COIDENTITY: BEHIND THE SCENE with Dian Pelangi

In the thick of shooting our JFW’s 2016 collection, the #DPDreamTeam along with the textile designers from London, as well as Wardah Beauty Team arrived at the idea of juxtaposing the spirits of exotic tropical birds from which the collection is inspired, with the extravagance of Indonesia’s striking crater lake, so off to Ciwideuy, West Java we go.

The sun was bright, shining down through the tosca-ish sulfuric water of the lake in the region famously called Kawah Putih or “White Lake” by the locals. Despite the unforgiving sunny glare, the temperature was rather chilly; perfect timing to capture a series of great fashion photos.

Meet the textile designers from London, Nelly Rose (left) and Odette Steele (left), enjoying the tropical sun of the vast archipelago. Both are bright, young and vivacious, recently graduated from London College of Fashion, University of Arts London.

Themed as “CO IDENTITY”, this collection forms a collaboration embodying a fusion of culture and identity, in relevance to the cultural background of their individual upbringing; Indonesia, London and Zambia. CO-IDENTITY aims to encourage interconnectivity between cities and people on the global fashion map. It is inspired from the kaleidoscopic colours of the archipelago’s endemic birds, interpreted in various abstract ways including a touch of Graffiti often seen in the Europe’s urban settings.

“COIDENTITY”— is also that of a touchstone of Dian-Nelly-Odette’s fashion maneuver for about three months in Jakarta and Pekalongan; a word that encapsulates that one defining point where the journey all comes together and acts as a prism for everything the journey represented; the work, the friendship and the explosion of colours, designs, and patterns. There isn’t one single identity presented in each garment; every inch of it means something and leads to somewhere, from London’s modern colours to the African-inspired embroideries and beadings, all unified with Dian’s cutting-edge designs that very much reflect Indonesia’s lavish batik, weavings and tie-dyes.

Zambian-born Odette is directing the photographer and models to get the best shot of the collection’s most intricate beaded and embroidered garments, named as the Cendrawasih jacket and (left) and the Sickle-tails dress.