After a week of huddling into a tightly packed crowd, Plaza Indonesia Mens Fashion Week 2015 has finally drawn to a close on last Saturday.
(X) S.M.L delivered a collection that infused some elements of modern wayfarer – windbreakers, khaki shirts and shorts as well as tops that came with printed sleeve covers. These are definitely practical and wearable daily pieces for men but the show lacked surprise.
In addition, the brand showed its menswear collection along with womenswear, which proved to be disadvantageous. When put together, it was clear that menswear is not the label’s forte. The menswear would have benefited much more if shown in an intimate presentation format. On a whole, it felt like a pretext for the brand to show its womenswear collection.
Dana Maulana and Liza Masitha of Danjyo Hiyoji sure know how to put out a decent show using as little resource as possible. Two DJs started the show with a live set by the entrance of the runway, which provided not only live music but also a great reference for the collection.
Using rave culture as a jumping point, the collection revolved around elevated pieces for a night of epic dance party. Dana and Liza also sent out tops that comprised of a hybrid – a short sleeve shirt featured shorter hem on one side but longer hem with ribcage print on the other, then there’s a pale blue shirt attached with only one side of quilted blazer in dark blue.
The show was gratifying thanks to its clear direction. Also, the womens looks that were shown in the collection did not overshadow the mens. The only downside is the print (designed by local illustrator artist Monica Hapsari), which unfortunately appeared somewhat unrefined when applied onto the clothes.
The Goods Dept has enjoyed the reputation of being the multi-label boutique of all things cool since its inception in 2010. Instead of just repurposing clothes from the labels sold in their stores, The Goods Dept has taken an effort to collaborate with three local designers for some exclusive pieces just for the show.
Like Danjyo Hiyoji, where rave culture and “the party people” also influenced the show, Goods Dept’s collection was aimed to provide rave staples for “the guys on the dancefloor”. Rano of Mad label created custom t-shirts and Amanda Lestari of Lekat contributed Baja sweatshirts using traditional fabric from Badui. Those clothes were then paired with famous brands like Nike and Adidas.
Where The Goods Dept exalted the sartorial value of normcore in last year show, they are currently more obsessed with the 90s. That means there were no shortage of baggy pants that swept the runway.
Since The Goods Dept is a multi-label boutique store, the show is, essentially, a tool for them to reinforce their fashionable status and to give us an idea of the customers who shop in their stores. And if that’s the case, then they had just showed that their shoppers are the kind of individuals who jump from one trend to the next and are more fixated with being cool rather than developing a discernible style of their own.
