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Prodita Sabarini , The JakartaPost , Jakarta | Sun, 09/21/2014 9:47 AM | Lifestyle
A fashion and jewelry show at Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall on Wednesday showed an eclectic selection of silver necklaces, petit batik dresses, kebaya and sarongs made of songket, along with plenty of frills and ruffles.
Grand Indonesia organized the fashion show as part of its Ramadan and Idul Fitri program themed “A Touch of Middle East”. The East Mall main atrium was made over into a fashion runway.
Despite drawing on the momentum of the Islamic religious celebration, the designers did not limit their collection for the holy month.
On the runway, models stepped out in mini-batik sleeveless dresses with low-cut necklines and tube dresses with tight-fitting bustiers.
Working with Mutumanikan Nusantara, a nonprofit organization that oversees jewelry manufacturers in Indonesia, the mall made space for batik and jewelry designer Siti Garsiah, songket manufacturer and designer Zainal Abidin and young designer Rusli Tjohnardi.
Mutumanikan has taken part in several international jewelry exhibitions, including in Japan, India, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Their latest endeavor was in Baselworld Watch and Jewelry 2014 in Basel, Switzerland.
The designers showcased their latest designs all with their own signature style.
Siti Garsiah showcased 19 of her 76 batik designs with the theme “Black Combine”. Fifteen pieces from her silver jewelry collection were also exhibited by the models.
The collections were divided into three series: “Aq Cantique” (I’m Beautiful), “Aku Keren” (I’m Cool), and “Aku Imut” (I’m Cute).
Siti uses colorful batik in browns, purples and pinks. The designs were modern and simple. One of the models wore an A-line pleated skirt with a white sleeveless shantung. Another design was a gray sleeveless blouson combined with a white egg-shaped knee-length skirt.
Jewelry pieces included long silver necklaces with silver medallions that fell to just below the chest.
Rusli Tjohnardi’s design was full of tulle and ruffles. One interesting design was his bustier with the hem cut and sewn so it looked like flower petals. He dubbed his collection “Beautiful Glam in Serenity”.
The last collection was by Zainal Abidin. Zainal showcased intricate kebaya and sarongs made of songket. Songket is a handwoven fabric in silk or cotton, intricately patterned with gold or He used songket not only for the sarongs but also for the kebaya. Zainal said he combined a songket pattern from Padang, West Sumatra, with a weaving technique from Palembang, South Sumatra.
“I try to mix various ethnic traditions and combine it with an international style,” he said.
He said songket does not have to be limited to sarongs.
“We can design it to make trousers. We can use it for the kebaya as well,” he said.
Zainal said the songket trend would see the fabric evolve into a more spectacular style.
“It will become more glittery, more suitable for weddings,” he said, adding he was planning to include soon-to-be brides among his customers.
“Usually there are lots of weddings after Idul Fitri,” he said.
