There are many famous Indonesian fashion designers. These designers are successful both in local scale and internationally. All of them come from different parts of Indonesia. They design various items and contribute to the fashion industry. Here are the names of Indonesian people as the 30 Famous Indonesian Fashion Designers along with their achievements:
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1. Ivan Gunawan
Ivan Gunawan is the nephew of Adjie Notonegoro. Gunawan once made designs for dancers in his early career but his parents did not give him the green light. Gunawan then learned the intricate world of fashion from his uncle.
His fashion collection, Jajaka, made it to the Los Angeles Fashion Week 2017. He showed off a variety of clothing from blouses to dresses. The collection was heavily influenced by Indonesian tribal motifs.
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For the Jakarta Fashion Week 2017, he became the Creative Director for the whole show. Other than that, Gunawan made the dress for Kezia Warouw, Miss Indonesia 2016, who made it to the top 13 in the Miss Universe 2017.\
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2. Selphie Bong
Selphie Bong was born in the province of Lampung, Sumatra Island.After dropping out from her school, she gave the fashion world a try.
She entered the Young Designer International and became one of the finalists for New York Fashion Week.
From then on, she became one of the top designers in Indonesia. She is often hailed as the Christian Dior of the Orient.
Bong was honored as the only Indonesian designer for Haute Couture by the United Nations. It was for the Year of Biodiversity in Geneva in 2010. Her design is graceful and sophisticated. Finally, she owns stores both online and in Bali with customers from all over the world.
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3. Yosep Sinudarsono
This Indonesian designer first worked on designing wedding dresses for one of his friends. He then opened his own fashion line called Lotuz in 2013.
Sinudarsono claims that his fashion focuses more on the wear ability aspect. He wants clothes that women would like to wear.
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For the Golden Globe Awards 2015, the actresss Malin Akerman wore one of designs. Terri Seymour, who was pregnant, also wore an elegant dress that Sinudarsono made. Celebrity stylists in America are distributing his clothing to stars.
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4. Nancy Go
Nancy Go love for sewing turned her into a designer. She opened her fashion line for bags under the name of Bagteria.
The bags are not cheap since they are handcraft. They also consist extravagant materials such as Swarovski crystals and fish scales from Iceland.
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Fans of her bags include Paris Hilton, Emma Thompson and Zara Phillips. Her bag collection is also doing great in worldwide stage.
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5. Ghea S. Panggabean
Ghea S. Panggabean is a fashion designer that instills Indonesian culture in her creations. There must be an artistic and classical elements in her designs. She wishes for her creations to be timeless.
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The prestigious store in London, Harrods, have displayed some of her clothing. Her works are even appreciated by royalties. She was also called as the 10th Best of ASEAN Designers in Singapore.
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6. Farah Angsana
Angsana has always loved designing clothes ever since she was a child.
So she pursued education from Central School of Fashion in London.
She participated in Paris Fashion Week in 2000.
However, she got unfavourable reviews because her collection was too colourful.
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She returned to Paris in 2006 with more experience than ever before. She received praises for her designs.
Moreover, in 2016, the New York Fashion Week included her collection. Carrie Underwood, Blake Lively, Anne Hathaway and Eva Longoria are fans of her clothes.
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7. Adjie Notonegoro
Notonegoro had designed clothes for the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton. Other high profile people include Fidel Castro and former president of Indonesia, Gus Dur have also asked him to dress them.
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In German, he went to a mode school. To broaden his experience, he decided to go to Paris and Italy too. In 1986, he returned to Indonesia and opened his own boutique.
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8. Josephine Werratie Komara
Her nickname is Obin. She influenced the rise of Batik in Indonesia as well as internationally. As a result, UNESCO also announced Batik as Indonesia’s heritage in 2009.
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She modernised the appearance of batik which in turn attracted young people to take interest. They no longer see batik as old-fashioned and boring. Garuda Indonesia use her design for the flight attendant uniforms.
As of now, she has her own boutique in Jakarta, Japan, Singapore and Netherlands. More than 1,000 artisans work with her. Each of her creation is unique because it is made through handcraft. She also has her own museum for her pieces since November 2013. The name of the museum is Museum Kain in Kuta, Bali.
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9. Tex Saverio
He is often called as the Alexander McQueen of Indonesia due to his intricate and theatrical designs. Lady Gaga wore his dress in multiple occasions including the Jingle Ball in 2011 and the Born this Way Ball Tour.
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In “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, Jennifer Lawrence wore his white gown for the wedding scene. Kim Kardashian also claimed that she loved the dresses he design. Kim wore his dress in the March edition of Elle in 2013.
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Saverio earned another exposure when Ayumi Hamasaki, a Japanese singer, wore his black dress for her music video entitled “Angel”. Saverio made another milestone as he is the first Indonesian designer to show off his collection in Paris Fashion Week in 2013.
