MERAH KAISAR
The collection is inspired by the history of the people from the Nusantara region, a South-East Asian archipelago. The archipelagic nature of maritime South-East Asia meant that sea was the most efficient mode of transport within the region, so it is no surprise that the people of Nusantara were known to be excellent seafarers. In this collection, we combined the styles, silhouettes and details of the clothes worn by the people of Nusantara and weaved it into our own unique interpretation. Ultimately, we aim to create a narrative that stems from our history and who we are now. The collection features embroidery detailing as well as various trimmings for various garments, some of which include coins created specifically for the collection. Floral shank buttons, antique silver snap buttons and our own floral zippers are among the few new hardwares used. In order to achieve a more textured look, we used uneven yarn brushed cotton for most of our T-shirts. The prints were inspired by batik, which is an ancient Indonesian art form; a nod to the crafts and techniques used in this region. We have also included more handcrafted accessories to this collection, like a feather pendant and leather stamped key fob, which are all made of vegetable tanned leather. Since maritime is a major part of the conversation, piracy is also another topic we wanted to explore, which will serve as another perspective to this collection. In the past, many of our people were ridiculed and used in many narratives as pirates to create a glorified identity for the colonizers; in addition to exploitation of colonizers who made parts of our culture their own. It is now time for us to take pride in our unique identities and own it.