Download Indonesia has hopes to become the Mecca of Islamic fashion.
Muslim fashion is growing in popularity in the world’s largest Islamic nation.
15 years ago it was rare to see a women wearing a headscarf but now it’s a common sight and especially during the holy-month of Ramandan.
Consumer spending surges by about 20 per cent during ths annual religious holiday seaons and in malls across the captial Islamic fashion shows are being held to cash in on the Islamic dollar.
Esther de Jong went along to one of the shows for Asia Calling.
An usher nervously lines up models behind the runway...the show is about to begin.
An hour ago these models were walking around in skinny jeans and tight tops, now there bodies are fully covered.
Watching is a crowd of well-dress women most of them in headscrafs.
Amongst them is 25 year old Fifi Alvianto.
“If you watch a fashion show you can actually have something nice to be your guide if you want to make clothes. You don’t have to buy them but you can have a vision. Muslim designers always create something that is beautiful that can be worn by the hijabers like us that it is easy to apply with you daily clothes.”
Ten months ago Fifi wore hot pants and tank tops. Then she decided to wear the hijab or headscarf and covers her body leaving only her face uncovered.
She says now you can be religious and fashionable.
“Ten years ago it is so was hard to find something if you want to wear hijab, first you don’t know where to buy it, but now you can see lots of shops selling hijabs. Before when you saw someone wearing a hijab it must be someone that really really get into the Muslim thing, you know what I mean, but right now you actually it is because you want to cover your body rather than open it and show everyone so I guess that is why now lots of people wearing hijab.”
She now covers fashion shows like this for a online blog about Islamic style."
19 year old Dian Pelangi is part of a new generation of Indonesian muslim designers.
She sits on the Floor of workshop with Japanese silk and bright colour fabrics all around.
“It is more difficult to design a dress that have rule. In Muslim fashion we have a rule that it is forbidden to show your body parts, to show your hair, to wear transparent fabric or to show very bright colour. It is so much rules so it is more difficult and more challenging for me.”
Her designs are inspired by the seventies hippy fashion and her collections were shown in London, Melbourne and Abudabi fashion weeks.
Hannie Hanato a popular muslim designer says Indonesians take their Islamic fashion seriously.
“The difference between Asian and middle east countries is that they wear the Muslim wear only to cover themselves when they are outside, but inside they wear what they want like a tank top or other sexy clothes, but in Indonesia what you see outside the house is also what they wear inside the house.”
During the Soeharto30 year long dictatorship outward signs of religion were discouraged.
But since the fall of the regime muslim identity has risen in popularity.
It’s someone thing that worries feminists like renowned writer Ayu Utami.
She says the very successful Islamic novel and film Ayat Ayat cinta had a big impact.
“For ten years the trend was sex, then we have ‘Ayat ayta cinta’ and then the trend was Islam. We can also approach these issues as like fashion or trend after a breakthrough after 30 years of being homogenized, or controlled by one ideology and one tv station. Then suddenly you have freedom and in freedom different values started to sell themselves. Religion is part of it and apparently it was adopted by many.”
Ayu is known for her sexual and sensual writing style.
Wearing a tank top and tight jeans, she says she worries about the government covering up.
“Of course I am scared but I fight for our right. If we don’t do anything they may win, but there are many people who fight against it, against the institutionalizing of jilbab. Of course I have prejudice, of course I have curiosity and I have my own judgment against women who wear chador. But I think I have to try not to make a simplification. I don’t want to be too scared. I mean I want to see women wearing jilbab in a positive way of course some of them are negative, but some of them are my friends and people I can trust so I don’t want to fall into the other stereotype to understand the complexity. I had a stereo type about jilbab, fundamentalist, closed mind, not emancipated women, I have all these stereo types about women wearing jilbab.”
But the image being protrayed on the catwalks is you can be stylish and covered.
The Eid festival is near and during that time muslims traditional by new clothes.
Islamic designers are doing good busy.
Backstage five men are practicing their contribution for today’s fashion show.
A song about the greatest of God.
