ESMOD graduate fashion show 2010 Jakarta

Museum Nasional Jakarta

On my quest of hunting down the eco designers of Indonesia, I contacted Esmod Jakarta (esmod = a reputable group of fashion schools originating from Paris with schools all over the world). A few weeks later I receive an ethusiastic e-mail from a student, Anna Schmidt (coincidently a fellow half-German, her other half is Indonesian), happy to have found a fellow eco fashionista on the archipelago. We met for the first time last night, as she kindly secured me a ticket for her gratuate show, which I was very keen on seeing. What do the fashion designers of tomorrow in Indonesia have in store?

Modern Moslem

Anna Schmidt (front) and Angela Jessica Hadi (behind)

Angela Jessica Hadi

Pinky Andrea Purnama

Indo-Ethnic

Velika

Christina Geta Maria Pangaribuan

Superfuture

Soraya

Sherry Kandou

Priska Herlambang

Geek

Clarice

Rizqya

Tyas Pradninta

Warrior

Aan Ira Michelle

Zico Halim

Goth

Endriani

Yevi Yunita

They have a lot in store for the fashion world; I was particularly impressed by the high standard and large variety of styles and concepts. Unique is the influence of muslim and local culturemixed with influences from western culture which is getting more exposure and is more accessible in Asia through media and the internet. The comme-de-garcon meets Bernhard Wilhelm designs of Ryzqia stood out to me as being orginal and brave, using a short, pudgy model to accentuate the playfulness was clever and caused a reaction from the audience. The posted pics are just a selection my personal highlights the fantastic show, which took place in the national museum which I will visit tomorrow to learn more about this amazing country.

Congratuations to Anna who won two prizes that night: best women's wear and the Swarowski Crystalized award! Fantastic! Speaking to her later showed again how difficult it is here in Indonesia to source sustainable fabric, so that she compromised to use natural fibres for her collection rather than organic ones; hopefully in the future we can collaborate to make sourcing of sustainable materials easier. She expressed her concern about the lack of concern for environmental issues but believes once the trendsetters in Indonesia can be convinced of eco fashion, others will follow.

Thanks to Anna and her family for taking me under their wing for the night- very kind of the Schmidts! I am looking forward to see what up-and-coming eco-designer Anna Schmidt will get up to after graduating... we will see, maybe some Anglindo collabs...