Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week showcases Indonesia’s rise as a global modest fashion hub
JAKARTA – The Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week kicked off last week with new collections from more than 35 Indonesian designers.
The event is aimed at heightening consumer awareness about Indonesian modest fashion designers, hosted by the Ministry of Trade in collaboration with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Indonesia Fashion Chamber.
Indria Miranda, owner of brand Ria Miranda, told Salaam Gateway that the event helps connect brands with customers and was an opportunity to release new collections. It is the second modest fashion event in less than a month, following the Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF), which showcased nearly 200 Indonesian fashion designers and some 400 resellers.
“The ISEF event and now Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW) gives us the motivation to keep going and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic we adapted to changing consumer behaviour by designing collections that were more relevant, as people were staying at home more. The instant bergo scarf has been very popular. The key is to be consistent (with our designs),” said Miranda.
The pandemic disrupted the industry and changed the way Miranda managed her business, from how she recruited talent to managing the supply chain and the branding strategy. The Ria Miranda brand is available in 26 cities in Indonesia through boutiques managed by its business partners.
Istafiani Candarini, founder of Kamiidea, told Salaam Gateway that the JMFW and other fashion weeks she has attended has significantly increased consumer demand.
“The fashion weeks have been a positive signal for our business. We adjusted during the pandemic, in terms of sales and marketing strategy, themes and the materials we chose for our new collections. We are balancing our offline sales channel with online sales. We are also releasing new collections like loungewear, basics and smart-casual. In term of material choices, we started to develop materials that are environmentally-friendly and comfortable for daily activities during the pandemic period,” said Candarini.
Sales have risen 20% this year on 2020, but have not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic growth rates.
Hannie Hananto, owner of Anemone, told Salaam Gateway that the fashion weeks have helped her brand to slowly recover but are still down by around 30% compared to 2019.
“Last month I attended the Malang Fashion Week by the Indonesia Fashion Chamber, Lombok Syariah Festival by Hijabersmom, and ISEF by Bank Indonesia, and this month I attended JMFW. Through these fashion weeks my customers have returned but its not yet back 100%,” Hananto said.
Hananto has not followed the mainstream trends of global retailers like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara, whuch have released leisurewear orientated collections. Instead, she has focused on colourful and vibrant collections, which is a more niche market.
Becoming a global reference
The Mininster of Trade, Muhammad Lutfi, said during the event that the ministry will regularly hold the Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week each year until 2024, when it is expected to be recognised as an international-level fashion week.
The event is also geared at promoting the Indonesian modest fashion industry by highlighting the richness of the country’s handmade textiles (wastra) such as batik (wax resistant dying), tenun (fabric weaving), and embroidery. JMFW also aims to cement Indonesia's position as a global modest fashion hub.
“Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week can showcase the progress of our modest fashion industry to the world and I hope we can increase our export value,” said Lutfi.
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