ISLAMABAD: Enchanting performances enthralled the audience that had come to attend an exhilarating composition of Indonesian and Pakistani culture through a fashion and music show on Saturday evening.
The show, held at the Indonesian Embassy, kicked off with a spellbinding medley performances of the ancient and mystical Gamelan music, which is an integral part of Indonesian culture.
A truly-rich mock Javanese wedding ceremony was also performed, with several pre-wedding customs and rituals also acted out for the audience.
Indonesian models dressed up as the bride and groom in traditional outfits for the ceremony, complete with friends and family members dressed in similar traditional garb.
Other cultural performances included the traditional and expressive Indonesian Sajojo dance, Javanese dance and a number of other singing performances.
The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long interactions between customs indigenous to the archipelago and multiple foreign influences. The event was an opportunity to witness Indonesian cultural heritage passed on through generations.
Indonesian Ambassador Burhan Muhammad said that the musical show was a celebration of the assumption of office by new Indonesian President Joko Widodo after a peaceful democratic electoral process earlier this year. Widodo is Javanese.
The fashion show, bringing a collection of a true amalgam of both Pakistani and Indonesian culture, was also gripping. Models walked down the ramp draped in a fusion of creative skill of an Indonesian batik maestro and the brilliance of a team from Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design that produced an exclusive collection of ten outfits for both men and women.
Meticulously created hand-woven batik silk by artist and fashion designer Rosso and the fabulous traditional fabric of Ajrak from Sindh blended the traditional with the contemporary.
“We felt the similarity between the cultures when we started working from the base, which was the dying of the fabric,” said PIFD Lahore Design Faculty Dean Imran Mahmood.
“We fused together both traditional fabrics and transferred them to modern era cuts,” he explained. “A skirt would be paired with an angrakha-style shirt or scarf with a sarong and handkerchiefs, it’s all beautifully mixed,” said Mahmood.
Ambassador Muhammad told The Express Tribune that culture works as a cornerstone for both countries. “We need to strengthen relations since we are people with similar cultures,” he said.
Muhammad plans to take the same show to Indonesia next year to promote the soft image of Pakistan. “People in Indonesia’s perceptions about the country are from the western media. I will take this show to Indonesia and give it more of Pakistan flavour just to change that and show them that Pakistan is as enthusiastic about fashion, culture and music as we are,” he said.
The event was organised by the Indonesian embassy in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design and International Grammar School and College, Islamabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2014.
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