Jakarta. Fashion schools and the highly anticipated Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week, or JMFW, are set to serve as the building blocks of Indonesia’s dream to become the world’s trendsetter for modest fashion in 2024.

On Wednesday, APR held a curtain-raiser to the upcoming JMFW, which is planned to take place this October. 

The Road to 2022 JMFW encompassed a panel discussion on the fashion design school’s role in leveraging Indonesia’s sustainable modest fashion. At the same event, APR also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with seven fashion design schools to propel Indonesia’s fashion scene.

According to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, Indonesia has set its sights on becoming the mecca of Islamic fashion in 2024. Ma’ruf then went on to highlight the academia’s crucial role in the creation of a sustainable fashion.

“Academia has the responsibility to conduct quality research and create pieces that suit the global market’s liking, while paying attention to the sustainability aspect. Works created by the academia must get absorbed by the industry,” Ma’ruf told the conference.

The vice president then commended APR’s recently inked MoU. He added that the MoU could help Indonesia’s modest fashion industry thrive.

“The JMFW is an action plan to boost the added value and quality of Indonesian modest fashion products. [...] Hopefully, this MoU can encourage all academics and industry to embrace a stronger partnership to accelerate the development of Indonesia’s Muslim fashion,” Ma’ruf said.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said that the modest fashion had promising potential to drive Indonesia’s economic growth.

“JMFW seeks to introduce and promote Indonesia’s Muslim fashion products to the overseas market in a bid to drive the country’s modest fashion industry and boost competitiveness on the global stage,” Lutfi said in a speech read by Didi Sumedi, the director general of national export development at the Trade Ministry. 

“We do hope that this MoU can pave the way for a stronger synergy between academia and industry. The academia can foster competent modest fashion talents that can create pieces that suit the industry’s demand,” he added.

At the event, APR signed a MoU with seven design schools, among others, LaSalle College, Islamic Fashion Institute, and Jakarta Institute of Arts. Other signees include Bandung Polytechnic of Textile Technology, Jakarta Institute of Arts, Petra Christian University, Maranatha Christian University, and Creative Media State Polytechnic. 

The MoU encompasses partnership in access to the sustainable viscose rayon, research on sustainable modest fashion, and to work together in mentoring local fashion micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

APR director Basrie Kamba reiterated the company’s commitment to turn Indonesia into the world’s modest fashion hub.

“We actively encourage collaboration between fashion and textile stakeholders to support Indonesia’s modest fashion, primarily by optimizing the use of viscose rayon products while also promoting awareness for sustainable fashion,” Basrie said.

Rayon fiber possesses desirable qualities for modest wear. It is soft, lightweight, and breathable. Rayon is also a versatile fabric that is suitable for blending with other fibers such as polyester or spandex. Rayon fiber is also in line with sustainable fashion due to its biodegradable nature.

“APR realizes how entities have always been walking on their own. We welcome APR for taking the initiative to work together with us. All this time, designers, fashion design schools, and the industry have different perceptions,” La Salle president director Hariyadi Sukamdani said.