Usually, it brings together two figures who are used as sources for an article. Profile Duo requires a lot of adjustments in time and place. But this time, everything seemed to be going its way. At the opening of the exhibition Earth: Our Future, I met Chitra Subyakto as creative director As Far As The Eye Can See, and also Beverly Tandjung who plays the role of co-founder from Mulih Studio.
READ ALSO: Meet Indonesian Designer: Chitra Subyakto
This conversation between Chitra and Beverly is part of the print magazine Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia July whose big theme is “Youth”. Long story short, on the day Chitra had to leave for Yogyakarta, and one day Bev, Beverly's nickname, started her contract with a company, we met again. This time at workshop As Far As The Eye Can See, located in the Kemang area, South Jakarta.
From print or in this article, the photos you see are the result of shots taken by Andre Wiredja from NPM Photography who acted as the photographer that day. As for the footage behind the scenes, You are watching Andrew Arismunandar's recording. After the photo and video production, it's time for us to talk.
Sabrina Sulaiman (SS): How did Chitra and Bev know each other?
Chitra Subyakto (CS): At that time As far as the eye can see again held an exhibition “Our Work, Our Home” at Grand Indonesia. At that time we were making the eighth collection. Then Bev came. At that time we (Sejauh Mata Memandang) collaborated with Tako Group. Bev was invited by the Taco team, and then we got to know each other. Then there was a day where I saw on social media that Bev was sewing clothes. From there I immediately reach out, and made an appointment to meet until finally we talked about the program repair This. At that time Bev was still a bit hesitant about this. “Can I do it?” but I kept saying “You can do it!” and finally we launched the program. repair.
SS: What do you expect from this collaboration?
Beverly Tanjung (BT): As for me, I hope that in the future, people will start to know about repair services. And they will love their clothes more. Because usually if clothes are torn or have holes, most of them are thrown away or recycle. Actually, all of that can still be worn again. Especially if the clothes are from the collection. archive or there is sentimental value. It would be a shame to throw it away straight away.
CS: There are many people like me, who may not be as diligent in sewing as Bev. So we need a place where people can come to fix their clothes. That's why we created a collaboration between cakrawala mata memandang and Mulih Studio. So that first, people can get to know repair and circular fashion. How to extend the clothes themselves. One of them is by repairing clothes. Nah, if people already know the importance repair in fashion, in the future, we will make video tutorials. For example, how to fix your own clothes. You can learn by yourself, you can also go to Mulih Studio and you can repair any product. Not only as far as the eye can see, but also labels or designer others can also collaborate with Mulih Studio. There will definitely be a good effect. More and more brands are collaborating and raising this issue.
The first goal is for people to get to know each other. repair and circular fashion.
SS: Can you tell us how the idea or inspiration for a new collection came about?
CS: Ideas come organically. So it's not “Today I sat down to find ideas”. Ideas come personally. For example, I'm on a trip. For example, a floral motif, at that time I went to Borobudur Temple for the umpteenth time. But that day, I was quite diligent in paying attention to each leaf, tree, person, plant, and flora. So I started taking pictures one by one. Then I made a basic, simple sketch, then discussed it with the team. After that, I executed the results of the discussion with the team, drawing, layout on paper and then imagine what it would be like if it was put on cloth, make it sample and so on.
CS: What about Bev? What is her motivation?
BT: For fabrics, kebaya, and repairs because I like history. I study and am curious about what people in the past did. social history-what it was like. Especially women and I was really interested in the second world war. At that time, in England, the government had a system called clothes rationing. In addition, there are also many publications that teach campaigns. “Make do and mend: what can you make do with what you have and mend the things that are broken”. If we talk about sustainable fashion very rarely do people think about kebaya and cloth. They always say “find something that is timeless” But timeless associated with little black dress (LBD). In fact, LBD compared to kebaya, its age is, in fashion, different. Cloth and kebaya are hundreds of years old, LBD in the 50s or 60s. It all started from history.
SS: How do you exchange knowledge?
CS: Bev often gives me knowledge. We met for the first time and talked for five hours oh!
BT: Several times I came to event As Far As The Eye Can See. There I saw if I wanted to communicate about sustainability not just one way. It is very important how we communicate those messages without making the person who hears them feel like they are guilty.
CS: Usually we raise issues that exist but are rarely discussed because they are always conveyed in a way straightforward and tend to be negative. So we create an event that is packaged with a positive narrative so that people can be interested and get the message. Bev is good at telling stories. Bev also brings added value when she tells stories through photos and videos in a lighter way but the message gets across.
It is important how we communicate those messages without making the person hearing them feel like they are being bullied. guilty.
BT: Ms. Chitra, As Far As the Eye Can See has been around since 2014. How did people perceive the message you wanted to convey?
CS: Maybe it all happened because it was done together, collaboration. So we had a lot from the beginning. The first exhibition was in 2019. Usually every time we make a new motif, there must be an exhibition to tell the motif. For example, Timun Mas or flora. Then, in 2018 we made an exhibition that told the story of plastic waste. Because we read a lot of news and one of them was that the whales were all filled with plastic bags. Maybe followers we are just people who are interested in clothes but social media we can also be made a platform to convey these issues. I also read the book Extinction Rebellion, it says there “it’s not a drill”. So whether we are friends one, two, or a thousand, we have to convey this climate emergency issue. Because humans are forgetful and that's normal. So we have to remind each other often. So starting in 2019 we created exhibitions and motifs that raise this issue. And this is all because of collaboration. At that time we were assisted by Dietplastik Indonesia, Divers Clean Action, Pandu Laut, Ecoton ID, then there was also Felix Tjahjadi who designed the exhibition attractively, but the message was also conveyed. So all of this is an unfinished journey because we meet again with people we can learn more from. Like I met Bev, she is good at sewing, until finally making a repair program collaboration with Mulih Studio. Maybe because the energy is indeed directed towards the same goal, that's why I met people and movements that care about it. Still learning together, it's quite long (the journey), but I'm quite optimistic that brand and designer which could lead there as well.