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orontalo designer Agus Lahinta has one mission to accomplish on his planned trip to New York in the United States in September: introduce Gorontalo’s culture and natural beauty to the world.

Agus, owner of the Karawo House, which produces Gorontalo’s uniquely traditional embroidery motif known as karawo, is one of several Indonesian designers that will take part in the Big Apple’s Couture Fashion Week on Sept. 8 to10.

Agus is known for his out-of-the-box take on karawo that do not follow conventional designs of the traditional products.

“I have the mission to introduce Gorontalo as a whole through my design; its culture and its natural beauty,” Agus said when asked about the pieces he will showcase in the event.

Thanks to his daring designs, his karawo products have attracted the attention of not only Gorontalo consumers, but also design enthusiasts in other provinces in Sulawesi and even Java.

His participation in the world event was sponsored by Bank Indonesia (BI), the National Handicraft Council (Dekranas) and the Association of Micro and Small Businesswomen Supervisors in cooperation with the Gallery of Indonesia, an institution established by Mey Hasibuan, a US-based social entrepreneur committed to introducing Indonesian products in America.

Agus will join the event with South Sulawesi and West Kalimantan Dayak designers of ikat, a traditional, woven cloth.

Together they will present a fashion show featuring Indonesian products with “The Colors of Indonesia” as its theme.

Agus said he has prepared 24 designs geared for men and women to showcase during the event. They will all be worn and presented by American models.

Among the designs he prepared were inspired by wildlife, namely the maleo, birds native to Sulawesi that are known for their nature to mate for life; and whale sharks, the majestic, giant fish that continue to attract tourists to Gorontalo.

He also tried to explore motifs inspired by Salvador Dali — not the legendary Spanish artist, but the giant seas sponges found in Olele marine park, Gorontalo.

Each piece features detailed accents derived from local customs, as well as some conventional motifs, such as coconuts and flowers.

Agus said he also adjusted his designs to fit New York’s summer season.

“The concept of the entire design is glamour and high-end, but comfortable to wear,” Agus said.

He expressed hope that the international event will open the market for karawo, especially because so far, the fully hand-made handicraft products are only produced by Gorontalo women in their spare time.

Embroidering karawo could take days or weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the motifs. Silk is the most challenging of materials to work on, requiring extra patience and care.

Suryono, head of BI’s Gorontalo provincial representative office, said that karawo had been chosen to promote Gorontalo at the international stage.

He said that the traditional embroidery did not just have the potential to be developed economically, but it also contained artistic and cultural values.

Suryono added that his office started promoting karawo in 2011 by providing artisans with technical and management training as well as tools, easing access to the banking sector and organizing annual karawo festivals.

There are some 4,000 karawo artisans in Gorontalo, a province with a population of about 1.2 million people.

Suryono said he was confident that karawo could become Gorontalo’s leading commodity.