JAKARTA - Fashion is not only about clothes that look attractive when worn. Behind the fabric pieces, color choices, materials, and shapes of clothing, there are stories and ideas that a designer wants to convey.
The fashion world is often a space for someone to show their identity, convey personal experiences, and respond to changes around them.
For young designers, the process is an important part of finding their own characters and styles. Exploration of materials, manufacturing techniques, to different cultures can open new ways of creating a work.
This is what can be seen in the performance of L'ENTRE-DEUX: INTERWOVEN IDENTITIES by PINTU Incubator, École Duperré & Future Fashion Designer (FFD) which is part of the JF3 Fashion Festival 2026.
Held on Thursday, July 23, 2026 at Summarecon Mall Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, this fashion show brings together young talents from Indonesia and France on one stage.
The collaboration between Future Fashion Designer (FFD), PINTU Incubator, and École Duperré Paris is a space for designers to explore new ideas, identities, and techniques. Cross-cultural meetings also provide an opportunity for them to see fashion from a broader perspective.
A total of four finalists for the Future Fashion Designer, namely Arron Bryan, Azzahra Najmanisa, Tashannie Abigail Loekman, and Nabila Karimah, presented collections that were born from the process of exploring forms, materials, construction, to the search for identity.
They performed together with five PINTU Incubator participants, one designer from the PINTU Accelerator program, and three graduates of École Duperré Paris. Each of them has a different story, but has the same common thread, namely making fashion a medium to convey personal ideas and experiences.
One of the designers who appeared in the runway opening was Arron Bryan. This designer from Jayapura presents the "OPPOSITE: The Fallen Virtue" collection consisting of four exclusive looks.
The collection is inspired by Rinaldy Yunardi's bridal headdress. However, Arron presents a different interpretation by taking the darker and more assertive black swan character, as a contrast to the white swan and Art Nouveau style of the work that inspired him.
To strengthen the character of his collection, Arron combines tweed, jet black fabric, and tulle. He also uses handmade accessories that utilize plastic waste.
In the creative process, Arron admitted that he was challenged to reverse the idea from the initial inspiration, but still maintained the relationship between each element used.
"The biggest challenge is how to present a character that is completely opposite from the original inspiration. The texture, ideas, and concepts must all be reversed, but still connected so that they form a single story unit," explained Arron at Summarecon Mall Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, Thursday, July 23, 2026.
The stage then continued with the works of designers from France who brought a different perspective through their respective artistic approaches.
Paul Vidal appeared with the "Emballez-moi" (Wrap Me Up) collection consisting of six looks. This collection is inspired by European paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries in a number of European museums.
Through his collection, Paul imagines how the eccentric figures in the historical painting would wrap themselves if they lived in the present.
"I imagine how the eccentric figures in the historical painting would wrap themselves if they lived in the present," said Paul.
The idea was translated through a combination of strict tailoring techniques with softer draperi. Paul also experimented with tarpaulins, transparent plastic, and old adhesive tape with trompe-l'œil techniques, so that unusual materials can appear as part of modern fashion.
Meanwhile, Aurélien Voegelin through the DAURIAC label presents the "3088" collection which has a very personal story. The number refers to the identification number of his family's cow.
Childhood memories on the family farm that has been managed for four centuries are then translated into a collection of genderless clothing. The silhouettes are made dynamically so that they can follow the movement of the body, while family archive photography, makrame techniques, braiding, and textile experiments are used to illustrate French rural life.
This collection shows how past experiences can be a source of inspiration in creating more contemporary fashion. Family memories are not only stored as stories, but reworked through more modern shapes and materials.
Meanwhile, French knitwear designer Maurine Willebien closed the PINTU Incubator session with the "Beauties" collection consisting of 10 looks.
Raising the perspective of the female gaze, Maurine transforms the elements of underwear or underwear into outerwear. The layering and draping techniques that are done directly on the mannequin are used to shape the character of the collection.
In addition to offering a different visual approach, the collection also draws attention to the issue of sustainability in the fashion industry. Maurine uses threads from dead stocks of well-known fashion houses and upcycles vintage materials.
He also collaborated in making bags using Reishi material, which is a material based on mushroom mycelium. The entire collection is then presented in the form of ready-to-wear, so that the idea of sustainability can still be applied to fashion that is closer to daily needs.
Through L'ENTRE-DEUX: INTERWOVEN IDENTITIES, JF3 Fashion Festival 2026 shows that fashion development is not only determined by trends. Collaboration between designers from different cultural backgrounds can be a way to broaden perspectives while encouraging the birth of new ideas.
Each collection that is displayed carries its own story, ranging from identity search, family memories, history, to sustainability issues. Various experiences are then translated into fashion through the exploration of unconventional materials and techniques.
JF3 Fashion Festival 2026 officially opened on Thursday, January 23, 2026 at Summarecon Mall Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Under the theme "Recrafted: Shaping the Future", this festival highlights the importance of cross-cultural collaboration through various programs, including the PINTU Incubator.
Not only as a stage to introduce the works of designers, this event is also part of efforts to strengthen the national fashion ecosystem. The meeting between Indonesian and French talents is expected to open more opportunities to exchange knowledge, build professional networks, and introduce the potential of young designers to a wider scope.
JF3 Fashion Festival 2026 will run until July 29, 2026. This festival is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Creative Economy, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, and BRImo.
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