Australian Ambassador Hosts Special Runway Show in Conjunction With Jakarta Fashion Week
Jakarta. Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson hosted a special mini-runway show at his residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday (23/10) featuring three designers to coincide with the Jakarta Fashion Week.
"This is the fourth year Australia has supported Jakarta Fashion Week, which not only reflects the growing appetite for Australian design in Indonesia but also the importance of the fashion industry to both countries," Grisgson said.
According to the ambassador, fashion is not only an area where there is commercial interest from both countries, but it is also a medium to improve cooperation. Currently, the embassy has been running a yearlong campaign, #Aussiebanget, to promote the creative industries of Indonesia and Australia.
The first designer featured at the ambassador's event was Anthony Tandiyono, who graduated from Australia’s RMIT. He picked five looks which are part of his "Sinful Light" collection.
The story behind his collection was that he saw a photograph of an old woman on the internet. The wrinkles in her face led him into deep contemplation about a person’s journey in life.
"I think everyone in their life faces challenges to choose their path, whether they want to stay in the good path or stray from it, or get in between the two. What they have gone through can be seen in their wrinkles as they’re old," he told reporters.
The designer turned the wrinkles into patterns in his outfits, which are dominated by red and white hues. His show was concluded with a combination of a white blazer and a tailed skirt where the patterns were portrayed more clearly.
"The skirt features sequins taking shape of the woman’s wrinkles, which took around 200 hours to stitch," Anthony said.
People interested in wearing his collection can rent the pieces or have them custom-made.
Another Indonesian designer, Liza Yahya, showed a series of dresses and outwear made from traditional ikat fabric. Not only was the material handcrafted, Liza also drew the patterns herself. Just like the collection’s title, "Origin," the patterns and colors were said to be inspired by her Arabic origin.
The collection took around two months to complete.
Ikat is the main component of Liza's designs. In 2010, she established a ready-to-wear brand named Kanzi Collection, an ethnic fashion brand for modern working women in Southeast Asia that is deeply rooted in the Indonesian tradition of fine ikat craftsmanship.
Liza is currently undertaking a mentorship with the Woman in Global Business (WIGBI) Mentoring Program run by the Australian Trade and Investment Commissions (Austrade) and the Commonwealth Bank.
"The six-month program is still running until November. What they teach includes fashion branding and product packaging," Liza said.
Lastly, Melbourne-based menswear designer Chris Ran Lin presented his "Noise" collection, which had been showcased last Saturday at the Jakarta Fashion Week.
"Noise," at a glance seems like just another collection of outerwear, yet Lin’s exploration of details and texture contrasts kicked it up a notch. Whether it is a wool sweater with little metal rings or a light-grey mohair cardigan with orange braided strings on the sleeves, Lin clearly put a lot of thought into each garment.
"It’s kind of cool to present things that people think are quite simple but actually there’s a lot of work behind it," he said.
The three designers said they would welcome collaboration projects in the future, though it was not the first time they shared a runway. Lin and Anthony, who were classmates at RMIT, said they presented a fashion show together in Australia in 2011.
"Why not? It’s always fun. Such different styles the three of us have. To collaborate them will be dynamic," Anthony said.
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