Young Indonesian Trio Designs Fashion Success

Jakarta. Their models are scheduled to walk the runway in a few short hours, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the three relaxed designers who sit chatting over a late lunch after a long night preparing for the fashion show.

Dressed casually in T-shirts, shorts and statement accessories, you also might not realize that these tired, young designers are the creative force behind one of Jakarta’s fastest up-and-coming fashion houses, Danjyo-Hiyoji.

“We are going to show 10 outfits tonight,” said Rama Dauhan, 28, one of the designers.

The upcoming show might be occupying all their attention right now, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all that the young Danjyo-Hiyoji team has going on.

Dana Maulana, another designer on the team, mentions that they are currently preparing to open a store on Level One of Grand Indonesia, a floor of the mall specifically set up as a place to show off clothes designed by the hottest local talent.

Dana, 30, said they were invited to open their own store on Level One despite parts of their collection already being available at a Harvey Nichols store in the mall.

“It’s all worked out, we are going to put different collections at both venues,” Dana said.

The whole Danjyo-Hiyoji project started taking shape back in 2001 when Dana and Syarifah Liza, 29, the third designer on the team, started a fashion brand for teenage girls called “Danjyo.” They put the collection on sale at a small boutique in South Jakarta. The clothes sold fairly well, but both designers were still struggling to finish school and never really had the time to properly develop and market their fledgling brand.

It wasn’t until they put the Danjyo line on sale at the Brightspot Market, a hot spot for Jakarta’s most fashion-conscious shoppers, that the clothes really started to connect with young buyers.

“We started at Brightspot selling only accessories, but apparently people like it,” Dana said.

When Rama left his job as a designer at (X)SML and joined the team last year, they added the word “Hiyoji” to the brand to give a it a wider appeal.

The translation for Danjyo means “for girls” and while Hiyoji has no real meaning, the designers added it to broaden the gender appeal of the brand. “When we added the word ‘Hiyoji,’ we wanted to imply that we create men’s wear as well,” Dana said.

Brisk sales at the Brightspot Market inspired the three to put together a ready-to-wear collection for the Cleo Fashion Awards in 2009. The team was shocked when they won the award for Most Innovative Local Brand, garnering a flood of local media attention. It was then they started to take things more seriously, realizing that their fashion aspirations were more than just a hobby.

“That’s when we thought, there is no way we can back off. We just have to keep creating designs,” Liza said.

The team hit its stride just as young Indonesians were growing more fashion conscious. A growing demand for their clothes forced the team to work out a system to take their ideas from concept to finished product. Today Rama and Liza are in charge of the design process, while Dana oversees the actual production at their workshop in Pondok Cabe, Tangerang.

“When we design, our first priority is to make sure that all three of us would want to wear what we create,” Liza said. “It feels so much easier to sell something that we like.”

They back up this idea by being living models for their clothing, wearing their creations everywhere they go as a means of self-promotion. This self-litmus test keeps them honest and helps to put their focus on making clean, quality designs that often have a unique twist or detail in the form of buttons, braids or tailoring.

“We never want to produce anything too basic, that is something we want to avoid,” Rama said. “But our design are also meant to be wearable, because no matter how unique a design is, it’s useless if no one can wear it,”

One of their best-selling items is a simple shirt with extreme tailoring in the shoulders. Versatility is also important and the creative use of buttons allows many of their designs to have multiple functions.

Dana, Rama and Liza take this notion a step further by believing in an androgynous style that often crosses gender boundaries.

“There are different treatments for both men and women, but some of our female customers regularly buy our men’s wear for themselves,” Liza said. “It all depends on how creative one’s styling skill is.”

Their latest collection, Sao Paulo, is a series of ready-to-wear designs set apart by the use of striking color schemes. Rama explains that this bold use of color breaks new ground for the group. “We used to rely on basic color schemes, but boredom became a force that pushed our creativity in the use of color,” he said.

This decision not to become too complacent is a powerful force in the creativity of their designs, but the three admit that one of the biggest challenges of pushing the boundaries is educating the masses. But they also say that this is a job that is getting easier each day.

“For example, early on in our design careers, men didn’t want to wear anything considered too edgy, like say, cropped pants, but now, we don’t have to talk male customers into wearing new styles, they’re starting to pick up new trends on their own,” Dana said.

The group believes that there is a market for designs that are simple, brave and unique, but they also know their is no room to rest on their laurels.

Like all good fashion designers the team is always trying to stay one step ahead by doing their homework and building on trends. According to Rama, Brightspot Market, which is usually patronized by fashion-forward bargain hunters, offers the group the perfect opportunity to do market research.

“We go there to see what people are wearing on the streets. This helps us gauge the fashion mood,” Rama said.

If Rama has his way, they will be creating clothing for Indonesia’s fashion enthusiasts for some time to come.

But now, with their lunch winding down, it’s time to get back to work.

The upcoming fashion show will feature clothing from some of the hottest young designers in Indonesia and Danjyo-Hiyoji is at the top of that list. Making sure it stays that way means a long, pressure-packed night under the glare of the media spotlight and the bright lights of the runway.

These are three designers intent on putting their best foot forward. (thejakartaglobe)