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nnovations in fashion and food will be showcased in the upcoming 2012 Jakarta Fashion and Food Festival (JFFF) in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Themed “Innofashion”, the festival, now in its ninth year of existence, is focusing on the latest sartorial and culinary trends while bringing Indonesian homegrown talents to a wider audience.

The event kicks off with a bang on Saturday, May 12, with the Gading Nite Carnival — dubbed the only one-night carnival in Indonesia — with hundreds of colorfully costumed performers taking to the streets in decorated vehicles.

JFFF chairman Soegianto Nagaria said the spectacular carnival, beginning at 6 p.m. at Sentra Kelapa Gading, aimed to attract a huge turnout to get into the spirit of the festival that runs through May 27.

“We are holding it at the beginning of the event with a huge clamor of sound. At the end of the carnival, there will be fireworks displays,” he said at a recent media conference.  

The carnival titled “Wonderlush” consists of eight, individually themed sequences, from Jakarta the Urban City, The Dragon, Jember Fashion Festival, Secret Garden, Rainforest, Carnival Costume Competition, Avantasia to Cosmic.

The JFFF has become renowned as an arena for the best in local and international fashion. The fashion extravaganza from May 14–26 will feature fashion shows from ready-to-wear collections from Indonesian and international designers.

Taking center stage will be solo fashion shows by 10 distinguished Indonesian designers. Among them in the first week are Raden Sirait, who will show a retrospective of his creations from the past eight years, and Sebastian Gunawan with an “Urban Lady” theme with VOTUM and Cristine, described as a more mature collection compared to his “Uptown Girl” show at the 2011 festival.

Other highlights will include Stephanus Hamy, with a tribute to the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, Sally Koeswanto displaying her “Flor Del Amor” designs and Defrico Audy.

In the second week, Anne Avantie will dedicate her collection to veteran entertainer Titiek Puspa; other designers scheduled to show their collections are Hengki Kawilarang, Musa Widyatmodjo, Denny Wirawan and Priyo Oktaviano.

Fashion lovers should head to the Fashion Village, occupying space at Mall Kelapa Gading 3, to browse through the collections of Indonesian designers and also get the chance to meet the designers in person.

This year’s food festival is themed Old Batavia, with delicious local dishes served up in traditional style at Kampoeng Tempo Doeloe in La Piazza shopping center.

“We have created a replica of the classic architecture of Fatahillah Museum in Jakarta’s Old Town to provide a strong nostalgic value to visitors,” Soegianto said.

Dishes available include empal gentong (stewed beef cutlets, served from a huge pot), tongseng (lamb cooked in spicy coconut milk), kupat tahu Magelang (rice cake and fried tofu), Padang-style satay, gado-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce) and kue putu (sweet cakes with pandan flavor).

In a nod to Indonesia’s melting pot of cuisines and cultures, there will also be kerak telor (a type of omelet originating from Jakarta) and Dutch snacks including bitterballen and poffertjes.

Gourmets seeking international flavors can visit the Wine & Cheese Expo at the Multi-Purpose Hall, with fine wines and cheeses from France, Australia, Argentina, Chile and New Zealand.

Wine lovers will have a chance to participate in wine tasting, a wine workshop and wine and food pairing sessions. Special guest chefs including William Wongso and Karen Carlotta will share their expertise.