TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The works of Indonesian fashion designers Poppy Dharsono, Musa Widyatmodjo, Naniek S. Rachmat and Koyko were a stunning success at the Russian Creative Industry Festival "Moscow Fest Edition-Russian Creative Week" held in Moscow, Russia, from July 3 to 9, 2023, according to a press release sent by the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow, which was received by Tempo on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

These works of the designers were displayed at the Indonesian Pavilion, and not just the designers' works, but also various collections of modern-ethnic clothing from Indonesian fashion designers and accessories by various MSMEs, including Garut, Lombok and Sumatra.

The various Indonesian clothing and accessories displayed in the Indonesian Pavilion attracted quite a lot of interest and were in demand among visitors from the people of Moscow City.

"The Russian Creative Industry Festival provides a good opportunity for Indonesian fashion designers to get exposure to the international world," said Poppy Dharsono, General Chairperson of the Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs Association (APPMI), who is also the Chair of the Indonesian Delegation.

Poppy Dharsono (center, wearing sunglasses) with a number catwalk models wearing clothes made by her at the Russia Creative Week 2023. Photo: Indonesian Embassy in Moscow

During the week of holding the Russian Creative Industry Festival, Indonesian designers had the opportunity to carry out a mini fashion show and they also became speakers in a panel discussion session, discussing the development of the creative industry in the fashion sector in Russia and Indonesia.

In the discussion, Poppy invited all Indonesian fashion designers to have a "go-international mindset" and to take aim at foreign markets, which also encourages the development of MSMEs in the fashion and accessories sector.

"Russia has the characteristics of the fashion market which are quite similar to Indonesia, therefore, this is a very good opportunity for local Indonesian manufacturers to start looking at the Russian market as a potential market," said Poppy.

Poppy was the speaker in a panel discussion session which took place on July 7, 2023 at the Lomonosov Cluster Moscow Creative Industry Development Center, in the Moscow State University (MGU) elite Russian campus area.

On the initiative and facilitation of the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow, Indonesian designers also held meetings exploring the development of B2B cooperation with a number of CEOs and representatives of distributors for the Russian fashion retail, boutique and fashion start-up industry, including the Russian Industry Creative Agency (AKI), Russia Fashion Hub, Martlett Group and Rustrends.

Meeting facilitation is a form of Indonesian economic diplomacy to continue to develop the creative economy in Indonesia, especially MSMEs, and to encourage Indonesian products to be more global

"I hope this business mission meeting can pave the way for the export of products, fashion brands and accessories from Indonesia to Russia," said Poppy.

The same thing was echoed by fellow Indonesian fashion designer Musa Widyatmodjo. "The participation and various meetings that we held during our participation in this Festival can become milestones in concrete cooperation between the Russian and Indonesian fashion industries," said Musa.

Indonesian fashion designer Musa Widyatmodjo (3rd from left) with a number catwalk models wearing clothes made by him at the Russia Creative Week 2023. Photo: Indonesian Embassy in Moscow

The 2023 Russian Creative Industries Festival is organized by the Federal Government of Russia in collaboration with the Moscow City Government as the host.

As many as 350,000 visitors and 1,300 resource persons who are Russian and international creative industry entrepreneurs have attended 350 exhibitions which took place in various pavilions throughout the center of Moscow.

The Indonesian Pavilion, which is located in the Kremlin area, is the only representative of international participants displaying creative industry products from the fashion and accessories sector.

The 2023 Russian Creative Industry Festival is the opening activity of a series of festival activities to echo the development of the Russian creative industry which will continue until the end of 2023.

Specifically for the fashion creative industry sector, the Russian Government plans to hold a larger-scale exhibition in October-November 2023 and to invite again the participation of fashion designers from Indonesia.

TEMPO.CO | PGB

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