Detailed and decorative. This baitik has a songket weave.

If the songket were a novel, its gold and silk threads would be the sentences that narrate the life and times of the people of Palembang — the South Sumatran city where the baroque brocade is still traditionally hand woven on a loom.

As a legacy of the Sriwijaya Empire — a kingdom that dominated Sumatra between the sixth and 13th centuries — the songket recounts the halcyon days of kings, queens and courtiers.

“The songket, which originated from the Sriwijaya Empire, was originally worn by members of the keraton and not by commoners,” Bahsen Fikri, who runs the Fikri Songket Boutique in Palembang, said.

“The weavers were court members as well. They made the songket cloth as souvenirs for palace guests,” he said, adding that these days people usually wear the cloth on their wedding day.

Likewise, the symbols weaved on the songket chronicle the transformation of Palembang from a trade city frequented by Chinese seafarers to the capital of South Sumatra.

“One of the first ever songket motifs, called ‘Naga Bertarung’ [Fighting Dragons], feature the Chinese symbol of dragons,” Fikri pointed out.

Songket manufacturers have kept up trade with China, but nowadays it is to purchase imitation gold thread as substitutes for the real gold-encrusted thread once used in the days of yore.

“That’s why we buy weathered, old cloth, which we unravel to pull out the gold-embedded threads.

These intact gold threads are then rewoven with new silk threads,” Fikri said.

Cloth woven with real gold thread, however, is sold dearly at Rp 50 million (US$5,550) or more per piece and are only made-to-order. Meanwhile, the humbler pieces of songket made of silk and imitation gold thread carry a price tag of around Rp 1.5 million upward depending on the quality of materials.

“The motif also influences the price,” Fikri said, adding that the motifs have evolved as well to stay relevant with contemporary fashion. Fikri chose to fuse songket brocades with batik prints as well as tie-dyed, or jumputan, prints. Another noted songket manufacturer, Zainal Arif, chose to redesign rectangular pieces of songket fabric traditionally worn as sarongs and sashes into cocktail dresses.

“The design is essential in appealing to those outside [Palembang]. Every year, we come up with new color, design and motif trends,” he said. The songket also speaks of the somber divisions within society. Although the songket fetches millions of rupiah, the weavers of the cloth are paid a pittance.

On average, weavers earn between Rp 300,000 and Rp 500,000 for each cloth they weave. “I get paid Rp 300,000 for each sash,” Fikhri, a 20-year-old weaver, said. He added that he worked on his loom for about seven hours a day to fabricate at least one piece of brocade in a month or two.

“I do almost all of the work myself from spooling the thread, stretching the thread across the loom to weaving the pieces of thread,” he said as he adroitly slid a hook horizontally under two layers of thread stretched vertically like strings on a harp. Shop owners contend that the income of the weavers lies in their own hands, literally.

“It depends on the person,” Bahsen Fikri said. “If the weaver makes three pieces in a month, that’s [a payment of] Rp 1.5 million.” The discrepancy between the artisans’ fees and sale prices comes at a time when the government is beating the drum on developing the creative sector as income generators for regions.

“We envision that, in the future, South Sumatra will increasingly grow on the basis of the richness of their history as well as their cultural creativity and innovation, in addition to their abundance of natural resources,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari E. Pangestu said during a recent visit to Palembang. She was in the city — famous for its fish cakes in vinegar sauce or pempek — to inaugurate the Sriwijaya International Expo 2011 held on the sidelines of the 2011 SEA Games.

The expo was organized to promote local culture as well as to accrue tourist rupiahs from the game delegates streaming into the city.

“I hope [the people of Palembang] enjoy the economic impact of local and foreign tourists’ visits,” the minister said. Songket shop owners pointed out that they have seen roughly a 100 percent rise in sales as SEA Games delegates, officials and athletes fill up the city’s hotels and sporting venues.

The minister herself, who said she was a great fan of the cloth, bought a couple of songket cloths from a shop to add to her collection of around 20 pieces.

