Jakarta. Indonesia is taking steps towards turning its dream of becoming the mecca of modest fashion by 2024 into reality. 

On Saturday night, Riau-based viscose rayon producer Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) collaborated with five local modest wear brands at the Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW) in ICE BSD City. 

Models strutted down the runway in modest wear of different colors and styles. Starting from the head coverings to the long-sleeve dresses, all fabrics were made of APR’s sustainable and also homegrown viscose rayon. 

"APR's involvement in JMFW 2023 aligns with our commitment to spur the growth of the domestic sustainable textile and fashion industry, in this regard, helping realize the government's target of making Indonesia the world's qibla of modest fashion," APR director Basrie Kamba said in a press statement.

One of the brands which APR had teamed up with was Bajufuku, which brought its "White Stories" collection to the JMFW runway. As the name suggests, it is an all-white collection inspired by the Muslims' longing of going on pilgrimage. Bajufuku’s White Stories embraces an embroidery design with a touch of a fancy look. 

Aruna by Yuliana Fitri gives a Hanbok twist to the Batik Sekar Jagad, a traditional batik motif from Java. The collection, which makes navy and white its dominant colors, uses recycled textiles made from pre-consumer waste. 

Viscose rayon is becoming the darling of modest fashion. The breathable and soft nature of viscose rayon makes it a perfect fit for modest wear, especially in tropical Indonesia. Viscose is a versatile fabric that can be easily combined with cotton and spandex. 

Modest wear brand Renatha turned the heads of the JMFW attendees, as models showed up in neon colors, although some of its collection designs were also in earth tones. Renatha founder Gina Alfinda said that the collection wanted to portray an independent woman who lives in a busy city. "Viscose, which has a soft texture and is comfortable in nature fits this collection like a glove," Gina said in a press statement.

APR is not just collaborating with brands for JMFW, but also with design schools, namely Islamic Fashion Institute and Universitas Kristen Maranatha. 

At JMFW, Universitas Kristen Maranatha showed off its sustainable, natural-dyed Healing in Lasem collection. The university had teamed up with local artisans of hand-written Lasem batik to create this blue-and-white collection.

Islamic Fashion Institute and Universitas Kristen Maranatha were two of the seven design schools which inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with APR earlier this year. 

The deal encompasses a partnership in access to viscose rayon and research on sustainable modest fashion trends. They have also agreed to work together in mentoring local fashion micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Indonesia is eyeing to become the global hub of modest fashion by 2024. Indonesia placed third in the modest fashion based on the Global Islamic Economy (GIE) indicator ranking after the UAE and Turkey, according to the 2019/2020 State of the Global Islamic Economy Report.