THE VISUAL CHARACTERS OF INDONESIAN FIRST LADIES'FASHION PERIODS 1945-2014

• Main Author: Suciati
• Format: Dissertations
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Seni tekstil
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/41416
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

First ladies play role on national dress as they represent the culture, personality, and inspiration of Indonesian women. Their roles evolve along with politics of Indonesian presidency. The first ladies of Indonesia come from diverse cultural background, Mrs Fatmawati Soekarno of Bengkulu, Mrs. Tengku Halimah Syehabuddin Sjafruddin Prawiranegara from Sumatera, Mrs. Roesiah Asaat from Sungai Puar, Agam, Mrs R.Ay. Siti Hartinah Soeharto of Surakarta, Mrs Hasri Ainun Besari of Semarang, Mrs Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid of Jombang, and Mrs Kristiani Herrawati Yudhoyono of Yogyakarta. All of them use Kebaya in various formal occasions as representation of national attire. Interestingly, there are no existing literatures and objective studies on the everchanging roles, function, and details of Indonesian National Dress wore by Indonesian first ladies. Accordingly, this research sought to formulate visuals of Indonesian's national dress and map those formal dress wore by Indonesian first ladies. For this purpose, the research applied historical study on formal dress of Indonesian first ladies from 1945 until 2014. The study used content analisys on fully visible images of national dress wore by Indonesian first ladies. It consisted of 10 out of 52 images of Mrs Fatmawati Soekarno's dress, 10 out of 204 of Mrs R.Ay. Siti Hartinah Soeharto's dress, 5 out of 14 images of Mrs Hasri Ainun Habibies dress, 5 out of 5 images of Mrs Sinta Nuriyah A Wahid's dress, and 10 out 66 images of Mrs Kristiani Herrawati Yudhoyono's dress. Result show that there were similiarities of usage of Indonesian fisrt ladies's dress: hair bun, top dress of kebaya (with various details and pattern of motifs-either floral, plain, or embroideries; V or I silhoutte of traditional sarong/long clothes), milineries (scrafs, handbags, fans and slippers) and accessories (hairpins, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and brooches). Differences were influenced by the chosen images of Nusantara's ethnic cultures, changes in fashion and trend, cultural adoption, and first ladies' understandings on the image of Indonesian women public. The national dress of Indonesian first ladies carries political messades¬uniting diverse nation and cultures.