“Visitors mostly buy souvenirs like shirts, hats and dolls because their prices range between Rp 10,000 to Rp 200,000. The songket cloths are expensive,” Bahsen Fikri said. The multiplier effect big events have on regional income has also led the government to try to boost meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) in 14 regions, including Jakarta, Bali, Medan and Yogyakarta.

Weaving history: Although songket can fetch millions rupiah, the weavers of the cloth are paid a pittance

As a result, there was a lot of immigration red tape that deterred visitors from coming, in addition to the lack of tourism facilities such as hygienic food centers. Therefore, the government plans to formulate standards that regions have to fulfill to be a suitable convention destination.

“We want to inform the stakeholders of the economic potential of conventions since convention tourists spend more than normal tourists,” he said.

The South Sumatra administration has targeted the Sriwijaya International Expo to bring in at least Rp 450 billion during its nine days of operation.

“We do hope people from outside Palembang keep coming because strictly depending on Palembang itself [for sales] is quite hopeless,” Bahsen Fikri said.

Unfortunately, promoting Indonesia as a convention destination has its problems since many government agencies, including local administrations, were unaware of the potential of hosting conventions as a means to “increase people’s welfare and develop a region”, he said.

As a result, there was a lot of immigration red tape that deterred visitors from coming, in addition to the lack of tourism facilities such as hygienic food centers. Therefore, the government plans to formulate standards that regions have to fulfill to be a suitable convention destination.

“We want to inform the stakeholders of the economic potential of conventions since convention tourists spend more than normal tourists,” he said.

The South Sumatra administration has targeted the Sriwijaya International Expo to bring in at least Rp 450 billion during its nine days of operation.

“We do hope people from outside Palembang keep coming because strictly depending on Palembang itself [for sales] is quite hopeless,” Bahsen Fikri said.

KUAI RI Roma, Priyo Iswanto dalam menyampaikan kemajuan dan potensi negara Indonesia.

Sesuai dengan judul paparan yang diajukan oleh IPALMO Nord Ovest yaitu The Potential of Muslim Country within the International Economy and Finance: Case on Indonesia, KUAI RI Roma, Priyo Iswanto menyampaikan hal-hal sebagai berikut:

1. Memberikan pengertian bahwa Indonesia bukanlah negara Islam, karena tidak berdasarkan pada hukum syariah, melainkan negara mayoritas Muslim yang berkembang dengan demokrasi berdasarkan Pancasila. Bangsa Indonesia telah mengenal konsep demokrasi dan toleransi jauh hari sebelum merdeka karena telah lama ditanamkan oleh nenek moyang bangsa secara tradisional dan sampai saat ini masih dipegang erat oleh masyarakat sehingga Indonesia bertransformasi menjadi negara demokrasi terbesar ketiga di dunia.

2. Perbankan berbasis Syariah (Islamic Banking and Finance) di Indonesia yang baru muncul pada akhir dekade 90an meskipun wacana untuk mendirikan lembaga keuangan Syariah telah ada sejak tahun 1991. Munculnya berbagai lembaga keuangan Syariah tersebut lebih merupakan perwujudan tegaknya demokrasi, dimana pemerintah berusaha untuk memberikan banyak pilihan kepada masyarakat Indonesia yang terdiri dari beragam adat dan budaya. Muslim di Indonesia yang mencapai 80% dari jumlah penduduk juga dapat memberikan alternatif pendanaan bagi masyarakat Indonesia terutama yang sampai saat ini masih berada di bawah garis kemiskinan melalui sistem zakat, infaq, dan shodaqoh.  

Kepala Perwakilan Bank Indonesia London, Dian Ediana Rae dalam menyampaikan materi lembaga keuangan Syariah di Indonesia dan kode etiknya.

