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Indonesia can be global hub of modest fashion
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Illustration of modest wear clothing line from Sayee, ranging from dresses, blouses, tunics, skirts, pants and even long-coats. These items, offered in blue, white and such earth tones as grey, off-white and beige have simple and loose cutting. (JP/Handout)
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s the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia can well become the center of modest fashion amid tight competition from major Muslim nations and from minority countries producing apparel with big brands.
Fashion consultant and co-founder of Modest Fashion Weeks Franka Soeria said recently that Indonesia could attain the status by creating a modest fashion hub, improving production and diversifying designs for the international market.
She added that designers needed to follow the trends and demands in different countries such as Germany, where minimalist styles were popular, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where people liked glamorous looks.
“Fashion business is not just about showing designers’ creations but it is also about branding and selling,” Franka said, adding that Indonesia’s modest wear designers had yet to prioritize international marketing.
However, she believed that Indonesia’s modest fashion industry had a positive trajectory in the future even though it had to face competition from abroad.
“Most Muslim-majority countries such as Malaysia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have claimed they are the leaders in modest fashion, but I can say that the title is still up for grabs,” she said in a Modest Fashion Founders Fund (MFFF) event in Jakarta on Friday, last week.
The event was hosted by the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf). The MFFF is an acceleration program by Bekraf for modest fashion business owners, in which designers are trained in business development, and given easier access to sharia-based funding from various banks such as Bank Mandiri Syariah and BNI Syariah.
