my PREMIER COLLECTION

As a citizen who was mainly raised in Jakarta, and still striving to love the city; I always wanted to create something different, something more into construction but not merely creating a physical building. With a background in civil engineering and fashion design, I’d come up with a thought, “Why not combine them together; a clothing line with a touch of deconstructed detail”. Furthermore, I used to find problem in finding an appropriate apparel to work; Finally, I’ve decided to create a ‘workrobe’ line called Oline.

I’ve picked fabrics that consist mainly of basic prints (checked and stripes) and mainly in natural hues; to then reconstruct them into better apparel via playful shape and an upbeat silhouette; yet not forgetting the basic function of the apparel itself.

I am fully aware that every individual has a different expression through apparels they are wearing, but still, Oline provides different range of choices to pick for different daily activities and moods. I want to ensure that every one who wears it will look chic, smart, modern, upbeat, and dynamic, yet still expose uniqueness of each.-

"DESIGNS THAT WORKS WITH THE EARTH"???...

Once I was amazed by the title above of the famous international design magazine on March/April 2009 issue...(special green edition - Inspired by Nature)

As a person who spend most of my time designing apparels, I was astonished only to know more about it. Have I think about it especially in the time like this uncertainty of our current economy? Should I always include the 'green' issues that is so popular today, to stay exist in our creative world? One of the influence person in fashion said that creating an image is essential for designer today. Does this merely include broader thinking than just through fashion shows, advertisements, catalogs...for us, to gain more support on what the American called 'sustainable fashion'?

In this pretty bad economic climate, the consumer "lack - of

 spending" attitude has brought us to a conclusion to create a more 'unique affordable items' ; or something a bit pricey,high quality, but timeless...

We still of course need to keep on reviewing costs and staffing while maintaining our customers on track and committing on investing in design and innovation, until this economy find its footing. While some people think that it is 'the opportunity for companies to steal market share from  cowardly competitors'...and some think that it is the best time for innovation and development...but does this mean eco- or sustainable or green fashion is the way out?

Let's refer back to New York fashion week in January 2008, when they called it the FutureFashion, just to see how far 'green' design has come. Then, some designers have alternate their materials from traditional fabrics to sasawashi (japanese fabric made of paper and herbs), peace silk (process that lets the silkworms live out their full life cycle), and hemp. Even more, Martin Margiela drapped her three vintage wedding dress into a ball gown...

Still these conscious green designers are facing many challenges with what they called sustainable fabrics. They think there aren't just yet a comparable 'green' fabrics that can replace what they've been doing and what customers used to. For organic cotton, there are almost no difference when woven into a garment; In adverse, some popular synthetic, like stretch 'eco-friendly' nylon, still far from equivalent from normal fabric (Newsweek, April 14, 2008). So, is it merely important to follow?...Those who makes switch have gotten more support lately, even though nowaday still less than a percent of industry sales are going 'green', and among consumers only 18 percent, and they are mostly not aware whether the brand made of eco-fabrics or they should but eco-label product...

(Rob Loud/Getty Images,Newsweek, April 14, 2008)

As the Newsweek close its writing...even though 'green' haven't been in a lot of people mind today - one day it will be...So it is not wrong to follow the path of some eco-fashion forward label like: People Tree, Ciel, Edun,and Amana...

(http://www.edunonline.com/ , founded by Bono and wife Ali in 2005)

PICK OF THE SEASON - Fall 2009

            

                 

           

                                                                                                      

Genius Collaboration between an ARCHITECT (Zaha Hadid) and a FASHION DESIGNER (Karl Lagerfeld)

Two years earlier in 2007, two people I respect highly, had team up for 50th anniversary of the iconic quilted Chanel 2.55 Handbag. 

They've decided to build a 2-year-travelling exhibition pavilion for Chanel, a 5,920-square-foot nomadic gallery, which started to be located in Hongkong last year in March, then Tokyo, New York city in September, then moving to London and Moscow before ending in Paris in 2010.

Zaha Hadid is known as a deconstructivist architect, who designs daringly curvaceous, highly futuristic that some of them so complex in conception that they are impossible to build. She was the first female architect who received a Pritzker Prize, one of the world's premier architecture prizes, in 2004. For Chanel, she has created a flying-saucer form made of torqued reinforced plastic panels that had never been used before in a building.

The glazed ceiling adjusts to allow for control of the interior temperature in response to the particular climate conditions of each venue city. Lagerfeld was impressed when first saw the pavillion in Hongkong at night, especially surrounded by high buildings, and thought, "This is something that has not happened before, this is really a 200 percent, 21st century event"

the pavillion in Hongkong, March 2008

“I think this exhibit is very good for Chanel, because it gives off a good image for the bourgeoisie. However, I think there was too much art in the container in Hong Kong. In New York it will be different.” Of the container itself, which has curving corridors and a dark ambience, Lagerfeld says, “This is a very overpowering structure. It is not a rectangular-box gallery where people show their work. There are no square corners. I think perhaps the artists were not told enough about how the space would look.”