My Own Words: Allysha Nila

Fashion stylist and writer from Indonesia
By Allysha Nila

My name is Allysha Nila, and I am a fashion stylist and writer. I see my work as a bridge between image-making and storytelling because of the amount of dialogue, research, and dissection each photograph requires. I take pride in being able to articulate these visual journeys and thought processes textually. In all, I want to share the meaningful and the precious. While I do not have a particular project, brand, or publication that I can call my independent endeavour, I have been working on countless things collaboratively with inspiring people and interesting businesses.

I am sharing with you my artistic vision and process as a creative, to show how my fellow collaborators and I transcend the typical parameters of our fields. I felt it best to write this in the form of an interview with myself because we all have internal dialogues, especially when working creatively. I also find it funny that the person asking all the questions and giving all the answers is myself when it is usually two different people—and it is important to not take yourself too seriously and find humour in everything.

Can you pinpoint where you are as a stylist now?

I tend to downplay my achievements and contribution, but 2022 has been a productive year, so I can own the fact that I have worked a lot. I am grateful that I had a dozen projects in January alone last year. As of now, I have styled 80 looks virtually for a project with State Property, pulled off styling a fashion show for Litti in less than a week, and I have had work featured on Times Square for Bigo and Spotify. But now I want to work with people who have been around a long time with bigger visions so I can learn from others more than figuring things out on my own, on the go.

“But now I want to work with people who have been around a long time with bigger visions so I can learn from others more than figuring things out on my own, on the go.”

I am seeing myself more as an artist and storyteller, but I happen to have the skills of a stylist. What I want to do is more educational as opposed to entertaining because I also see myself as a librarian: researching, archiving my own work, cataloguing references, making sure I have both old and new books. There are three things I have actively worked on: going back to my childhood, exploring as many colours as possible, and creating meaningful work. I spent a lot of time being in the ocean as a child, and I have been snorkelling a lot. The work you see below reflects that.

What does styling mean to you?

We all wear clothes and rely heavily on visuals, so that is my way of connecting with other people universally. It is a means of communication. Styling involves searching, choosing, and then pairing and that is sort of the modus operandi of all life. I love the hunt, feeling like I have just found something precious and that everyone should see it! I like to share, and I enjoy stories, discovering people, and what and how they create. A friend of mine mentioned that I take an anthropological approach to my work, and I think that comes from wanting to understand people and knowing their stories. Someone makes our clothes, and someone wears them. What do they experience, think, and feel? That vulnerability is a little harder to apply in real life, because we all have different barriers, but in an image, it is safe. In many ways, I want to save the most perishable of things that I see or encounter and give it a space where it can be protected, flourish, and be immortal. Styling is a realm for me to try something different and make a change.

How has the commercial aspect of your work shaped you as a stylist?

Creativity goes hand in hand with business, and it took me a while to figure out how they would support each other for me. I learned other people’s languages, how to read a deck and see how to contribute to a united vision. For two years, I was constantly pushed to break the obstacles of my field, out of the desperation of recuperating from the pandemic. So I took everything that was thrown at me, even with limited resources, and maximised it. Resourcefulness goes a long way. I ultimately want to work with a better, more efficient, delegatable system. I also learned my boundaries, where I am able to give and where I have to say no—my way of working might not be compatible in certain situations, but it is also important to be adaptable. Commercial work definitely strengthened my muscle to get things done quickly because businesses demand it, but personally I have sometimes needed more time to get to the root of something accurately.

“Creativity goes hand in hand with business, and it took me a while to figure out how they would support each other for me.”

What makes you happy creatively?

What has driven me as a stylist is to see how far I can take things. I have stuck a pearl pin on someone’s underwear where their clitoris is for a State Property campaign. I have given a high fashion twist to a big makeup brand like Luxcrime. I have covered a model’s body entirely with pink bodypaint and glitter for Happyfit. I made someone carry eight $20,000 Hermès bags nonchalantly for Belle & Kate. I had a hijab-wearing talent wear an external corset for a Cap Lang commercial… you get the idea. These clients are not fashion brands, so it is more rewarding for me because I am given the chance to inject something niche into something so mass. I am happy both the client and myself were able to take risks. Otherwise, I would not have felt that I was contributing. I think now I want to speak in languages that are more universal and relatable.

