Local fashion brands abound at JFFF
Homegrown fashion brands are the kings and queens of this year's Jakarta Fashion & Food Festival (JFFF), which runs from May 9 to May 26 at Mal Kelapa Gading shopping center in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
Business owner Endang Rachmaningsih, 62, was busy haggling with a customer when I arrived at her booth in the Fashion Village at the shopping center earlier this month.
Holding a gorgeously embroidered brown bag in one hand and a blue one in the other, the prospective buyer was steadfastly asking Endang to lower her prices.
Endang, on the other hand, humorously refused the request. She initially offered the bag at Rp 850,000 [US$87].⨓You will be the only person with [the bag],” she said, relentlessly encouraging the other person to make the purchase.
Endang then pointed to a white-and-gold-colored bag displayed at a table.
"If you buy this one instead, you will wear the same bag as the wife of Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, because I only made two of these," she added ardently.
Endang was just one of the sellers promoting their products at the booths during the festival.
Despite her bags' popularity, Endang said that she did not distribute her hand-crafted apparels under the Rumah Sulam Rachmy banner to stores.
"People can come to my house in Meruya Selatan, West Jakarta, to buy my bags," she said.
She uses national events like the JFFF to meet with potential customers, whom she hopes would become long-term clients over time.
Offering up to 40 brands from local designers and the creative minds of small and medium industries (UKM) all around the country, the Fashion Village is one of JFFF's highlights for visitors hoping to find local fashion products.
Participants include Yayasan Batik Indonesia (Indonesia Batik Foundation), Indonesian Creative Designers and Batik Tidayu Singkawang by Kriya Borneo.
If you are wondering what to do this weekend, there will also be a Late Night Shopping event at the Fashion Night Market on Saturday starting from 6 p.m.
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