Melbourne-based label Pageant and Australian wool company Woolmark presented the inaugural Australian showcase on the opening day of Jakarta Fashion Week 2015 in front of a packed audience in Senayan City that included the Australian and Indonesian ambassadors, chief executives, leaders from global and Indonesian fashion houses and media.
For Pageant founders Kate Reynolds and Amanda Cumming, the international exposure came after the pair won the Tiffany & Co. National Designer Award at Melbourne Fashion Festival.
The label’s visit, supported by the Australia-Indonesia Centre, set out to build relationships and promote business partnerships across the Australian and Indonesian textiles and fashion industries. It is underpinned by an alliance between the Jakarta Fashion Week and the Melbourne Fashion Festival.
Woolmark created another first for Australian fashion when it delivered a runway show by Rahul Mishra, the winner of the International Woolmark Prize.
The collection featured designs made of cool, lightweight wool suitable for the equatorial climate of Indonesia, as well as some heavier garments aimed at European markets.
“I am confident that this is the start of a significant relationship between Australia and Indonesia in the fashion sector,” said Woolmark’s Rob Langtry. “Both countries boast natural advantages in textiles, production and design.”
Indonesia’s Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, said: “Australia and Indonesia have so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to in the years ahead. Fashion unites people in powerful ways.”
Jakarta Fashion Week chair Svida Alisjahbana pledged to help accelerate the building of networks that would connect young designers and enterprising businesses in both nations.
Laura Anderson, who hosted Young Indonesian Fashion Designer of the Year Patrick Owen at the Melbourne International Fashion Festival in March 2015, said: “At every level, from the creations to the new friendships and the emerging business opportunities, the bringing together of Australian and Indonesian expertise is already an outstanding success. And this is just the beginning.”
Paul Ramadge, Director of the Australia-Indonesia Centre, thanked the many fashion supporters in both nations who shared the Centre’s vision. “Indonesia and Australia are strongest when they work together. Fashion shows can lead to partnerships, to mutual benefits, to innovation and to new ways of entering global markets.”
The Australia-Indonesia Centre, with the support of chief sponsor ANZ, Melbourne Fashion Festival and Jakarta Fashion Week announced the winner of the 2016 Young Indonesian Fashion Designer of the Year Award: ETU.
“I would like my fashion to be opened to everyone in the world,” said ETU designer Restu Anggraeni.
David Freddynanto, Head of Marketing and Brand ANZ Indonesia said, “In partnership with The Australia-Indonesia Centre, the ANZ Young Indonesian Designer 2015 shows ANZ’s commitment to support the Indonesian creative industry, and capability to connect Indonesian fashion designers to the Australian and global market.”
ETU’s collection will be showcased on the runways of Melbourne Fashion Festival in 2016.
A Jakarta Fashion Week runway show from the winner of the Australia Young Designer Award and a showcase of Indonesian design with Australian wool.