Contemporary Indonesian Fashion: Through the Looking Glass (Dress and Fashion Research)

Indonesian fashion has undergone a period of rapid growth over the last three decades. This book explores how through years of social, political, and cultural upheaval, the country’s fashion has moved away from “colonial fashion” and “national dress” to claim its own distinct identity as contemporary fashion in a global world. With specific reference to women’s wear, Contemporary Indonesian Fashion explores the diversity and complexity of the country’s sartorial offerings, which weave together local textile traditions like batik and ikat-making with contemporary narratives. The book questions concepts of “tradition” and “modernity” in the developing world, taking stock of the elite consumption of luxury brands and the large-scale manufacturing of fast fashion, and introduces us to the rise of new trends such as busana muslim (or “modest wear”), creating a portrait of a vibrant and growing national and, increasingly, international, industry. Exploring clothing in shopping malls, on the catwalk, in magazines, and online, the book examines how Indonesian fashion is made, presented, and consumed, combining research in Indonesia with analysis and personal reflection. Contemporary Indonesian Fashion ultimately questions the deeply entrenched eurocentrism of “global fashion”, simultaneously interrogating current homogenizing beauty and body image discourses posited as universal, by pointing to absences, silences, and erasures as reflected by contemporary Indonesian fashion— hence the “looking glass” of the title. Aptly illustrated, the book offers a new perspective on a rapidly developing new fashion capital, Jakarta. Contemporary Indonesian fashion has grown, through socio-political and cultural upheavals, in the post- reformasi period, from varied earlier incarnations as ‘colonial fashion’ ‘national dress’ and ‘fashion trends in Indonesia’. Its existence bears out the commitment of the designers, many of whom are themselves women, to dressing urban women, envisioned as sleek, chic and sassy, with a global outlook, and offering a mix of ready-to-wear and bespoke fittings. Contemporary Indonesian fashion reveals a high degree of complexity and multi-layering, with a unique and rather distinctive aesthetics, whilst on the surface perfectly comfortable with adopting a European fashion system and terminology. Rich textile traditions of batik making and ikat weaving, rooted in the history of local communities, underpin the personal trajectories of today’s designers and their attempts to create ‘clothes that tell a story’. Niche manufacturing of eco-design markedly contrasts with an avid elite consumption of international high end, status enhancing, luxury brands, and with low end, large scale clothing manufacturing and consumption of fast fashion. In the background, there is the trend of ‘modest wear’, perceived as a globally profitable opportunity and enthusiastically received by the Western fashion capitals although its adoption within Indonesia, and its perception as signifier of Indonesian fashion, remains contentious. The aesthetic discourse of Indonesian fashion is entwined with the ‘international’ beauty standards touted by the beauty industry and relayed and amplified by media intervention, through the glamorizing narratives of fashion photography, though not without resistance. Additionally, the endorsement of ‘stylish individualism’ by the high end shopping malls and the fashion magazines sustains the performance of a ‘stylish femininity’ variously defined. Combining research in Indonesia with analysis and personal reflection, this book ultimately questions the deeply entrenched eurocentrism of ‘global fashion’, simultaneously interrogating current homogenising beauty and body image discourses posited as universal, by pointing to absences, silences and erasures as reflected back by contemporary Indonesian fashion – hence the ‘looking glass’ of the title. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTE ON SPELLING ABOUT THE AUTHOR PROLOGUE PART ONE INDONESIAN CHIC PAST AND PRESENT 1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF FASHION IN INDONESIA Indonesian dress through time: Pre-colonial and colonial period Post-independence Indonesia and national dress: The Batik Indonesia project The New Order and Iwan Tirta: Batik uniforms and batik haute couture From the 1970s to post-reformasi: Modern and contemporary Indonesian fashion systems PART TWO PRESENTING FASHION 2 PERFORMING FASHION: FASHION WEEKS, FASHION EVENTS, FASHION-AS-ART Jakarta as the centre of Indonesian fashion Jakarta Fashion Week Indonesia Fashion Week The IPMI Trend Show Fashion-as-art 3 “MADE IN INDONESIA” FOR THE GLOBAL STAGE Designers and brands: Contemporary Indonesian fashion identity Ghea Panggabean and “ethnic” chic Sebastian Gunawan: Indo-Italian glamor and sensuality Auguste Soesastro: Classic chic and eco-friendliness Tri Handoko Joewono: Minimalism and emotional design Musa Widyatmojo: Business acumen and skillful cut Susanna Perini and Martha Ellen Nuttall: Foreign designers in Indonesia “Made in Indonesia” on the global stage: The fault lines of fashion PART THREE MEDIATINGFASHION 4 FASHION IN PRINT AND ONLINE: DIGITALIZING BEAUTY AND STYLE The Femina Group: Dewi and Femina The international franchises: Harper’s Bazaar and Prestige Alternative online publishing, blogging, and social media PART FOUR CONSUMING FASHION 5 VISITING MALLS AND BUYING ONLINE: SHOPPING FOR STYLE Fashion allure for middle-class purses Fashion e-commerce in Indonesia: Battleground for the tech titans #Jastip-ing all the way to the mall 6 WEARING CLOTHES, STYLING THE SELF: INDONESIAN WOMEN AND FASHION Models, muses and celebrities Fashion as an arena for activism Fashion and the everyday EPILOGUE Gathering up the threads: Gaps and omissions Thinking through Indonesian fashion: Overlapping frameworks NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Indonesian fashion has undergone a period of rapid growth over the last three decades. This book explores how through years of social, political, and cultural upheaval, the country's fashion has moved away from “colonial fashion” and “national dress” to claim its own distinct identity as contemporary fashion in a global world. With specific reference to women's wear, Contemporary Indonesian Fashion explores the diversity and complexity of the country's sartorial offerings, which weave together local textile traditions like batik and ikat -making with contemporary narratives. The book questions concepts of “tradition” and “modernity” in the developing world, taking stock of the elite consumption of luxury brands and the large-scale manufacturing of fast fashion, and introduces us to the rise of new trends such as busana muslim (or “modest wear”), creating a portrait of a vibrant and growing national and, increasingly, international, industry. Exploring clothing in shopping malls, on the catwalk, in magazines, and online, the book examines how Indonesian fashion is made, presented, and consumed, combining research in Indonesia with analysis and personal reflection. Contemporary Indonesian Fashion ultimately questions the deeply entrenched eurocentrism of "global fashion", simultaneously interrogating current homogenizing beauty and body image discourses posited as universal, by pointing to absences, silences, and erasures as reflected by contemporary Indonesian fashion- hence the "looking glass" of the title. Aptly illustrated, the book offers a new perspective on a rapidly developing new fashion capital, Jakarta. "Indonesian fashion has undergone a period of rapid growth over the last three decades. This book explores how through years of social, political, and cultural upheaval, the country's fashion has moved away from 2colonial fashion3 and 2national dress3 to claim its own distinct identity as contemporary fashion in a global world. With specific reference to women's wear, Contemporary Indonesian Fashion explores the diversity and complexity of the country's sartorial offerings, which weave together local textile traditions like batik and ikat-making with contemporary narratives. The book questions concepts of 2tradition3 and 2modernity3 in the developing world, taking stock of the elite consumption of luxury brands and the large-scale manufacturing of fast fashion, and introduces us to the rise of new trends such as busana muslim (or 2modest wear3), creating a portrait of a vibrant and growing national and, increasingly, international, industry"-- Provided by publisher