Conversation with Indonesian Fashion Designer Toton Januar, Part 1

Maturity, Sustainability and SS21 at Dewi Fashion Knights

Toton Januar.

Toton Januar is an Indonesian fashion designer who puts together the traditional and the modern, and local and global elements together not only in designing his collections for TOTON the Label, but also to create compelling fashion narratives.

In the first part of this interview, he talks about the growth of TOTON, the label’s sustainability efforts, and brings us through his process designing for the Spring/Summer 2021 collection.

How has TOTON matured? Who are your trusted team members? What are your roles and how do you complement each other’s skillsets?

I feel TOTON has matured in many aspects. With the pandemic, the future remains to be seen, but we feel optimistic about the changes and are excited about the ways we can adapt to the current conditions,

We also have a stronger team now, although it has been changes that challenge us to adapt. Our team includes seamstresses, craftsmen, the production team, management and administrative staff. We are like a family and although every position has a specific job description, we never hesitate to help each other out. So sometimes the administrative personnel would help with embellishment, or a member from the design team would help with paperwork for samples. 

“It is a big responsibility to say that we are practising sustainability with our brand. I would rather say that we are trying to be kinder to the environment with our products, and hopefully, it takes us one step closer to being sustainable. ”

You walk the talk with sustainability and have for instance used leftover denim from Indonesian factories in your collections since 2017. Please tell us what first drew you to this agenda and your continued commitment to sustainability in your plans for your label.

Sustainability, alongside employing ethical labour and being animal-friendly have all been on our minds for some time. It started in 2017 when we had the chance to present a special collection for Dewi Magazine Fashion Knights. We were given the theme ‘Modernism’ and I immediately thought of the environmental crisis and what we could do to make the earth a better place. The term ‘modernism’ was loosely interpreted to be how we should be in an environmental context. We incorporated our unused denim and chambray clothes to be reworked into new pieces. We also utilised the fabrication only available in the studio at the moment. 

The response was amazing and it set us thinking about how to communicate our efforts to be more thoughtful with the environment without being too obvious about it. It is a big responsibility to say that we are practising sustainability with our brand. I would rather say that we are trying to be kinder to the environment with our products, and hopefully, it takes us one step closer to being sustainable. 

In the studio for the Spring/Summer 2021 collection. Images courtesy of TOTON.

In the studio for the Spring/Summer 2021 collection. Images courtesy of TOTON.

TOTON Spring/Summer 2021 at Dewi Fashion Knights 2020 contemplates how beliefs and religions define Indonesia’s cultural identity. Could you elaborate on how you translated these explorations into the pieces?

Religions and spiritual beliefs are themes close to me because I was raised as a Moslem by my mother, but along the way, I have found many things in life that contradict my beliefs, and questions have surfaced. The thought of spiritual beliefs as armours in this trying time have become one of the key elements in translating our inspirations into the pieces.

Paper clay armours inspired by Hindu statues become the main accessory, blurring the lines between clothes and accessories. The clothes’ silhouettes were inspired by the clothing of Acehnese Moslem women, down to the layering of long blouses and dresses on top of pants, and the use of head-covering scarves. We developed the embroidery pattern on organza fabrics based on the Javanese Batik motif called truntum which was borne out of a wish to bloom again like a flower bud does.

Paper clay armours. Image courtesy of TOTON.

And in general, how do you put a collection together? What is your process? Perhaps you could walk us through the Spring/Summer 2021 collection? Do you work with a mood board, do you discuss ideas with your team, etc.?

A collection for me is always started with an idea, an emotion that sometimes becomes the mood of the whole collection. The Spring/Summer 2021 collection came from a conversation I had with one of my best friends who happens to be an illustrator. She drew this Japanese mythical creature, Amabié, and we talked about how we have a strong spiritual relationship with nature and the transcendent in Indonesia.

I continued to discuss this idea with my partner, Haryo Balitar, and how my memory of Hindu gods and goddess statues inform me of this spiritual armour, and how this concept has so many nuances and versions. I then started to put up a mood board, which I always create for each collection, to set the tone of the collection's mood, shapes, and colours.

How do you strike a balance between continuity and innovation, and between tradition and modernity in terms of creating a collection and telling your brand story? 

I think from time to time I need to check in with my partner, my team, and reality in general. Discussions are always needed because I tend to have my tracks of mind when it comes to the creative process, and it is good to be able to discuss the directions and how far and fast to go in terms of evolving the designs.

See more of Toton’s work on Instagram @totonthelabel.

Click here for Part 2 of the conversation with Toton Januar, where he speaks about his SS21 show at Museum Nasional Indonesia and ‘Baroque Archipelago’ at Mizuma Gallery.