Runaway Video Report: Bazaar Fashion Festival 2014

So Bazaar Fashion Festival 2014 has come and gone. Between October 22-26, the Jakarta Convention Center was transformed into a hub of style, with hordes of daily visitors keen to see what the archipelago’s best and brightest names in style have prepared for us next season. This year’s event was much, much bigger than last year’s affair; but even then, sometimes it felt like the cavernous belly of the Jakarta Convention Center was hardly enough to contain the twin events that were Bazaar Fashion Week and Pasar Indonesia.

One of the highlights shows for me was how in additional to a conventional (albeit wider than usual) runway, there was a second stage called the White Cube. This is exactly what it sounds like: a sterile, white space that could be reconfigured over and over again, depending on where white rectangular ottomans were placed. The models often walked among the guests, making the shows that took place here far more intimate than what was going on in the main runway. While an absolutely gleeful experience for attendees, the White Cube stage was a nightmare for photographers and editors, who at times had a hard time trying to properly document the shows. It was hard to observe a model and her outfit when she’s obscured or when she takes her final post at the complete opposite corner of the room. I’d love to see this concept crop up again in next year’s show, but I do hope they do it in such a way that will not inconvenience the media.

One of the shows that took place at the White Cube stage was the SK-II Gift of Everlasting Beauty: to celebrate the release of limited edition bottles of SK-II’s bestselling First Treatment Essence, four Indonesian designers were commissioned to present five outfits that best reflected one of four limited edition designs. Stepping up to the plate were Mel Ahyar, Billy Tjong, Andreas Odang, and Hian  Tjen.

 

In our little video below, we’ve compiled the best of three big shows: the opening show by Biyan (a rehash of his Seruni show, which took place earlier this year), the gleaming upstarts and future of Indonesian fashion from the Asia New Generation Fashion Designer Awards, and the closing show by Sebastian Gunawan. The Asia New Generation Fashion Designer Awards were especially fun to watch. I’m happy to report that the future of Indonesian fashion is in safe hands: all ten finalists produced exceptionally stellar work, and I was wowed plenty of times during the show.

It was also fun to see how far award veterans Peggy Hartanto and Sheila Agatha have grown since they were crowned winners last year; Peggy continues to produce her trademark crisp and clean-cut dresses with peekaboo cutouts, while Sheila showed off a stunning collection of beautifully tailored jackets. Relive the week’s shows in the video below:

Source: Runaway Video Report: Bazaar Fashion Festival 2014