Sementara itu pada sesi selanjutnya Kepala Perwakilan Bank Indonesia London, Dian Ediana Rae, menyampaikan materi paparannya yang mengangkat tema perkembangan lembaga keuangan Syariah di Indonesia dan kode etiknya. Paparan Dian Rae membahas lembaga keuangan Syariah mulai dari sejarah perkembangan, kondisi saat ini, termasuk juga hal-hal mendetil lainnya seperti model perbankan Syariah Indonesia yang disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan masyarakat Indonesia, sukuk, dan kebijakan pemerintah lainnya yang khusus mengatur mengenai perbankan Syariah di Indonesia.

IPALMO adalah sebuah lembaga penelitian non profit yang melakukan studi tentang kebijakan ekonomi internasional, kerjasama ekonomi, dan hubungan antar negara pada satu kawasan dengan tingkat perkembangan yang berbeda. Lembaga ini didirikan sebagai think tank di Italia dan menjadi pusat studi tentang Afrika, Amerika Latin, Timur Tengah dan Asia dengan harapan untuk merangsang perdebatan tentang isu-isu kebijakan luar negeri dan kerja sama berbagai negara tersebut dengan Italia. Selain dengan IPALMO Nord Ovest, seminar mengenai Indonesia telah beberapa kali diselenggarakan oleh berbagai lembaga di Italia seperti dengan Kamar Dagang Turin, Kamar Dagang Milan, Kamar Dagang Salerno.

Koleksi Batik Auguste Soesastro

Roma. Koleksi batik karya Oscar Lawalata dan Auguste Soesastro, perancang busana ternama Indonesia pada fashion show  dalam rangkaian resepsi peringatan HUT ke-66 RI di Hotel Sheraton, Roma Kamis malam (29/9) dan sekaligus menggemakan World Batik Summit yang sedang berlangsung di Jakarta, telah dipadati tamu dalam jumlah besar terutama dari komunitas mode di Italia.

 “Batik berkelas dan elegan berpeluang masuk pasar Italia” ujar  beberapa tamu yang menyaksikan dengan penuh kekaguman peragawati papan atas Indonesia berjalan di atas panggung (catwalk) memamerkan koleksi batik kontemporer dan moderen.

Koleksi Batik Oscar Lawalata

Fashion show yang merupakan hasil kerjasama KBRI Roma, dan Asosiasi Persahabatan Indonesia-Italia, serta Yayasan Akar Wangi, Yogyakarta dan dengan patronasi Pemda Roma dan AltaRoma, asosiasi mode papan atas Italia, dimaksudkan untuk mempromosikan batik berkelas di Roma yang dikenal sebagai sebagai salah satu kota mode utama di dunia.

 Perpaduan yang harmonis antara fashion show dengan pertunjukan budaya serta penataan ruang pameran, dan ruang resepsi serta  panggung (catwalk) membuat fashion show ini tampak unik dan mendapat sambutan meriah dari tamu  berjumlah seditnya 600 orang, terdiri dari kalangan diplomatik, pejabat pemerintah, pengusaha (boutique), operator pariwisata dan wartawan.

Oscar Lawalata dan Auguste Soesastro

Tamu-tamu yang masuk ke ruang resepsi melalui ruang pameran langsung disambut dengan pertunjukan musik gamelan Jawa yang semuanya dimainkan oleh penabuh gamelan orang Italia di bawah binaan KBRI Vatikan. “Wow,… luar biasa, instrumennya indah, dan suaranya merdu menyentuh kalbu dan sangat unik”  ujar para tamu sambil mengambil foto para penabuh gamelan.

Yang tidak kalah menariknya adalah, kehadiran Michella Polselli, penerima beasiswa seni dan budaya yang baru saja kembali dari Indonesia beberapa bulan lalu. Dengan pakaian kebayanya, gadis cantik ini duduk di salah satu pojok promosi batik  melakukan demo membatik sambil menjelaskan proses dan sejarah batik yang dua tahun lalu diakui UNESCO sebagai warisan budaya dunia.