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10. Didit Hediprasetyo
He spent his years studying fashion in Paris. Vogue has featured him and his works on their website. He is the only Indonesian designer to have that kind of exposure from Vogue.
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Carly Rae Jepsen wore his dress for MTV Video Music Awards 2013. Indonesian artist, Anggun, also wore one of his dress for an occasion. For BMW Individual Series 7, Hediprasetyo is listed as one of the designers for the interiors.
11. Peggy Hartanto
In 2009, she graduated at the top of her class in Raffles College of Design and Commerce in Sydney, Australia. By then, she showed off her collection in Rosemount Australian Fashion Week 2011.
Bella Thorne and Lucy Hale have worn her clothes. In 2015, she was the Grazia Next Glam Award Finalist from Grazia International Network. She got in the list of 30 Under 30: The Arts of Forbes Asia in 2016. She has her own clothing line under her name, Peggy Hartanto.
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12. Irma Hardjakusumah
She is a multidiscipliner designer with a history of international contribution. She was involved in designing the after party of Academy Awards Governors Ball 2011 in Hollywood.
They trusted her again to design the Oscars after party in 2016. The theme was old Hollywood. She collaborated with other decorators and designers to make it happen.
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In addition, her talent brought her to work with brands such as Hugo Boss, Burberry, Cartier and Dior. Ubisoft, Disney, Walmart, H&M, Bentley and many other brands also included her in their projects.
13. Didiet Maulana
Maulana started out as an architect. He landed a job as part of the creative team for MTV Indonesia. He realized he wanted to be a designer when he worked for a retail store that sell Guess clothing. So, he established IKAT Indonesia in 2011.
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He made his own collection of Ikat Tenun. In 2013, those who were involved in the APEC conference wore his Ikat collection. In total, there were 21 countries in the conference.
He also designed a clothing item for Barbie to mark its 55th birthday. For 2016 Grammy, Maulana collaborated with other designers to create the goodie bags.
14. Harry Halim
Harry launched his career when he released his first collection of women clothing in Singapore in 2006. He won the Asian Young Designer Contest.
Moreover, he became a finalist for the Mercedes Benz Asia Fashion Awards. In 2008, he earned the title as the Best Asian Designer of the Year.
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Around 2009, he released another collection of his designs. It was for the Fall/Winter collection. He made the debut in Paris Fashion Week. The reviews were highly positive. He also has a boutique in Springsioux, Paris, where he shows off his collection.
15. Arantxa Adi
He has worked in the fashion industry for more than 15 years. One of his well-known accomplishment was his involvement with Citizens of Humanity.
He was the only Indonesian designer involved in the project. The name for the line is Arantxa Adi for Citizens of Humanity. The collection was showed off at BRI Women’s Week 2010, Jakarta.
Later on, he created his own collection of evening gowns in 2015. He named it Number 9. The gowns were described as sexy and elegant.
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16. Sabbatha Rahzuardi
Rahzuardi is an accessory designer. Most of his designs are exported worldwide. However he is most famous for his bags.
In 2005, he opened his own showroom for his bags in Bali. People could not stop talking about it.
Julia Roberts loved his bag designs as she was shooting for “Eat Pray Love” in 2009. Now even Elle McPherson and Katie Holmes have been seen using his bags. Currently, his products are in Paris, Rome, Cannes, Soeul and Hawaii.
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17. Fahrani Empel
A multitalented artist, Empel started it all out when she began modelling at the age of 13. She had roles in some Indonesian movies, one of them being “Radit Jani”.
She branched out and decided her own eyewear line that she called Cast Eyewear. Consequently famous celebrities are wearing her collection, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Grimes and Gisele Bundchen.
Lately, she released a couple of her own songs (Cewe Rusak, Fa’VelaPunk) but she still works on selling her products in Australia, German and Indonesia.
18. Harry Darsono
Harry Darsono creates haute couture as well as wearable clothing. Diagnosed with ADHD as a child, his parents took him to Paris for better support system.
In Paris, he pursued education in fashion. He made costumes for the production of Shakespeare in France, UK, Greece and Soviet Union.
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Later on, he received opportunity to dress Princess Diana as well as Queen Rania of Jordan. He also opened his own foundation for special needs children. He named it Harry Darsono Foundation.
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19. Iwan Tirta
Often called as the maestro, he made batik design relevant again in 1970s and 1980s. The desire to elevate batik design back into public came to him while he was studying in America.
A lot of people questioned his culture. As a result, he wanted to learn more about his own heritage.
In the year of 1966, he compiled his research of Batik into a book entitled Batik and Motifs.
He made a milestone as he was assigned to dress the U.S President Ronald Reagan and the First Lady Nancy Reagan in clothes with his batik design.
He later became an advocate for Indonesian culture. For the Asian-African Conference in Indonesia, Nelson Mandela became one of his clients. Iwan Tirta made a shirt with batik designs for him . Sadly, he passed away on July 31, 2010.
