Designer breaks all sorts of fashion barriers

Sun, 04/20/2008 10:56 AM  |  Lifestyle

ADPARA>Musa Widyatmodjo is a local fashion designer. He recently produced a theatrical fashion show "Dara" at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Q:'Dara' Fashion Performing Arts was a successful event. What was your message? A: I want people to see the value in local culture and heritage. Local fashion doesn't have to look stiff and static. However, before we come up with new ideas, we need to understand what's before us first.

"Dara" was the collective effort of many creative people. I don't regard this as my own solo project.

The story of Mimpi Dara itself was written by Yogi Soegyono because of the need to produce the event. The choreographer was Boi G. Sakti, who has an international reputation as an art director himself. Boi created the choreography for the grand opening of the Esplanade in Singapore.

What was the hardest challenge in realizing the fashion show?

To set aside our own priorities and meld them into one vision. Artists obviously have their egos. The key to overcome this is communication and losing our egos. We needed to comprehend reasons from different perspectives. We met often to discuss details, such as the costumes, story and movement of the cast.

It was truly a team effort.

So it was not a comeback performance for me. Many journalists have called me, asking whether I wanted to stay out of the limelight. I said no.

During the time I didn't perform as a solo artist, I was actually still involved in the local fashion world. I was active behind the scenes for a number of fashion organizations. The Jakarta Fashion and Food Festival was one of my creations.

Were you creating a fusion of Chinese and Minang styles for the show?

From the aspects of fabric and dress, West Sumatran style was actually influenced by traditional Chinese style. I didn't try to produce a fusion style. Minang people adopted their dress style from the Chinese style a long time ago.

The similarity lies in their decorative elements and color. Padang style is very colorful, so is the garb of a Chinese prince.

Minang people took their embroidery method from the Chinese embroidery technique. It started from the Chinese people who were trading across Padang. It's not just in terms of fashion. If you observe Padang food, such as sate Padang, the taste is basically the taste of Indian food.

The idea of presenting a wedding couple with different traditional dresses for the bride and groom is ingenious. What's your take on that?

The concept is new. I want to say that people who highlight their differences will end up quarreling with each other. In some cases, important events such as a wedding could be canceled.

Everybody has the right to wear his or her majestic outfit. We don't look at differences, but look at their beauty. If we stress the similarities, then we can be more appreciative of each other in the end.

Do you have plan to go international with this?

We are discussing that at the moment. And it seems that we are heading in that direction.

It should be easy for people to accept my creations because they can combine the clothes that I designed with jeans. They can be combined with other stuff to create a more modern or European look.

Your dresses are considered extremely wearable. How do you come up with the designs?

Fashion designers should be able to combine their own spirit and the need of the consumers, who want to be practical. However, the consumers demand a unique processing of the creation.

I utilize the artistic skill and traditional fabric processing technique of Indonesia. However, the technique of making the dress and the appearance of the dress itself are modern.

If there are more opportunities for me, I may focus on other Indonesian traditions that have been overlooked as a theme. The popular Indonesian look mainly comes from the Javanese of Balinese cultures. Kebaya is still more popular than baju kurung, which I highlighted in the performance.

The styles that are still unpopular are those from Kalimantan, West and East Nusa Tenggara and Makassar.

What is the difference between local and foreign fashion in terms of presence in Indonesia?

Fashion in Indonesia is interesting because there is a swarm of imported brands available here. Those brands have become industrial products in the international market. This means that there is a market for fashion in the country.

However, the downside is that local brands are still underdeveloped. Foreign labels obviously have more capital and cunning marketing schemes.

I also have ready-to-wear products under my own label besides the high-end products. If I supply them to the department stores, both parties still have to share the profit after sales. But for foreign labels, the department stores purchase them firsthand rather than asking to share profit.

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