Indonesia Fashion Week to Launch Careers, Celebrate Traditions
Jakarta. March will be an exciting month for us in Jakarta. With an array of great events on the calendar, a stand out is the Indonesian Fashion Week.
The fifth annual IFW, hosted by the Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs Association (AAPMI), will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) March 10 to 13.
"These are difficult moments for us, because of the rift in our organization," said Defrico Audy, fashion designer and the newly appointed public relations officer of APPMI.
Eight key members of the AAPMI leadership resigned in late November, before later setting up a new fashion organization.
"But, [the rift] became a new source of strength for us," Defrico said. "APPMI's sleeping members, from Sabang to Merauke, have now risen up to create something great for Indonesian fashion."
APPMI is currently spearheaded by it founders, senior fashion designers Poppy Dharsono and Musa Widyatmodjo, while other key positions have been entrusted to young designers and junior members.
Ivan Gunawan, fashion designer and celebrity, is this year's show director.
"I promise it will be better organized and much more exciting than the previous years," Ivan said.
With the theme "Reflection of Culture," IFW 2016 aims to focus on local culture and traditions as the foundation of Indonesia's fashion.
"It doesn't necessarily mean that all items will be made of traditional fabrics or resemble traditional costumes," he said. "Quite on the contrary, we'll be re-interpreting Indonesian cultures and traditions as chic, contemporary and wearable fashion designs."
The four-day event will present 35 fashion shows by local and international designers, as well as a series of talks, workshops and seminars.
Talks and seminars will tackle topics as diverse as fashion education, the use of natural dyes in textiles and the strategies of the local industry in facing the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
A fashion bazaar at the JCC will feature cocktail, casual and Muslim wear.
"We can only accommodate 487 booths at JCC, but so far, more than 700 designers have registered," said senior fashion designer and member of the organization, Jenny Tjahjawati. "So, we have to carefully curate their works to determine which of them qualify for it."
The IFW 2016 bazaar will be looking for designers with high-quality products and strong signature styles, Jenny said.
The event will be opened with a fashion parade themed "Dekade," or "Decade."
"The parade will showcase works of fashion designers from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s," Ivan said. "It will also be an interesting meeting point between senior and young designers."
A photo exhibition featuring celebrities like Atiqah Hasiholan, Chico Jerikho and Reza Rahadian in the works of local designers will run alongside the festival at JCC. Visitors are encouraged to take selfies with the celebrity pictures.
"There are so many things to see and do at IFW this year," said Ivan. "There won't be any boring moments at all."
Register for IFW 2016 online at Indonesiafashionweek.id.
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