Modeling the world

This was a big week for Indonesian fashion designers and not only did the President Obama build a stop in Jakarta, although he touched down right in the middle of Jakarta’s fashion week. While the President was gratifying the ideals of democracy and development at the University of Indonesia, local designers were sending a parade of pieces down the runways eager to found Jakarta as a fashion hub in Asia. Backed by the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association, the objective is to catapult Indonesian designers to the international stage.

The theme of Jakarta fashion week was styling conventional wear with a modern touch. The week kicked off with a compliment to the kebaya (derived from Arabic word for clothing “abaya”), a traditional blouse and skirt combo that most Indonesian women wear. Designer Defrico Audy varied a batik print with metallic silks and red velvets (pictured below).

Other designers wedged with modern designs. Sebastian Gunawan, another designer who got to meet Mrs. Obama, presented a 92-piece collection enthused by old icons (Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe) and new (Rihanna and Victoria Beckham). He showed gowns with high shoulders which he said look mostly excellent on petite women.

Modernity was not mislaid on other designers either. The rash of territory waist dresses paired with platform shoes were every bit worthy of catwalks in New York and can’t you nearly see Beckham in the seam by designer Ninik Darmawan.

There was hardly any skin show and just a slight experimentation, but Pakistani designers still managed to set the ramp on fire with their extremely wearable clothes that married the conventional with the Western at the country’s best known fashion week.

A model presents a creation by Pakistani fashion designer Mohsin on the opening day of the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) Sunsilk Fashion Week in Karachi, yesterday.

The first day’s finale of the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week will be a charity show entitled Fashion Gives Back. The fashion week will showcase designs from 40 local designers for Spring/Summer 2011.

Mohsin’s collection was an extension of his thesis project, Homeless Hazara, and he patrician it Chadar Namaaz.

‘I have always been awestruck by dupattas since in my family every female wears it. So for my debut line I thought I can present how good-looking and stylish it can be,’ said Mohsin.

Victoria Beckham imagines it is extremely vital for parents to be good role models for their children, so she is trying to be just that for her own brood.

The former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer has three sons with soccer hubby David Beckham: Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 5, all of whom have ambitions to pursue in their father’s footsteps.

Victoria thinks that children require learning the “value of having a career by considering their parents go out to work.”

“It think it’s a very significant message to provide to children, that both myself and David work,” Posh comments. “My middle one, Romeo, he utterly loves fashion and the other two, they be familiar with what I do [and hopefully will aspire to be just as victorious].”

Earlier this week Emirati fashion designer Abeer Al Suwaidi introduced her most recent eclectic collection of bold and colorful abayas, those long, robelike dresses worn by women in a few parts of the Islamic world.

Although Al Suwaidi is recognized for her risque obtain on the traditional garment, as well as sexy, tight “skinny abayas,” her most pointed design debut this week came in the form of a strange and spiky accessory.

Some of her models tore through the catwalk sporting a pair of odd, pointy, glovelike finger coverings that appeared as if they came straight out of an “Edward Scissorhands for Her” fashion collection.

Kind of makes one wonder if Al Suwaidi was influenced by Halloween and horror movies, as the gold-plated “gloves” have such a Freddy Krueger-meets-Scissorhands type of flare to them.

Edgy fashionistas similar to Rihanna and Lady Gaga soon followed suit, and currently gloves are enjoying a handy resurgence on the runway and in retail stores.

Fashion expert Nellis illustrious a spike in high-fashion gloves a few years ago when pop star Beyonce Knowles begun wearing that shiny, metal robot glove on red carpets and in her “Single Ladies” music video.

Nellis said gloves are also a tremendous way to test out unusual fabrics that may not fundamentally be flattering on the rest of the body.

“Quilted gloves show cute on the hands, however that puffy material is not lenient on the body,” she said. “Hands can’t in fact appear fat.”

The Hells Angels aspiration their death’s head back.

The notorious motorcycle gang is accusing designers at Alexander McQueen of unlawfully using the Angels’ trademark symbol, the Financial Times reports.

The Hells Angels Corporation alleges that the “Hell’s Knuckle Duster ring” and other apparel and accessories use the gang’s icon without permission.

PPR, the lavishness parent company of Alexander McQueen, is named in the suit filed in California Federal court, as are Saks Fifth Avenue and Zappos for selling the merchandise.

It’s not now for economic reasons.  The bikers are apprehensive for the safety of the wearers of the death’s head since “anyone wearing them would be believed an imposter by club members,” says the gang’s longtime attorney Fritz Clapp.

The Angels have effectively sued before.

In 2006, the Hells Angels filed a lawsuit in opposition to Disney for using the Hells Angels name and membership images in its script for the film “Wild Hogs.”

The gang withdrew the grievance after getting assurances that its marks would not show in the film, according Clapp, reports FT.