Jakarta Fashion Week

Can it really be more than a month ago that I was at Jakarta Fashion Week with the lovely Thom Whilton of Couturing.com? (No, I’m not a midget, he is just incredibly tall!)


To be honest, I was wondering if I should even bother doing this post because it was a while ago, and Thom has already done a great post using the professional pictures from the event (and I’ve done a personal one and a work one about the rest of our Jakarta trip), but as it’s nearly Christmas, I thought a dose of bling was in order. And if there’s one thing we got at JFW, it was bling.
At the Cleo Fashion Awards the bling was mainly on the big screens… I loved what they did with the backdrops (the models came out onto the catwalk through these screens).

There was a bit of a Russian theme for accessory label Ghost…


And then a road trip backdrop for a more street-style label (sorry, not sure who this is!)…


Imelda Kartini really upped the awe factor with these gravity-defying gowns…


I’m sure there’s a DIY idea hiding under all these loops of wool? chiffon? I’m not sure what it actually was, but you would probably go loopy trying to recreate this look…


Danny Satriadi’s designs incorporated layers and intricate lace-like patterns to lift a subtle colour palette.


Fake hair was one of the most interesting materials used, incorporated to great effect in the skirt of this dress.


I’m not normally a girly girl, but these clouds of pale pink chiffon could just about make me turn…

As you probably know, I’m a sucker for anything ethnic inspired, so Sebastian Gunawan’s overblown ikat print collection had me at hello.

Ikat is a traditional craft in Indonesia, but the designers had modernised it by cleverly supersizing the patterns and keeping to a limited palette. Authentic ikat patterns can look quite undefined due to the inherently imprecise process of dyeing threads prior to weaving (it blows my mind at how involved the process actually is!), but the prints here were very clear cut and bold. Nothing to fault here!

Sapto Djojokartiko showed a collection that I thought of as a mix of heavy metal and iron lace…




It was a breathtaking collection in every sense of the word, thanks to the structures that the models were wearing on their feet (I don’t think they can really be called shoes as they looked like the kind of thing that architecture students might have to create as their final assignments and were probably just as comfortable, judging by the models’ expressions).


The models were all walking excruciatingly slowly and the audience held its collective breath the entire show. There was applause every time a model made it safely back to the top of the catwalk. Kind of crazy, but then they are called fashion shows for a reason, I suppose.

Of course, the blingiest bling of all was saved until last.

Tex Saverio’s collection shone – literally. Every single piece was completely gold.

There seemed to be a bit of a flight theme, with winged figures and gowns seemingly created from zillions of gilded feathers. Black Swan has had a lot to answer for this year!

The frame around this model’s face features mythical birds like phoenixes, or maybe they’re cranes…

Either way, it’s a miracle that she made it down the runway, it looked so heavy…

As I was a naughty blogger who hadn’t done her homework, I knew nothing about Tex Saverio, but I sat watching the show thinking “I bet Lady Gaga would LOVE this stuff”. Turns out my celeb/designer matchmaking radar is spot on, albeit a little late, as Tex has already created a costume for her!!

Now, if you’re feeling creative and Christmassy at the same time, I have a DIY project for you. Simply print out the picture below (in colour, of course), cut out the model neatly, stick her to the top of your Christmas tree, and voila! It’s the Christmas Fashion Fairy! You can cover her in glitter too, if you like. I’m sure Tex wouldn’t mind – he seems to be a bit of a fan of bling!