TOKYO – As part of Japan Fashion Week’s reaching out to other Asian fashion organizations, the Indonesia Fashion Forward show held as part of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo AW14, showed Japan that there is some interesting stuff happening in the Indonesian fashion industry.
MAJOR MINOR
Opening looks from Indonesian label Major Minor at Indonesia Fashion Forward show AW14.
Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
Opening the show was Major Minor from husband and wife team Ari and Sari Seputra who work with young designers Ambar Pratiwi and Inneke Margarethe who were classmates at Esmod Jakarta; the brand was established in 2011 and is known mostly for it’s strong use of colour and clean lines. As an insight into Indonesian fashion, Major Minor represented the “new”; its version of minimalism and colour-blocking came in a feminine format with loose draping in silk.
The first looks were in black and white with a lovely teal green, then came a print of the same shades with touches of strong orange ‒ the print was influenced by Indonesian photographer Bona Soetirto whose work reminded the designers of the art of Phillippe Cognee; the print then morphed into a series of more colour-blocking looks, this time with orange as the focus.
Indonesian label Major Minor at Indonesia Fashion Forward show AW14. Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
The addition of bits of fur to some of the pieces ‒ notably two fur-fronted gilets ‒ seemed rather odd considering the very “Spring Summer” nature of the collection; the juxtaposition was particularly jarring when it came styled as mittens and as detailing on sandals. Still, this may have been the designers’ concession to an Autumn Winter collection?
WATCH THE FINAL WALK FROM THE MAJOR MINOR SHOW AT MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK TOKYO
Overall Major Minor showed a neat collection; but it didn’t deviate much from any average label. There was certainly little to tell that this was an Indonesian label. Should this be an issue in today’s global fashion world? Well, in a way, yes. With so many brands in the world, you need something to stand out from the crowd; why not use your own rich culture to do so?
NUR ZAHRA
Opening looks from Indonesian label Nur Zahra at Indonesia Fashion Forward show AW14.
Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
The second designer on show, Nur Zahra, has certainly made the most of her culture and country. Windri Widiesta Dhari is the designer of modest, “hijabi” fashion, but she has mined her culture and religion to create a brand that definitely stands out from the sea of same-same international fashion. The brand is one of Indonesia’s top womenswear labels and is known for using environmentally-friendly materials as well as for being able to somehow convert mainstream trends into modest looks.
From the first look down the runway, it was clear that this designer has something new and refreshing to say; and according to Japan Fashion Week organiser, Ms Shinoda, it’s was something that the Japanese and international press wanted to hear about. She mentioned that she’d had more interest in Ms Windri’s work than in any other show so far this season.
Indonesian label Major Minor at Indonesia Fashion Forward show AW14. Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
Apart from what could be considered the “novelty” factor ‒ after all, it’s not very often that one sees the hijab on the runway ‒ dedicated fashion press were fascinated by the stunning prints and some amazing hats used in the collection.
The prints are all designed by Ms Windri and are created with organic dyes using the batik technique on Japanese shibori fabric; the brown, blue, red and beige patterns are based on Islamic decoration explained the designer after the show. Each print is only similar fro 20 batches of fabric as the natural dyes always have variations; the prints are done by hand entirely in Indonesia.
The stunning hats were inspired by an image of the artist Jean Seberg but recreated using traditional Indonesian methods. All in all, the work was a fabulous mix of tradition and modernity.
Indonesian label Major Minor at Indonesia Fashion Forward show AW14. Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
As the designer explained, take away the headscarves and you have perfectly wearable pieces for all women; and I suspect some men too. The trick was in the combination of neat tailoring in short and long jackets, layered with looser skirts, dresses and trousers; each garment in a complementary or contrasting print. There was even an interpretation of the ubiquitous sweatshirt as a long tunic worn over a long, denim-like flared skirt. The addition of a series of fabulous headscarves and “shoulder-robing” shawls added more layers of texture, colour and modesty to the looks but the individual pieces could just as easily be worn without them.
WATCH THE FINAL WALK OF THE NUR ZAHRA SHOW AT MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK TOKYO
Naturally enough Ms Windri was asked about whether or not wearing the hijab was a “restriction” to being fashionable, but since she herself looked as fashionable as any streetsnap-worthy fashionista in her elegant hijab and layered look, it was a moot point. Still, she answered happily enough that dressing modestly and wearing a hijab was not restrictive, particularly if you were used to it, and that she hoped to all women would think of her pieces the same way they would ordinary fashion.
In fact, the Ms Windri’s ability to create wearable fashion that is exciting while working within very narrow parameters goes to show that there really are no limits to creativity; the clever use of traditional techniques from two countries plus a wonderful sense of colour obviously work.
For more information about Major Minor, go to majorminorstore.com. You can follow the brand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/MajorMinor, and on Twitter at @majorminorstore. For more information about Nur Zahra, go to www.nurzahra.com. You can follow the brand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/NurZahra-Indonesia, on Twitter at @nurzahralook. For more information about Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, go to tokyo-mbfashionweek.com. You can follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MercedesBenzFashionWeekTOKYO and on Twitter at @MBFWT_official.
