Jenahara

Indonesian hijab fashion continues to showcase its strong presence during the fashion week.

Indonesian Muslim fashion wear is a large enough canvas to allow designers to paint with their own colors, with no two styles ever alike.

And what a parade of colors it was on the runway at Jakarta Fashion Week (JFW), with a variety of looks to choose from for next season — traditional to modern, chic to rebellious, or edgy to feminine.

While hijab fashion is synonymous with femininity and elegance, young designers are offering collections for women seeking an outlet to express their individuality from behind layers of loose, oversized clothing.

Jenahara Black Label presented The Writer’s Song collection, inspired by musician, songwriter, poet and visual artist Patti Smith. The collection featured modest clothing with a strong presence.

Designer Jenahara, the daughter of musician Keenan Nasution and model/singer Ida Royani, infused fashion and music in the predominantly black and white collection embellished with metal studs, chains and printed words that read: “La Mer(de)”, “Because. The Nights. Belongs. To Lovers”, “Social Media is Not God”, or “The People Have the Power”. There was “1972” written on the front side of the high collar of an outfit with pleated pants and “The Revenge of Vera Gemini” scribed on the back of the outwear that comes with it.

Clean cut, minimalistic and mix-and-match friendly designs, the characteristics of the label, were reflected in Jenahara’s Ignis Fituus evening gowns. She created the illusion of a night scene using two different materials in one design, playing with Swarovski crystals and sequins to light up the dark colors of black, gray and navy blue.  

A chic and passionate sartorial presentation came from ETU by Restu Anggraini with her Terrestrial collection, which was presented on the catwalk in various soft color palettes. Using the Japanese technology ultrasuede, Restu created boxy and formal office wear infused with flounces and ruffles to bring forward the feminine side of career women.

Norma Hauri’s Road Chic introduced a brute, yet elegant look, which was inspired by bikers. The dramatic design comes with zippers and leather accessories such as gloves, boots and even hijab headwear designed to emulate the helmet with ear flaps.

In contrast, Ria Miranda presented her collection of flowery designs with details on the collars and sleeves. She employed ruffles, embroidery, pleat and highlighted romantic colors such as cream, soft peach and lavender to bring out the feminine side, elegance and modesty of the wearer.

Ethnic style was presented by Vivi Zubedi under her label VZ. Titled Les Abayas, the collection was inspired by the basic wear of Arab women with bohemian elements added through the use of colorful handmade embroidery and unique cutting on earth tones. Although she used breathable material such as cotton and linen, each design is glamorous without overdoing it.

Meanwhile, Lusense KD by singer Kris Dayanti had her own take on Magical City in collaboration with designer Lutfiah Ibrahim Saleh. Electric colors, colorful embroidery, gold-color print motifs and extravagant layered skirts were the highlights of the collection.

Ready-to-wear brand Kami Idea’s Sadü collection presented down-to-earth clothing embellished with beautiful embroidery of butterflies and draping. For the material, Kami Idea, founded by Istafiana Candarini, Nadya Karina and Afina Candrarini, used comfortable-to-skin materials like polycrepe, spandex, cotton and organdy.

Drops of morning dew on a spider web inspired Irna LaPerle’s Ibun Sawarga, which was embodied in Lampung embroidery and Swarovski crystals. Dominated by pale colors of beige, nude, white and baby grey, the designer presented ready-to-wear deluxe with A-line silhouettes for an elegant appearance. The collection used an assortment of materials such as lace, organza, tulle and sateen.

Another sharia wear collection came from renowned brand Si.Se.Sa with its Pret-à-PorTea collection, which drew inspiration from the vintage Victorian and Edwardian fashion of ladies who gathered for high tea. Warm colors of dusty brown, powder pink, peach, baby blue and smoky grey dominated the dress and khimar, a signature style of the brand.

A playful choice, wearable for even non-hijab fashionistas, was presented by NYS.co in collaboration with celebrated designer Hannie Hananto. Emulating the streetwear fashion of New York City, Hannie created 12 sets of simple, yet edgy pieces with the help of vibrant colors and a skyscraper motif on a monochromatic base of black, white and smoky grey, decked out in large accessories.

Even within the strict rules of decency in Muslim wear, designers introduced new elements that may strengthen the presence of Indonesian hijab fashion on the world map.

— Photos by JP/Donny Fernando

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