Textiles Fest Reintroduces Indonesia's Beautiful Tradition to Contemporary Fashion
Jakarta. Online fashion portal Fimela put a unique variety of Indonesian fabrics in the spotlight in a three-day fashion show Festival Fashion Kain Indonesia at Gandaria City mall in South Jakarta over the weekend.
Returning for its fifth edition, FIMELAFest 2016 hopes to attract more people to buy Indonesian-made products. Featuring talented Indonesian designers, the event adopted the theme #WajahBaruIndonesia, or Indonesia’s New Face, and carries catchy slogan #Love4Indonesia.
The event wrapped up on Sunday (21/08) with a showcase featuring collections from designers Mel Ahyar, Nina Nikicio, Stella Rissa, Didiet Maulana and Barli Asmara.
“Last year, FIMELAFest held Indonesian Batik Week. For this year, I think it is important that we not only highlight batik, but the different types and varieties of Indonesian fabrics, because we have a lot.” said Dian Muljadi, Fimela.com’s publishing director.
"There are about 400,000 Indonesian fabric craftsmen and they need the support of industry creatives alike to move with the times and continue to grow.”
During the event’s press conference, Ratna Irina, the editor in chief of Fimela.com, voiced her team’s hopes for supporting the Indonesian fashion industry through their own events. Initially, FimelaFEST served as a celebration to the online media’s anniversary but it has grown so much since then. She cited the support of young Indonesian designers in Fimela.com’s events.
“In my opinion, young designers will always try to elevate Indonesia’s wealth, and I think they do it with joy as they try to develop the Indonesian fashion industry through their works. You can see this reflected in Barli Asmara’s work, as he adopts Tarakan and Didiet Maulana with his Batik Ikat [methods],” Dian Muljadi added.
Triawan Munaf, the head of Creative Economies Agency (Bekraf), expresses his utmost support on events such as FIMELAFest 2016.
"This is why Bekraf exists. We want to support events and activities that help to alleviate and monetize the rich legacy of cultures and turn it into prosperity for the people.
There is little incorporation of local fabrics into products sold in the Indonesian market, Munaf said, and he hopes events like this could help close that gap.
“There’s still a bunch of potential that we can utilize here in Indonesia. I urge people to go local. Let’s go local now, and global later.” Munaf said.
Barli Asmara also voiced similar sentiment: “I like to use the saying, let’s wear local, let’s think global. I encourage people to use Batik as an everyday wear. I also think designers have a role to play here, as influencers.”
FIMELAFest radiates positive energy towards developing Indonesia for the better through its creative industry. Many of the discussions that took place really highlighted the efforts that have been put into putting a spotlight on the remarkable potential of local products.
It also introduces the general public to the end products of these efforts, and may spark more recognition and awareness on the availability and value in locally produced goods.
FIMELAFest 2016 features various activities, including but not limited to; Dream Girls Competition, highlighting talented and high-achieving girls wearing hijab, a Walk in Competition for Fimelagirl model hunt and a variety of fashion shows from local designers. On top of that, the event also features performances by local artists, such as NIDJI, who is set to perform on Sunday, 21st August.
The event is primarily sponsored and supported by POND’s and Bekraf.
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