Pawon Pangeling-Eling / the homage (2023)

As a fashion designer, I have made various work projects in the last four years related to recycled materials and, of course, also associated with the issue of global fashion sustainability, which has also become a trend in Indonesia until now.   

At first, I thought the trend, or the stream of changes in fashion practices to sustainability issues, was excellent because it can affect many people quickly, like other fashion trends in Indonesia. But now, maybe with a better and nobler vision.  

My relationship with the textile industry often intersects, making me rethink my actions. I had a big question as time passed and some of the events I experienced.  

What does sustainability mean in the hustle and bustle of the current fashion trend? Is it enough to claim ourselves as caring about the state of the earth today, or is this still about your survival strategy in the current socio-ecological crisis? 

Pawon Pangéling-Éling, or The Homage, is my roundabout way. This work is no longer about just exploring residual materials but about how I am rethinking our relationship (the textile industry and me), my relationship with the previous work I made for the fashion show, and the "collaboration" project. 

I reread the meaning of the presence of cloth behind the increasingly singular streams of sustainable fashion trends. I meet again and exchange ideas with people and experiences in the Desa Cisadane (Kanekes) and Kasepuhan Ciptagelar. When I met yarn, fabrics, and how they are placed and used. In their daily cycle to protect, care for, and save their lives and life itself. 

Because that life is not only about a pile of bodies and the clothes we wear. 

Not only that.