If you want pretty, PEGGY HARTANTO is your go-to. For Spring/Summer 2020, Peggy served a good variety of summer items: off-shoulder peasant dresses, wrap-around dresses, bathing suits, pantsuits, jumpsuits. She has practically thought for every summer situation and it shows in her assortment of garments. It’s no wonder that Peggy collaborated with quite a few others: Raito for glasses, Clarissa Kwok for jewellery (her use of giant baroque pearls was marvellous), Olenka for swimwear and Jessica Priscillas for shoes. Obviously breadth was there—but what about depth?
Surrealism is a dangerous path to take and it resulted in a couple of misses for the designer, whose minimalist leanings didn’t allow much crossover to happen between the two aesthetic worlds. There were a few colour stories happening—one more pop (as seen on the orange-purple jumpsuit), and the other pale (take the sea foam green finale dress). You could say Luis Barragan, but not quite.
Hartanto’s looks were nice individually but lacked strength standing next to each other as a collection. The idea of scalloped necklines could have been interesting but it didn’t fit well, and especially not over flouncy sleeves. But all in all, it was definitely a pretty collection.
IKYK presented great modest clothes (albeit, not necessarily stylistically modest). For the most part, the range of silhouettes and material hide the models’ actual body shape in a way that’s chic. The clothes are definitely worth the buck: its flowing silhouettes will get you some attention, and pairing outfits together to downplay the look is pretty much a no brainer.
But let’s address the elephant in the room: Are these not the same stuff from last season’s show? Sure, trench-meets-pleats can be easily dubbed as Anandia Putri’s repertoire—and they’ve obviously sold very well, retail-wise—but that’s not enough reason to do a combo so similarly the next season. There was a bit of red, green and a few new prints which were beautiful. Still, the collection didn’t feel new enough for this year’s runway. It’s ironic, because their capsule collections are fantastic. Continuity is key for designers but ideation is everything on stage. The last thing you want is someone quipping, “again?”
Don’t be mistaken. IKYK is one of the labels really pushing the Muslim market to something contemporary to the point that any woman can don it. So by right, it should continue pushing the boundaries in places where there’s room for growth: like hijabs. From this show, they looked like an afterthought. They were barely styled and barely passed as actual muslim headscarves. That’s not to say every look should fulfill Muslim codes of dress—just make sure you have some that do if it’s your main market, and make sure it’s done properly.
What does Toton Januar and his team eat for breakfast? And can it help us all digest ideas and metabolise them into good product like the way that he does with TOTON? Jokes aside—season after season, the designer presents countless ideas in a way that isn’t repetitive, excessive or pretentious. It’s inspiring to see the spectrum of women, from young girls to mature women, dressed in TOTON on the front row.
This dreamy collection felt younger and feminine compared to the blazer-and-coats-centric FW19 collection. There were many elements on the runway: powdery colour palette; splashes of bright hues on the tulle; many layers of lace; crystals embellishments; scalloped details everywhere and plenty of kebaya elements. They’re appropriate for formal occasions—deconstruct these looks with a T-shirt and easily look chic. The lace tops are especially nice for kawinan.
Let’s not forget accessories: scarves were sewn on caps; earrings, necklaces and bracelets were oversized with beading and floral embroidery. There’s also the fact that Toton collaborated with Kojo for bags—they were contemporary with oversized zippers, paracords (all the rage amongst the Instagram fashion crowd), mesh, various prints from the ready-to-wear collection. These add street flair to an otherwise bourgeois-like collection. There’s only so much that words can capture. The stuff of dreams.