Kuasa Usaha KBRI Roma, Priyo Iswanto memberikan sambutan dalam acara "Hidden Dreams"

Kuasa Usaha KBRI Roma, Priyo Iswanto dalam sambutannya mengatakan, fashion show bertema “Mimpi Tersembunyi” Ekspresi Kreatif Indonesia melalui Mode, Tari dan Warisan Budaya” atau “Hidden Dreams” ini dimaksudkan untuk sekaligus menggemakan World Batik Summit yang sedang berlangsung di Jakarta dan secara khusus untuk lebih mengenalkan batik sebagai warisan dunia asal Indonesia kepada masyarakat Eropa terutama Italia. Diharapkan pengenalan dan pemahaman seni budaya  Indonesia yang semakin baik oleh masyarakat Italia dapat semakin mendekatkan hubungan dan kerjasama antara Italia dan Indonesia. Priyo Iswanto lebih lanjut menambahkan harapan batik bisa merebut pasar Eropa khususnya di Italia mengingat batik sangat cocok untuk iklim panas dan Italia memiliki musim panas yang relatif panjang antara 4-5 bulan.

Tari Horeg oleh Kris dan Fardian turut menampilkan batik Indonesia

Selain menampilkan batik fashion show, acara Hidden Dreams dimeriahkan dengan tarian tradisonal oleh Didik Nini Thowok yang membawakan Tari Dwimuka dan tampilan tari kontemporer oleh  penari kondang Kris dan Fardian dengan membawakan Tari Tetalu Ning-nong dan Tari Horeg. Acara ditutup dengan penampikan musik jazz Indonesia oleh Murni Group.

Tari Dwimuka oleh Didik Nini Thowok

Sebagaimana tahun lalu, acara Hidden Dreams ini juga menampilkan fashion show karya perancang muda dan berbakat dari KOEFIA, sekolah mode ternama di Italia.  Koleksi batik Oscar dan Auguste akan dipamerkan kembali pada fashion show di Milan tanggal 4 Oktober 2011 dalam satu rangkaian acara Resepsi HUT ke-66 RI.

Giving thanks to the Almighty: Residents of Nglurah village, Tawangmangu, Karanganyar, Central Java, carry food offerings a round their ancestral cemetery as part of the dukutan ritual.

Surakarta. It’s not every day you see hundreds of residents from two different villages at each other’s throat for 10 minutes, followed by everyone laughing together as if nothing had happened.

In fact, it only occurs every seven months (based on the Javanese calendar of 210-day cycles), on a Tuesday, in the wuku (seven-day period) of dukut, one of such 30 periods in the calendar, to be more precise. This ancient ritual still takes place in Central Java, and goes by the name of dukutan.

Dukutan consists of a full-on brawl between two neighboring villages, which originated in the legend of a warrior couple living on the slopes of Mt. Lawu near Surakarta also known as Solo, Central Java, centuries ago.

As the story goes, Narotama, the invincible chief minister of the Kahuripan Kingdom, set up a village after wandering through the wilderness.

An invulnerable young woman named Nyai Roso Putih happened to live in a village opposite Narotama’s new settlement.

When Narotama and Nyai Roso Putih finally met, the two couldn’t help but fight each other, dragging their communities into a fierce battle almost daily.

The protracted feud took a turn of its own as the two young belligerents fell in love with each other. The couple soon realized their mutual affection would bring peace to both villages. So they tied the knot and were both installed as chiefs of Nglurah village, and named Kyai Menggung and Nyai Menggung.

This legend, which has been passed on from generation to generation, has given birth to the mass fighting ritual of dukutan observed annually by residents of Nglurah, Tawangmangu district, Karanganyar regency, Surakarta. Two hamlets in Nglurah, Nglurah Lor in the north and Nglurah Kidul in the south, take part in this ritual.

A joyful event: Dancers entertain the crowd during the ritual of dukutan in Nglurah village, Tawangmangu, Karanganyar, Central Java.

Before the mass fight, villagers prepare offerings such as vegetables and corn, which are cooked on firewood stoves and cannot under any circumstance be eaten. The offerings are then brought to the house of village elder Parto Sentono, to receive his blessing.