20. Auguste Soesastro
In Paris, Auguste Soesastro took in as much knowledge as possible for fashion. He also pursued formal education there. As a result, Soesastro became an assistant for Ralph Rucci in New York for 3 months.
He debuted his own fashion in New York Fashion Week 2009 in New York. The name of his fashion line is Kraton.
In November 2010, Soesastro became one of the designers to show off his design to U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. It took place at Merdeka Place, Jakarta.
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21. Niluh Djelantik
Niluh Djelantik, a Bali designer, create shoes especially high heels. She once worked for Paul Ropp, an American fashion entrepreneur. Due to her hard work, her shoes are now available in 20 countries.
Hollywood stars who have worn her shoes are Gisele Bundchen and Urma Thurman. Furthermore, she was awarded with Best Fashion Brand & Designer in the Yak Awards in 2010. In 2012, she was nominated as Ernst & Young for Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women Awards.
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22. Windri Widiesta Dhari
Windri Widiesta Dhari is the founder of Islamic clothing line, NurZahra. A lot of her items are in local department stores. They are also doing great at online stores from Japan.
She showed off her first collection at Tokyo Fashion Week in 2014. She brought back the 1960s wide brim hats into her collection as a touch from the past.
As for the hijabs, they are more modern and meant to be seen as comfortable. Most of her clothes are a combination of traditional Muslim and haute couture. Her fashion is a breath of fresh air in the fashion industry.
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23. Anniesa Hasibuan
She designs for hijab fashion and debuted her works in London. In 2016, her collection is featured at New york Fashion Week.
In 2017, her clothes are featured once again at the New York Fashion Week. This time, they were more dramatic and glamorous.
The Huffington Post Instagram account posted a picture from one of her works. In result, a lot of people praised her designs. She was also featured in Teen Vogue and Elle. She is said to be the rising star in the fashion industry.
23. Dian Pelangi
Dian Pelangi is another Indonesian designer who create Muslim fashion. The colours in her designs are very colourful and elegant. Other than that, they are also very youthful and playful in appearance.
She has her own fashion line with the name of Dian Pelangi. Due to her success, CNN conducted an interview for her fashion collection. In the year of 2009, she was involved in the Melbourne fashion show in Australia.
She had also successfully participated in fashion shows all over the world. They included Paris, Holland, London, Germany, Dubai and Kuwait. She aims to create more works in the future both for Islamic clothing and for those who do not wear it.
25. Zaskia Sungkar
Zaskia Sungkar is also a multitalented designer in Indonesia. Other than being a designer, she is also an actress and a singer.
Moreover, she has her own fashion brand that she named as Zaskia Sungkar. A lot of her boutiques are open in many cities in Indonesia.
She has showed off her collection both locally and internationally. In 2016, she participated in the London Fashion Week.She also collaborated with other designers for her boutiques in New York.
Others
Below are the names of other notable Indonesian Designers with their contributions to the fashion world:
26. Sri Luce Rusna
Rusna created her own jewelry design under the name of Tulola. She markets her jewelries all over the world. Celebrities such as Happy Salma, Courtney Love, Mischa Barton and Destiny’s Child have worn her jewelries. She also won Citra Award as best actress in 2013. She is now focusing on expanding her business.
27. Biyan Wanaatmadja
Raised in Surabaya, Wanaatmadja pursued education in fashion in Germany. Additionally, he further enriched his knowledge in England.
For a while, he worked at Enrico Coveri in Italy. However, he returned to Indonesia and made his own clothing line. Kelly Rutherford, a former Gossip Girl actress was a fan of his design.
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28. Rinda Salmun
Salmun instills fashionable and artistic quality in her designs. She has a Masters degree in Fashion from London. She has worked in various fashion industries. They include Giorgio Armani, Natascha Stolle, Giles Deacon and Adjie Notonegoro.
She was in Fashion Mavericks for London Fashion Week in 2010. Internationally, she has also put her work to Blueprint Singapore 2013 and also Taipei in Style in 2014. In a magazine, Alt Cramer’s Fashion 2, she is called as an upcoming designer to watch.
29. Adistia Dwiasri
Born in Indonesia in 1979, this designer made her name in New York. Additionally, she named her brand as Ardistia New York. Her works are in a lot of international magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Bazaar and New York Times.
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In 2007, she created her own collection of clothing. She was included in “Designer to Watch” list in 2007. Also, she won the Gen Art Show within the same year.
30. Ria Miranda
Miranda’s designs are soft and pastel in colours. There are also line patterns for her trademark. She currently sell her designs to many cities in Indonesia including Jakarta, Makassar and Medan.
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Many of her customers are celebrities such as Puput Melati, Koesherawati and Berliana Febrianti. She had her own fashion show in Australia for the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival in 2016.
We hope that Indonesian designers continue to inspire and bring innovation into the fashion industry worldwide. Their dedication to the fashion world is an honourable effort of including Indonesian arts to be known worldwide.
