos by JP/Steven

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