Why Parto Sentono? Because locals believe he is one of Kyai Menggung’s direct descendants, therefore should be responsible for making sure the tradition lives on.

So, on the eve of the ritual, which took place in mid September this year, the 70-year-old was meditating in his room at home, begging the ruler of the universe for a safe and smooth dukutan this year.

“Dukutan is a manifestation of our gratitude to the Almighty God for the health, security and peace we have enjoyed,” said Parto Sentono before conducting the ritual.

A number of young villagers were handpicked to join the mass fight. Nearly all adults were involved in the most colossal event of the year, which included a procession.

Prayer time: Villagers pray at the cemetery dedicated to Kyai and Nyai Menggung in Nglurah village, Tawangmangu, Karanganyar, Central Java, before the procession and mass fight start.

The ritual began around 6 a.m. Fighters from the two camps walked around the Menggung cemetery. During the procession, both sides threw offerings at each other while distributing them to onlookers. As the temperature rose, village elders herded the fighters to an arena near the tomb.

By then, thousands of people from both hamlets had gathered to watch the fighters donned with ancient costumes, heirlooms and holding banners.

As fighters from the two villages stood opposite each other, making provocative statements to build
an atmosphere of enmity, several dancers appeared in the arena to ease the tension.

But it was time to fight. The two camps attacked and chased each other, traded blows and hurled stones or chunks of wood at each other. Although the brawlers knock each other about, they are not allowed to feel vengeful.

“This mass fight is part of the village’s cleansing ritual to get rid of negative energy. Through dukutan, residents can unleash their frustration toward each other and all the angst and bad feelings will be cleared up after,” explained Parto Sentono.

The clash near the cemetery lasted for 10 minutes at most, with hamlet fighters beaming with laughter soon after, as if nothing had happened. No one held a grudge. The ritual just served as a way of bringing about peaceful relations and tolerance among villagers, as well as maintain a tradition reminiscent of their forefathers’ unique expression of love.

Source :  The Jakarta Post - Surakarta – 13 October 2010

Enter the Kampung Darmasiswa Indonesia-Italia to seek relevant information on the Darmasiswa Scholarship and other related Programs of interest to the general public. Catch up on what other Darmasiswa colleagues are up to.

Pelajari potensi pasar produk tas dan aksesoris kulit di Italia. Dapatkan kajian Atase Perdagangan KBRI Roma bertemakan Informasi Pasar Produk Tas dan Aksesoris Kulit di Italia beserta Daftar Importir produk tas an aksesoris kulit di Italia.

Berikut isi dari dokumen tersebut:

I. Gambaran Pasar: Konsumsi dan Produksi

A. Konsumsi

1.Market Size
2. Aksesoris Kulit
3. Tas Jinjing
4. Market Outlook
5. Segmentasi Pasar

• Berdasarkan Daerah dan Pendapatan
• Berdasarkan Umur dan Jenis Kelamin
• Berdasarkan Produk

6. Kecenderungan Pasar

• Eksperementasi
• Personalisasi
• Tas sekolah yang akan menjadi tren
• Penjualan secara Online yang signifikan
• Tas tangan yang lagi tren di Italia

B. Produksi

1. Total Produksi
2.  Produsen Utama
3.  Peluang Dan Tantangan
4.  Sumber Yang Dapat Digunakan

II. Saluran Distribusi

1. Jalur Perdagangan
2. Pedagang Pengecer
3. Struktur Harga
4. Cara Untuk Menemukan Rekan Dagang yang sesuai.

III. Ekspor dan Impor

A.  Impor
B.  Ekspor

IV. Perkembangan Harga

A.  Harga Konsumen.
B.  Harga Impor

V. Syarat Memasuki Pasar

A. Pengemasan
B. Jaminan atau Garansi
C. Anti Dumping
D. Kebijaksanaan Anti Pembajakan
E. Tarif dan Pajak
F. Promosi Melalui Majalah Bisnis
G. Pameran Dagang
H. Asosiasi Perdagangan

Bagan-Bagan:

Tabel 1. Impor Italia berdasarkan negara pemasok utama, 2003-2007
Tabel 2. Tarif masuk dan VAT untuk produk tas jinjing dan aksesoris kulit asal   Indonesia di Italia (%)
Gambar. Distribusi Produk Tas dan Aksesoris Kulit di Italia

Data dan informasi diperoleh dari berbagai sumber, antara lain: CBI Netherlands dan Komisi Uni Eropa.

