Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Indonesian embassy presents online fashion show for sustainability
Online fashion show “An Exotic Journey to Nusantara” presented by the Embassy of Indonesia in Seoul / Captured from Embassy of Indonesia in Seoul website
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Embassy of Indonesia in Seoul presented an online fashion show titled “An Exotic Journey to Nusantara” on March 27 to commemorate the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development in 2021.
Nusantara is an Indonesian word for the Indonesian archipelago and the show highlighted fashion as the country's potential creative sector as well as its diversity.
Umar Hadi, ambassador of Indonesia to Seoul, emphasized the importance of culture and the creative economy.
“This event is very special for us at the embassy. It is our fashion project. We want to promote collaboration between Indonesia and South Korea in the field of creative economy. And we want to promote closer cultural ties between the two countries,” Hadi said.
“South Korea is a global superpower when it comes to exporting its creative economy and monetizing its culture products. The Korean wave has contributed significantly to global popular culture. Indonesia is a potential superpower as it has two main assets ― one is the diversity of culture and the other is the energy of its young talent.”
According to the embassy, Indonesia's creative economy has developed significantly over the past decade. In 2017, the creative economy contributed $71.8 million to the country's GDP and the amount jumped to $86.9 million in 2019. The sector also accounts for 14.3 percent of Indonesia's total workforce. Food, fashion and craft are the three major sub-sectors of the creative economy.
Indonesia's former President Megawati Sukarnoputri gave a keynote speech for the event.
“When one speaks about Indonesian fashion, it would be deeply connected with traditional textile. Indonesia's traditional textile possess a long history ... Each piece of cloth and pattern is a creation that has unique characteristics, symbol, color, size and material that is applied from upstream to downstream,” Sukarnoputri said.
“The touch of color in Indonesia's traditional textile is deeply influenced by elements of social culture in Indonesian community, including knowledge, environment, religion and social status ... Indonesia has the most complete technique of making traditional textile in the world and our ancestors had succeeded in developing traditional textiles to become an identity in Nusantara, including batik, songket, sulan, ikat and tapis.”
She explained the meaning and making process of traditional textile with the example of batik.
“The batik-making technique has been passed on from one generation to another, which makes batik an integral part of community life in Indonesia,” Sukarnoputri said.
The fashion show was held in collaboration with renowned Indonesian designer Samuel Wattimena, who is known for incorporating traditional Indonesian fabric in his designs. At the virtual event, Wattimena presented various lines from his collection including Aceh, Papua, Solo and Monado, crafted from Indonesia's traditional textiles and portraying their diverse communities.
The designer said he does not create motifs for his clothes and jewelry but develops them from his country's pieces as they inspire him.
“We used to export products, but now we can grab the world's attention to look at our locality. My motto is 'Local is the new global.' This comprehension has become more crucial than ever because this could foster the confidence of local artists and the young generation in various areas in maximizing their talent to create an impact in the local community,” he said.