Contemporary Indonesian Fashion: Through the Looking Glass

Description

Indonesian fashion has undergone a period of rapid growth over the last three decades. This book explores how through years of social, political, and cultural upheaval, the country's fashion has moved away from "colonial fashion" and "national dress" to claim its own distinct identity as contemporary fashion in a global world. With specific reference to women's wear, Contemporary Indonesian Fashion explores the diversity and complexity of the country's sartorial offerings, which weave together local textile traditions like batik and ikat-making with contemporary narratives. The book questions concepts of "tradition" and "modernity" in the developing world, taking stock of the elite consumption of luxury brands and the large-scale manufacturing of fast fashion, and introduces us to the rise of new trends such as busana muslim (or "modest wear"), creating a portrait of a vibrant and growing national and, increasingly, international, industry. Exploring clothing in shopping malls, on the catwalk, in magazines, and online, the book examines how Indonesian fashion is made, presented, and consumed, combining research in Indonesia with analysis and personal reflection. Contemporary Indonesian Fashion ultimately questions the deeply entrenched eurocentrism of "global fashion", simultaneously interrogating current homogenizing beauty and body image discourses posited as universal, by pointing to absences, silences, and erasures as reflected by contemporary Indonesian fashion- hence the "looking glass" of the title. Aptly illustrated, the book offers a new perspective on a rapidly developing new fashion capital, Jakarta.

Alessandra Lopez y Royo (aka Alex Bruni) is an academic, a fashion activist and writer, a blogger, and a fashion model. A Londoner by choice, she is a member of the Grey Collective UK, which brings together multi-faceted talent and creatives over the age of thirty-five.

[A] brilliant decolonizing book that brings together important issues in Indonesian fashion ... This is (and should continue to be) a challenge for all researchers of culture, even the most experienced. * Fashion Theory * This is a brilliant decolonizing book that brings together important issues in Indonesian fashion: women's empowerment, sustainability, corruption and morality. There are many ways to approach this subject area ... This, however, is the first serious and in-depth engagement with contemporary Indonesian fashion beyond the concepts of "modern" and "traditional" that have historically framed the Eurocentric and universalizing forces of fashion scholarship. * The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture * This book represents a pioneering work on Indonesia's response to the digital era ... Lopez y Royo's personal experience and perspective shape this book most intimately. * Archipel 99 * A welcome contribution to the disruption of Eurocentric fashion discourse ... Refreshingly unconventional. * Maria Angela Jansen, Chair of the Research Collective for Decolonizing Fashion * This engaging and informative book is the first to tackle the Indonesian fashion industry from critical and theoretical perspectives. * Brent Luvaas, Drexel University, USA * A must for anyone interested in the global fashion industry. * Carolyn Mair, author of 'The Psychology of Fashion' (2018) * A brilliant book: at once deeply researched cultural history, participant-observation anthropology at its best, and astute business analysis. * Adrian Vickers, University of Sydney, Australia * An important contribution to a more international approach in the analysis of global fashion. * ZoneModa Journal * [I]n rich, accessible prose .... it is written with passion and conviction, and a loving attentiveness to the diversity and dynamism of Indonesia's emergent fashion scene .. I recommend this books to academics and fashion critics who find themselves increasingly bored and disillusioned with the global fashion industry. * International Journal of Fashion Studies *