What have been the biggest challenges you have faced?

Some of them are common challenges to every creative person. Sometimes the shoots do not come. I have times when I only get a couple of jobs in a month and I start to have a lot of self-doubt. I start to ask myself questions that do little for my self-esteem, like: do people see me in the industry? Is my work not good enough? And did I charge too much? There is also the issue of budget and ending up forking out a lot of money for shoots myself. I refuse to let this become a creative barrier, or give less of an effort because there is not enough money put into it. My biggest concern right now is about having the right audience because I want my work to be seen and funded better. The way I work is intense, all-encompassing, and requires a lot of exchange. There are not many projects with space for that. There are clients who expect me to bow to briefs and show up with clothes, so I have also learned to compartmentalise.

How does being Indonesian influence your work?

I have a love-hate relationship with my own cultural background. All my life, I have felt my own culture and roots were something I did not deserve because of the disconnect globalisation brings. This is particularly a common phenomenon with third-culture children: we inherit so much cultural wealth but avoid it for many reasons. I understand how imperative it is now to weave our own language and experiences into it, especially if we have multiple backgrounds in the mix, but this is intimidating to touch if one is distanced from the parents’ cultures.

My father is of Padang descent, but some of his family are rooted in Aceh. My mother is of Solonese descent, with many of her family in Jambi. Her cultural influences were stronger in the household. Although Java holds the majority of the population, Solo has a niche culture which has been impacted greatly by colonisation. Historically, people who have lived in the archipelago have been great adaptors and colliders. You also have places like Bali, which have been isolated, so their culture is formidable.

Now I realise that the disconnect I have felt is an opportunity for something improved upon reconnection. As an outsider, you may get a better bird’s eye view, and have the power to transform what there is. I see the fashion industry as made up of many different islands, like Indonesia. There is also so much history and folklore; one rooted in reality and the other in imagination. When I try to combine the two, there is always something new. These sensibilities are what I see as Indonesianness — it is not just a matter of blatant visual cues, ornamentation, or exoticism. I have recently written an essay on the importance of our roots for Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia, and there is an upcoming editorial with Dewi that visualises a famous myth.

So what is your take on Indonesian dressing?

What I have found frustrating is that the information about textiles and traditional clothing is inaccessible so the research for it is time-consuming and more challenging. There is not much you can Google quickly and the best is to talk to the right people. I do think we are figuring out what to do with our traditions and cultures, and what I have difficulty coming to terms with is how we are obsessed with creating cultural products that are purely for superficial consumption. I understand that it is necessary, but my hope is that the stories, the voices, the heirlooms, and the love is still the main thing that we enjoy and share—and that is not easy. When we style an outfit, it needs to be assembled very quickly, so the final result is easily at risk of being watered down or completely elaborate for no reason. I love the way Jonathan Andy Tan remixes so boldly, and I respect the care that Hagai Pakan takes with sacred cultural elements. For me, I want Indonesian dressing to be clean, though not necessarily minimal or simple, with a twist in narrative and sensibility.

What have been some of your favourite work from 2022?

This year I was very happy dressing Taskya Namya for the Pamali premiere as a conceptual kuntilanak because I struck the balance among the contemporary, traditional, mythical and theatrical just right. I was also happy working on an editorial for Vulture with Natsuko Teruya, whom I have worked with since my final year at LASALLE College of the Arts, because she also brought her Japanese roots to the work. The intellectual road to get to the pictures was challenging but rewarding. Even though this is not technically work, I was also so happy to have portraits by my friend Ikmal Awfar, whom I have worked with the most this past year! It is great to see her blossom.