Hi folks,
Quite a few items dominated this week’s news but nothing like the Paris Fashion Week debacle, which, frankly, caught us by surprise. Who knew Indonesians are so passionate about fashion? But seriously, though, this is really par for the course when it comes to Indonesian brands flexing their international exposure.
Remember when over a dozen brands bought an advertising spot at Times Square in New York, last year? Or when the Indonesian Consulate General in New York promoted Cafe Dangdut, a dangdut-themed coffee shop at Smorgasburg WTC, of which we haven’t heard from since?
The hype feels very different though when artists make international names for themselves, like Rich Brian or Niki, or the numerous Indonesian illustrators and inkers doing comics at Marvel and DC. They’re more … natural. What do you think?
Paris Fashion Week Smackdown
Paris Fashion Week became the talk of the nation this week but for all the wrong reasons. Last month, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) issued a press release titled: “Kemenparekraf Supports 10 Indonesian Brands Participating at Paris Fashion Week 2022”
Except that they weren’t the famous Paris Fashion Week, reserved for top fashion brands from the likes of Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, but a separate fashion show entirely called “Paris Fashion Show at Paris Fashion Week” which had nothing to do with PFW except for the fact that both were held in the same city and at the same time.
The press release went missing from the ministry’s website following public uproar.
The National Creative Economy Movement (Gekrafs), an NGO with Minister Sandiaga Uno as its head of advisory board, said they were offered to participate in the Paris Fashion Show by Paris-based EO named Fashion Division.
The Indonesian brands had to pay and finance themselves during their stay in Paris. Some had to shell around Rp500 million. This is why some decided to do sponsorship deals with the likes of spicy, crispy, smackdown fried chicken chain Geprek Bensu which itself had its brand on the runway with a garish display.
Despite knowing that Paris Fashion Show had nothing to do with PFW, Gekrafs and some of the brands participating used the name “Paris Fashion Week” in many of their social media campaigns and business proposals.
Gekrafs insisted that it never tried to misled the public saying that they have always made it clear that the brands were participating at “Paris Fashion Show during Paris Fashion Week”, insisting that Paris Fashion Show was an “off schedule event” of PFW.
Gekrafs said it was the European EO Fashion Division which said it was OK to name drop PFW as long as they label it as such. Gekrafs also said Fashion Division said it is OK to use the hashtag #ParisFashionWeek for their social media campaigns as long as they don’t use the PFW logo, a statement which was confirmed by Fashion Division.
Amid the controversy, several brands which participated in the Paris Fashion Show decided to apologize for misleading the public that they were participating at the other, more prestigious event.
The controversy unfortunately overshadowed the participation of two Indonesian brands, Jewel Rocks and Sean Sheila, on the PFW calendar on Friday, 7 March, in an event organized by the Indonesian Embassy and Adresse Paris Agency.
However, probably the best thing that came out of this was the news that Nafa Salvana, an Indonesian fashion model who walked the runway during the Milan Fashion Week in February, was scouted and recruited by another Indonesian runway model Raihan Fahrizal, while she was having dinner at a roadside vendor in Bandung in December.
Welcome to Quarantine Free Zones
The government this week introduced a host of relaxations amid declining numbers of Covid-19 cases.
This week, Bali, Batam, and Bintan were designated as quarantine-free zones. Foreign travelers arriving at those islands must stay at their hotels only until results of their on arrival PCR tests are out, after which they are free to go out and explore the respective islands. Travelers are also free to roam the country if they still test negative on day 3.
Meanwhile for Bali, the Immigration Office decided to reinstate Visa On Arrival for 23 countries, including ASEAN countries, which before the pandemic enjoyed a visa free policy. Today, they need to pay for the VOA application. The government is mulling a similar VOA policy for Batam and Bintan which still require travelers to apply for a visa prior to their arrival to Indonesia.
But the tourism recovery in Bali seemed to be off to a slow start. Two days since the policy was implemented only 411 arrived in Bali, 45 of whom used the VOA facility.
The government said if the trial run proves to be successful, the rest of Indonesia might be quarantine free as early as April 1.
The government also decided to scrap testing requirements for all forms of domestic travel for those who have been completely vaccinated. Several experts supported the idea saying that this should motivate people to have themselves completely vaccinated as the number of vaccinations is slowing down. However, one expert advised people to stay cautious if they share a house with those with comorbidities or in vulnerable age groups.
Several areas had been postponing its implementation of the no test policy for a number of reasons. West Sulawesi, for example, argued that their vaccination drive is still below target. The Lasikin airport in the island of Simeulue, Aceh said they are still waiting for further instructions from the Ministry of Transportation.
Meanwhile, Jakarta and Surabaya and their surrounding areas are back to PPKM level 2. This time they decided that buses and trains can have 100% capacity, regardless of the passengers’ vaccination status.
Quick Reads
Good Job Corruptor
Former Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo had his prison time reduced from 9 years to 5 by the Supreme Court on account of his performance as government minister despite serving for just over one year and the fact that he undid much of the good work done by his predecessor, Susi Pudjiastuti.
Edhy was convicted of receiving bribes amounting to US$77,000 and Rp24.625 billion or a total of nearly $2 million to allow the export of lobster seeds, which was banned by the previous Fisheries Minister.
His original sentence was 9 years and a fine of Rp400 million, a drop in the bucket compared to the amount he received in bribes.
Pave the Way
The Mandalika Grand Prix Association announced the completion of track resurfacing of the circuit ahead of schedule.
During testing in mid February, MotoGP riders complained about the track which easily ejected gravel and asphalt upon contact with their high powered motorbikes, causing multiple physical injuries. A number of riders had called the track impossible to race on due to various other issues.
Soon after testing had been completed, FIM, Dorna, and the Indonesian Tourism Development Corp agreed to have parts of the track resurfaced and repaired. The Mandalika GP is expected to take place between 18-20 March as scheduled.
Nusantara Investor Pulls Out
SoftBank confirmed that the group will not be investing in building Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara after all. The decision potentially affecting the nation’s budget quite significantly unless they find a new investor.
That explains Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan’s trip to the Middle East the other week in search of investors. He said to the media on Friday, “There’s no more story on Masayoshi, he’s out.” Neither Luhut nor SoftBank gave further details on the pull out.
The SoftBank Group was expecting a windfall from the sale of chip designer Arm to Nvidia but that deal faced heavy regulatory resistance and was abandoned late last year.
Without the sale, SoftBank’s profits fell by 97% last quarter. Two of the company’s biggest portfolios, WeWork, and Grab, are also performing poorly on the stock market, both trading at below 50% of their respective IPO prices.