Sebastian Gunawan has a distinctive quality as a couturier: he is remarkably close with his clientele. Gunawan is able to deliver traditional craftsmanship with the high society demands of the Indonesian customer.
He introduces a breath of freshness into any insipid, predictable social function. By some stroke of inspiration, the collection he presented tonight referenced cocktail dresses with much playful razzle dazzle. Maybe all it took was the sparkle in every silver lining that resonated through the whole collection, producing a Great Gatsby convention of sorts.
But then Gunawan makes it accessible with the updated hemlines which reflect an homage to glitz and decadence. His fixation and possible artistic cue from British culture occurs through the use of chainmail-like materials. Imagine the Gunawan girl flanked by an army of glamazonian knights in shimmering “armour”.
You would scarcely expect a lineup like this to be guilty of overindulgence, but there is something about Gunawan and his pieces that exercise calculated restraint on opulence. And the thought of the golden age of Indonesian high-life ala Gatsby is oddly appealing.
Photography by Ee Shuen
