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Indonesia Fashion Week to go virtual in partnership with Jakarta Fashion Hub
In the world of fashion, fashion week is an exclusive affair. This year, however, has been a little different.
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The show must go on: Poppy Dharsono, fashion designer and cofounder of the Association of Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs (APPMI), is set to take part in the 2020 Indonesia Fashion Week (IFW) to be held in mid-November. Amid the pandemic, the annual show will be held virtually, streaming from Jakarta Fashion Hub (JFH), a collaborative space established by integrated viscose rayon producer Asia Pacific Rayon (APR). (JP/Muthi Kautsar)
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n the world of fashion, fashion week is an exclusive affair. This year, however, has been a little different. Coronavirus fashion has thrown the creative industry into turmoil, prompting retailers around the world to close, as consumers shield themselves from the virus in their homes.
People in the fashion world have been finding creative new ways to use technology. And that is what the Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs Association (APPMI) is doing. The group of designers will conduct its future catwalk through an online event.
“About a month and a half ago, we [APPMI, the organizing committee of THE IFW], decided that we will hold the IFW virtually, because I don’t want this year –the year of pandemic- to be void of the IFW. It is our responsibility to the people, to the government that have always supported us, to the supporting tenants and designers,” Poppy Dharsono, fashion designer and cofounder of APPMI said in a group interview at Jakarta Fashion Hub (JFH) on Oct. 23.
The 2020 IFW will be held on Nov. 14-15 at JFH, a collaborative space established by Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) for fashion enthusiasts, which is located inside the Tanoto Foundation Building on Jl. Teluk Betung No. 33, Central Jakarta.
Located at the heart of the capital, JFH could become a true fashion hub, which connects all components in the fashion industry, from upstream to downstream.
For this year, the IFW will carry the theme “Significant Borneo”, as a way to broaden Kalimantan’s unique fashion culture to the world. This is the second time the IFW has raised the same theme.
She went on to say that even during the pandemic, creative workers have to keep their spirits up, to show the audience that they are still alive and kicking, so that when the pandemic ends, they will always be ready with new breakthroughs.
“This is a challenge for us, so that we can be ready in facing the upcoming new life, a new civilization we have to [be adaptable to],” concluded Poppy.
As an active designer, Poppy herself will create a collection using APR’s viscose rayon for the upcoming 2020 IFW show.
“This is really something new, a breakthrough in technology that could result in [different textures of] rayon,” said Poppy of the viscose rayon textile she chose, adding that for decades she only knew one type of rayon, which is used to make batik clothes in Bali.
She is also delighted that APR gives designers the chance to buy its textile products in smaller quantities –a move that is important in sustaining fashion MSMEs - but could be impossible for some other textile producers to do.
“And with APR providing all kinds of textiles, from ones that are suitable for making printed batik to tailored clothing and many more, I think it’s fascinating, and even for the first time I see jeans made of rayon!” Poppy said, citing different kinds of textiles produced using APR viscose rayon.
The variety of textiles produced by APR caters to the needs of designers who have different ideas and interests. But more than being versatile, APR’s viscose rayon is also made of materials from natural resources in Indonesia, which are sustainable and biodegradable.
APR is well known for the campaign "Everything Indonesia" to promote sustainable sourcing and production of fashion in Indonesia. The aim is to support Indonesia's resurgence as a global center for textile manufacturing and catalyze home-grown fashion design and creativity.
