In comparison to its first edition last year, Indonesia Fashion Week 2013 has something new this year. It’s The Fashion Parade!
I thought it would showcase some designers’ collections in public. As
it turned out, this was a regular fashion show on a runway with
extraordinary number of participating designers! The Fashion Parade
involved 30-33 designers in one stage, taking turns disclosing 10 looks
each! Wow, can you imagine? That’s like watching 330 looks in just one
show. Well, I must say, this wasn’t the convenient form of watching a
fashion show. Many distractions of people coming and going during the
show as they get bored or couldn’t stand sitting there for 3 hours long!
And most of the invitees came only to watch certain designers, and they
got impatient waiting for their favorite ones’ turn.
However, this was a major work, to arrange 33 designers and
330 looks into one successful show. A big round of applause to IFW
committees and all parties involved.
One blessed thing I noted from the 2nd day of Fashion Parade
which presented Muslim fashion designers, it was, in fact, a full
house! The Plenary Hall of JCC, where all the fashion shows were being
held, has the capacity of 5,000 seats. Still, it was the most packed
show of the 4 days of IFW 2013. That’s one thing to describe the
enthusiasm of an emerging market of Muslim fashion.
Anyway, the 33 designers came from different generations.
Some of them are pioneers in the Muslim fashion development, some has
risen from fashion entrepreneur, and the rest are the young emerging
fashion designers who acquired wide acknowledgement from the internet
and social media. There’s no sort of sequential order or arrangement on
casual wear, formal and party wear, and bridal.
While we have seen Ida Royani with her consistent and signature work in most Muslim fashion shows and event in the recent years, that’s not the case for Anne Rufaidah.
She is among the very first Muslim fashion designers in Indonesia, and
took an active role in striving for Muslim clothing to be embraced as a
daily wear in the formal sector. Having Anne Rufaidah back in IFW 2013
were such a blissful thing, and do look forward to her next collections
for young hijabers.
Ida Royani & Ina Priyono