Satin beauty: A model wears Bilqis layered satin dress with a sequined high waist jacket.

They have also unintentionally become real life models of Indonesian Islamic fashion, she says.

Jetti R. Hadi, the editor in chief of NooR, a magazine specializing in Muslim fashion, said that during the haj a lot of people complemented Indonesians’ attire. “People would say, ‘Oh, you have such beautiful clothes’. The women always look attractive,” she said recently.

As the most-populous Muslim country, with a growing number of women opting to wear the jilbab or headscarves, Muslim fashion has emerged as a promising industry in Indonesia, with many designers focusing on clothes and accessories that adheres to Islamic principles of covering the skin and hair of women.

In the international fashion scene, Muslim wear and accessories in the coming years is projected to reach 20 percent of the total fashion industry, which was worth US$1.7 trillion in 2008, according to Jetti.

While none of the Muslim countries are capitalizing on this, those in the Indonesian fashion field are set to make Indonesia the “Mecca” of Muslim fashion, Jetti said.

The government, realizing the various designers of Muslim wear, who combine colorful Indonesian fabrics of batik and ikat with interesting cloth design — distinguishing itself from Middle Eastern countries style Muslim clothes of dark abayas, burqas, and niqabs — are currently joining forces with the industry to promote the country’s Islamic fashion.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry last week held Gala dinner events in Auckland, New Zealand, and Melbourne, Australia with a contemporary dance troupe, Batavia Dance Studio, and two Muslim fashion brands, Up2date and Bilqis, to promote the country as a Muslim fashion shopping destination.

The Jakarta Post joined the tour by invitation from the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Having a limited budget for promotion — the Indonesian tourism promotional budget for 2010 is Rp 426 billion ($47 million), the tourism ministry is aiming for targeted marketing strategies, such as the Gala dinner and Muslim fashion show.

The ones in Auckland and Melbourne, the Culture and Tourism Ministry director general of marketing Sapta Nirwandar said, were organized to attract the Muslim community from the two cities. Indonesia aims to attract 7 million visitors for 2010.

In his speech at the Melbourne Gala dinner, Sapta said the ministry wanted to voice that Indonesia had a diverse culture. “We don’t want to discriminate other religions or make Islam special,” he said.

Sapta said the clothes showcased in Auckland and Melbourne hopefully could shed the “scary” image of Muslim wear.

“The clothes are peaceful, stylish; an image that is not scary. There’s no boundaries between the one who wears the clothes and other people,” he said after the Gala dinner in Melbourne.

More Indonesian women began to wear Islamic garb since the mid 1990s after the New Order regime eased religious repression in the pretext of national stability. Previously, civil servants, office workers and students were banned from wearing the jilbab. The toppling of Soeharto in 1998 that brought the reform era brought more freedom for people to express their religiosity. In recent years, religious symbols were seen as selling points for some political candidates, with posters of their jilbab clad wives displayed during election campaign time.

Along with the political changes, the fashion industry has started to supply stylish designs for Muslim fashion, giving more choices for women who are thinking of buying Muslim wear.

Not just a veil: Muslim fashion brand Up2date designer Lia Triana puts an ikat accessory on a model’s veiled head, at the Gala dinner and Muslim fashion show in Auckland on June 16.

The growing market and the many fashion shows that include Islamic fashion categories have influenced mainstream designers to produce Islamic fashion. Established names such as Ghea Panggabean, Sebastian Gunawan and Itang Yunasz design Muslim fashion aside from their mainstream designs.

