Jakarta Fashion Week 2014: Fashion forward

JAKARTA - And so, the fashion party begins: Jakarta Fashion Week 2014 is back - and this year it is bigger and better.

Talented home-grown designer Tex Saverio wowed fashion lovers during Saturday's opening day, showcasing collections from his freshly launched ready-to-wear line, Tex Saverio Jakarta, was fresh off the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week, where the line was recently launched.

'The theme of the Spring/Summer 2014 collection is Fantasy made Reality, a wearable collection for modern women,' the 29-year-old designer told a press conference before the show.

Through the new collection, Tex, who has dressed top celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian, redefines evening wear by creating silhouette that are effortlessly appealing and flattering to any body type.

Cosmic colors like cerulean blue, chartreuse green, champagne and jet black were paired with shimmery, holographic and sheer materials, giving an edgy but light feeling, which is perfect for summer time.

Tex is a member of this year's Indonesian Fashion Forward programme at the fashion week, which set to present the works by some 240 fashion designers and brands in more than 75 shows until the Oct. 25 closing night.

The organizers estimated that some 17,000 fashion lovers will see - and be seen - at the week-long event, at Senayan City shopping centre in South Jakarta.

Some designers paraded their creations during the Fashion Forward event, which aims to expose the country's promising designers to the international market.

Designers - such as Friedrich Herman, Jeffry Tan, Dian Pelangi, Jenahara, Nur Zahra, Albert Yanuar, Toton Januar, and Yosafat Dwi Kurniawan - presented their collections down the runway.

'I'm touched by the fact that within six years of Jakarta Fashion Week, we have a group of talented designers who have entered the local and international markets,' said Jakarta Fashion Week chairwoman Svida Alisjahbana said during the opening event.

'Adding to that our 40 designers have also made look-books and focused on particular markets.'

Five fashion labels paraded eye-opening collections and numerous designs celebrated and exploited the country's own traditional fabrics.

Auspicious label Monday to Sunday featured batik from Brebes (Central Java) while NFRT and Milcah chose Garut's (West Java) woven fabric.

Designer Eridani drew inspiration from batik from Kudus, Central Java, and Vinora incorporated elements of Palembang's (South Sumatra) woven fabric into its creations.

Seven international designers from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the Netherlands also used traditional Indonesian fabrics for their collections, which will be shown during the fashion event.

Dutch designer Hans Ubbink's designs featured woven fabrics from the West Java town of Garut and Bali as well as woven silk material from Makassar, South Sulawesi, incorporated into his eclectic Spring/Summer 2014 collection.

Lee Suk Tae of South Korea also chose to include the traditional woven fabrics in his outfits.

The event's creative director Diaz Prasada said the organizers had chosen the colors and motifs of tenun as a fabric suitable for the visiting foreign designers' collections.

'The traditional fabrics will be seamlessly presented in their designs,' he says.