Fashion Footprint in a City of Color and Style

Through fashion, Bandung continues to grow amid the changing times. Spiced with endless creativity, its journey leaves a colorful collective footprint.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

A man creates screen prints in a crowded residential lane in Muararajeun Lama, Bandung, West Java.

Among the labyrinths of alleys in the Cibeunying Kaler area of Bandung city, West Java, dozens of houses are not just residences. Built with a breath of creativity, the houses in the Muararajeun screen printing village function as places to connect human lives.

Tuti Iriany Gumay, 53, for example, has been in the T-shirt packing business for three years. In addition to ironing the T-shirts produced by her neighbors, she also checks the quality of the yarn and the seams.

Her eyes and hands are skillful. On Wednesday (10/30/2019) afternoon, she observed a string of thread coming out of the stitches of the yellow T-shirts. Carefully, she cut the threads while combing all sides of the seam on the T-shirt. Then the T-shirt was ironed and put in the packaging container. Within a day, she can pack up to 120 T-shirts.

Muararajeun\'s T-shirts have been shipped to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Timor Leste, Australia and Germany.

For other clothes such as shirts and jackets, Tuti can pack up to 80 pieces per day. She sets a fee of Rp 1,500 per T-shirt and Rp 2,250 for a shirt.

One of the initiators of the Muararajeun screen printing village, Ibrahim Subagio, 53, said that the togetherness began in 2002. Amid limited infrastructure, residents have come accustomed to meeting consumer demands together.

Muararajeun then built an image as a T-shirt manufacturer. Muararajeun\'s T-shirts have been shipped to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Timor Leste, Australia and Germany.

Now, there are 70 people in Muararajeun working in this sector. More than 300 T-shirts are made by locals every day. Housewives are also empowered with the majority working in the final check and packing section. Tuti is one of them.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

A worker dries screen prints in a crowded residential lane in Muararajeun Lama, Bandung, West Java.

Since 1920

Muararajeun is not the first. People have long worked together to build Bandung’s image as the city of fashion. Jl. Braga has been home to famous fashion shops since the 1920s.

One of the most famous is Au Bon Marche Shop. Unlike its name, which means cheap shopping, the products offered are very expensive. Ridwan Hutagalung and Taufanny Nugraha in Braga, the Heart of Parijs van Java said that their clothes were first class products from Europe, including Paris.

Bandung is known as the fashion city with the nickname \'Parijs van Java\'.

There was also NV Onderling Belang, which sells clothes from Amsterdam and Kelleer’s Kleiding Modemagajizn, a tailors and fashion store at that time. As the first elite shopping center in Bandung, Braga has a strong identity, even up to the present.

"Bandung is known as the fashion city with the nickname \'Parijs van Java\' because of stores on Jl Braga, Jl Merdeka and in the Dago area," Ibrahim said.

Entering the post-independence era, after the shops were closed down, Bandung did not lose its aura. Around the 1950s, Bandung was known for its trends in sandals and geulis (beautiful) umbrellas. Many were made in Tasikmalaya and sold in Bandung.

In this era, textile and garment factories were also built in the Majalaya area, near Bandung. When Majalaya provided a variety of textile materials, Bandung became a place to market its finished products, such as kebaya. The stereotypical beautiful girls of that era were often identified as wearing kebaya, clogs and holding geulis umbrellas.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

Visitors look at T-shirts at the Telkomsel KickFest in Bandung, Thursday (4/11/2019). At the clothing bazaar, up to 100 brands of T-shirts were on sale.

The opening of the Bandung-Jakarta toll road in 2005 further boosted business. Through the increase in tourist visits, Bandung\'s T-shirts became increasingly well known.

Ade Andriansyah, chairman of the Bandung Independent Clothing Community, said that T-shirts were popular and could be mixed and matched with other items. Now, there are hundreds of clothing manufacturers. "The relationship between Bandung and T-shirts is difficult to separate. Look for a nice T-shirt, yes, in Bandung," he said.

T-shirt promotions are routinely held through the Kickfest bazaar. This year marked the 13th event, held from Nov. 1 to 4. More than 100 clothing manufacturers took part, with T-shirts sold for Rp 70,000 to Rp 150,000 per piece.

Hendra, 19, a Kickfest visitor, likes to choose T-shirts by looking for materials and designs that suite his taste. "I don\'t see clothes from brands. Sometimes brands that are already well-known are very expensive. But there are shirts with better quality materials at more affordable prices," he said.

In this "Flower City", various types of fashion will always have a place. Fashion not only satisfies consumers, but also gives the city its identity as a city of creativity, love and style.