Jetti said that now in Indonesia, Muslim fashion designs were incredibly rich. “It’s very colorful and you can see from the different types of head covers the wide range of choices. There are jilbabs that are very tight, there are also loose ones that cover the chest,” she said.

Indonesian women who opt to wear the jilbab have various choices of fashionable clothes, Jetti said. “This makes Indonesian Muslims not feel frumpish. They feel fashionable,” she said.

She said that people from Malaysia and Singapore, look at Indonesia for fashionable Muslim wear. She said that Muslim communities in Middle East, Europe and Australia could be tapped through rigorous promotion.

Last week’s Gala dinner was Melbourne’s second and a first for Auckland. Last year the tourism ministry brought Muslim fashion designer prodigy Dian Pelangi and veteran designer Iva Latifah to Melbourne.

This year Bandung-based Up2date represented the more youthful designs while Surakarta-based Bilqis presented its signature glamorous and elegant batik pieces.

With the theme “Tenun Inspiration”, Up2date presented layers of structured designs with touches of ikat from different parts of Indonesia.

Colorful ikat were constructed as vests layered on top of spandex blouses. One model wore a batik cape that can be worn in different styles.

Lia Triana, Up2date designer, said that the idea was to create different and versatile pieces to mix and match. The result was interesting vests, capes and boleros to add character.

Tuti Adib, Bilqis owner and designer said her pieces centered on the idea of elegance and glamor using woven cloth, batik and sequins.

Partnering with batik craftsmen in Surakarta, she said the woven clothes were made using a traditional weaving machine, and the batik was handmade.

“Muslim fashion is not a trend. It’s a need for some people who want to cover their bodies,” she said.

Australian market: Up2date co-owner Aju Isni Karim checks out a dress at Muslim fashion store House of Emaan, in Melbourne, Australia.

“I try to make clothes that not only serve the function of covering the body, but that has a sense of art in them,” she said.

The response to the clothes varied between Auckland and Melbourne. In Auckland, Bev Wallace who was present at the gala dinner said that she was impressed with the design and fabrics. Asked whether she would wear any of the designs, Wallace paused and said, “I honestly don’t know.”

In Melbourne, however, the audience rushed backstage to purchase the clothes presented at the show.
Laura Anderson, the chairman

of L’oreal Melbourne Fashion Week, wearing a Dian Pelangi design blue batik coat that she sourced from last year’s event, said that clothes designed for Islamic fashion had beautiful choices of jackets
and coats.

She said that Indonesia’s attempt to be the hub of Islamic Fashion was possible only if there were easy channels to market it. “That’s obviously through retail chains and special boutiques… There’s also the online channel. I think that’s the key to bring the clothes from textile manufacturers to end consumers,” she said.

The show in Melbourne did open up channels to the Melbourne market with Up2date and Bilqis meeting with Melbourne-based Muslim fashion store owners, one being Indonesian-owned House of Eeman.

Zurlia Ismail, owner of House of Eeman, said that she imported clothes from Jakarta, Surakarta, Malang and Surabaya.

“Our customers vary from people from North Africa to the Middle East as well as Southeast Asia,
such as Singapore and Malaysia,” she said.

Sapta, who has several times promoted Indonesian tourism through its fashion and food, said that it was part of cultural diplomacy. Last April, the tourism ministry held a one-month Indonesia exhibition at London’s most prestigious shopping center Harrods.

The next step from the tourism ministry to establish Indonesia as a shopping destination for Muslim fashion is a yearly Islamic fashion fair in Jakarta that will debut next year.

The ministry is currently preparing a yearly Indonesia Islamic Fashion Fair, collaborating with the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association, NooR and fashion boutique, Shafira House, aiming to make Indonesia the center of the world’s Muslim fashion by 2020.

“People used to go to Singapore to shop. Now we want people come to Jakarta for that,” she said.

Source: The Jakarta Post – 28 June 2010

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