Courtesy of Dian Pelangi

Indonesia has witnessed the birth of another young talented designer who draws inspiration from the colors of the rainbow.

She is known as Dian Pelangi (Pelangi means rainbow), but her real name is Dian Wahyu Utami and she’s just 21 years old. Despite her tender age, Dian has the demeanor of a mature person.

Her bright and expressive eyes when conversing about fashion and clothing designs are a true sign that she has a deep-rooted passion about her field.

“I actually have been very intimate with fashion since I was a little girl. And because I started to wear Muslim clothing since fifth grade, I think it was quite natural for me to do what I do now,” Dian said on the sidelines of the launch of her fashion book, titled Hijab Street Style: Dian Pelangi.

Palembang-born Dian says that her mother gave big support for her to become involved in the fashion world.

“My mother often made me Muslim clothing when I was a kid. However, when I entered a pesantren [boarding school] for junior high students, I was not interested in fashion at all,” says Dian, the daughter of Djamaloedin and Hermani.

Fashion called her back when Dian and her family moved to Pekalongan, Central Java. In a small town that is famous for batik, Dian signed up to study fashion in a vocational school.

“Later, I enrolled in the ESMOD fashion school in Jakarta. Since ESMOD, I’ve been developing my fashion-design skills until now,” says the 2009 graduate who became a designer for her parents’ business, Dian Pelangi Gallery, in 2008.

Her own line, Dian Pelangi, offers various styles of Muslim wear using traditional Indonesian fabrics such as batik as well as woven and jumputan (tie-dye) cloth.

Dian’s tie-dye pieces steal the attention of fashion lovers, especially when showcased at several fashion shows, including Jakarta Fashion Week as well as the Fair of the Muslim World at the Le Bourget exhibition in Paris.

Tie-dye is a process of resist dyeing textiles or clothing that is made from knit or woven fabrics, usually cotton, typically with bright colors.

Dian’s tie-dye designs and styles on covered attire, including headscarves, brings modernity and a new look for Muslim women’s fashion, which has traditionally been confined to one or two solid colors or dark colors.

“The tie-dye technique has been used by my parents since they built the Dian Pelangi brand about 20 years ago.
At that time, my mother started the business by selling jumputan fabric in Palembang.

“Tie-dye fits my fashion style, because I like colorful things,” says the wife of Tito Prasetyo.

“I’m glad that it became a trend…even Zara and Mango have applied the technique and some designers have used it for runway shows,” she says.

“Personally, I use the tie-dye to also promote Indonesia. I apply the technique on Palembang’s jumputan and it works really well.”

Dian admits that Palembang’s tie-dye and typical batik motifs from Pekalongan are the main influences on her works.

“Palembang’s tie-dyes are mostly in brave colors, like red and gold. Pekalongan’s batik has the guts to combine green, red, orange and yellow in one piece of fabric. And I love colors.”

Facing copycats are among risks of being a trendsetter, and Dian is OK about it.

“At first, of course I felt mad and sad, because I worked hard. But my mum always comforts me, saying that such things can motivate me to produce more new pieces.

“Now, I’m totally fine. I even think that it can be some kind of a free promotion for my products,” Dian says with a smile.

Dian sees that a simple design will be a trend in future Muslim women wear and veil. “The hijab [veil] style is often unpredictable. I believe it will be much simpler for future seasons, as we have all the splashy things nowadays.

“Comfort is the keyword for my designs, especially hijab. If comfort meets basic rules in terms of what I believe, Islam, any woman can look beautiful,” says the designer.

With a young business on her hands, Dian says that she will stick to using Indonesian fabrics.

“I will always use local materials that are produced by local people here in Indonesia, because I want my business to be beneficial for many,” says Dian, whose boutiques open in several cities nationwide and in Malaysia.

“I don’t want to be successful alone. I want to do it with others.”

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