Friday, October 5, 2012

Let's Party! - IKA BUTONI new shop


With her plans for globalization in mind, Ika Butoni set her eyes on opening her very first flagship store in the heart of Tsim sha tsui, Hong Kong. Located at the 2nd floor of the Mira Mall, owned and operated by the Mira Hotel, she hopes to attract both local and foreign customers who love fashion as much as she does.
Her ready- to- wear collection, designed for the modern and active woman, will be viewed for the very first time by press and VIPs at the grand opening on August 31, 2012. Guests of honor include the Indonesian consulate general, Mr. Teguh Wardoyo and TVB artist and former Ms. Hong Kong, Sandy Lau.


CELEBRATING A LIFE IN FASHION
IKA BUTONI First Flagship Store in Hong Kong
IKA BUTONI First Flagship Store in Hong Kong

Her name 'IKA' means “a thousand islands united as one”. Her designs allow others to get a glimpse of the rich Indonesian culture and beyond.

Indonesia-born, Hong Kong based fashion designer Ika, treats desi... gning as a serious issue. “For me fashion design is not persay a career but a way to express myself day to day”. She said, “because Indonesians are so culturally gifted, my colour sense has been enriched. My roots also contribute to my major strength in embroidery, which I use a lot in my collections.” She realized very early in her career that there is no alternative to hard work, while design is subjective to the viewer. Having reconciled to this, she discovered that there are successive layers of inspiration in creating a collection, thinking of herself as a spectator in the imaginary world. “I firmly believe that I draw inspirations from my travels and my interactions with people from different lands that help me to develop the basic ingredients of my creations sprinkled with constant research of fabrics, continual experimentations with new embroideries and staying abreast of new technologies.

I have always wanted to be creative and different in every approach to being artistic. The name 'designer' was not so important. Perhaps because in Germany where I started designing, designers were always called Stylist."

She left L’Estelle (a German fashion house) because of her mother saying that an Asian wife should not leave her husband for a job overseas. After working many years for L'Estelle, Ika left and started on her own as a make to order fashion designer service. Ika lasted 2 years, as she learned women prefer to be advised by a male designer/ tailor, not by a female. Ika left the job to do what she did best, designing for export. As soon as she decided to do this, the development accelerated. Ika joined the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in 1985 for that year's Trade Exhibition. By 1990 her exports reached Europe. Currently with Fashion Trade Fairs and Fashion Shows twice a year in Hong Kong, Ika prides herself in being the longest lasting HKTDC designer taking part in their events.

She describes her work as the most beautiful and exciting aspect of her world. The emerging creativity and experimentation takes her to new heights of elaborate detailing and finishes by having lots of fun!!! The ultimate challenge is to take design to an elevated level, to keep stimulated and to complete the mindset in the world of realisation by involving challenging new technical embroideries and handworks.

Her bicultural existences have been a big influence because it opened her mind up to so many different ways of life. Evolving from the Indonesian culture, she has always wanted to explore the unknown streets of other cultures. Because of this, Ika is inspired by modern women who lead active busy lives, people in general with strong personalities that love life and nature.

Ika claims that the success of her company is due to the great team work, unusual designs that differ from the current trend, and adding accessories as final touches to the finishing of a garment. It’s an exciting process for her team to work in the Butoni 'fashion kitchen'. Since 2003, Butoni has grown tremendously. With her partner, John Keilman (from Holland), they work with scores of talented staff covering 3 floors, satisfying clients from all over the world. The range now includes a men’s wear collection, with the increasing demands for more designs.
IKA BUTONI First Flagship Store in Hong Kong
IKA BUTONI First Flagship Store in Hong Kong

What is your design philosophy?
To always inject creativity into design. Fortunately, most of Ika's collections have been well received.

Through Butoni Limited, the 'IKA' label sells to KINJI Boutique, Intercontinental and Peninsula hotels-Hongkong, New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia, Japan, Korea, UAE ( Middle East), France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, England, USA, Canada and South Africa. IKA's clientelle, apart from people all over the world, also includes the Hong Kong celebrities.

What's your motto?
To feel passionate, strive for creativity, saleability in designs while having lots of fun.

What's your philosophy?
To be myself, to be consistent, not to lose my personality and identity.

What's the most important lesson that you've learned?
Be passionate about your work, believe in yourself, trust your instincts, then everything else will follow.

What's your ultimate goal?

To be happy, to live life to the fullest, to be useful to people around, and to give back to my parent and to my Country.

What about expansion?
"I have watched worldly designers’ expand too rapidly, they loose their initial design qualities as their team aggressively markets them commercially, and then failed miserably.

I wish to develop gradually in order to control the flow of good quality design, to support our buyers who are also our best marketing tools and to help them expand their clientele".

IKA
The Founder and Managing Director of Butoni Ltd., Hong Kong, since 1983.
The Hong Kong Fashion Designers’ Association (HKFDA) senior member since 1985.
The Founder and Chairman of the Moda Bali Foundation, since 1999.
The Founder and Chairman of the International Bali Fashion Week – Indonesia, since 2000.

No comments:

Post a Comment