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 |
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 |
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