Cross Cultural Collaboration Makes a Big Splash on the Runway

Young British designers Nelly Rose and Odette Steele rocked the runway at Jakarta Fashion Week 2016, showcasing their collaborative collection titled “Coidentity” with famed Indonesian designer Dian Pelangi. 
 
Their show held on October 26 2015 at the Jakarta Fashion Week tent has created a social media buzz. The collection was the result of a three-month internship residency program with Dian Pelangi through the British Council that allowed them to live, work and learn in Indonesia.
 
The newest collection’s theme takes on about bringing all cultures and women together and making clothes that are acceptable for all women to wear, regardless of their cultural background.
 
“I hope that the fashion industry will treat women from all different cultures as equals so there’s no divide between modest fashion and women’s wear, “ Nelly Rose says
 
Sharing the opinion, Odette Steele says “we want people to wear our clothes and feel beautiful and comfortable with themselves. The collection is about being strong women, believing and being able to speak out on what you believe in”.
 
This was Nelly and Odette’s first time designing modest wear clothing and the challenge was something they enjoyed and hope other young designers and consumers will be able to have a greater understanding of modest fashion from viewing their collection.
 
Using their newfound knowledge and skills of Indonesian craft the designers then created a collection that was modern yet kept Indonesian traditional design heavily incorporated in each piece.
 
To enrich their knowledge on Indonesian fashion landscape, the duo UK designers were given an opportunity to visit four factories to learn about different Indonesian fabrics such as batik, Ikat and weaves as well as modest wear design.
 
“We learn about the preservation of craft and the story behind what’s been made. Britain is known for fast fashion and you never know where in the world it has been whereas in Indonesia you look at a garment and know where it was made and possibly who made it,” Nelly Rose says.  

By Jourdie Godley