Anniesa Hasibuan for NYFW Spring/Summer

And history was made!

People were literally jumping out of their seats, enthusiasticly clapping and cheering as Anniesa Hasibuan, blushed and surely relieved, stepped out to the runway after D'JAKARTA, her maiden show for the prestigious New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer Collection 2017.

I know it's been a while since the frenzy, fashion-clad New York Fashion Week, or famously shortened as NYFW, was held in the Big Apple. 

AND I AM LATE!

Kemana ajaaaa mama Bo et Obi :).
NYFW sudah berlalu sejak 2 minggu lalu dan saya baru bisa duduk tenang, mengeluarkan segala memory dan keseruan yang menjadi pengalaman luar biasa, sambil menuliskannya di blog ungu tercinta ini.

BUT WAIT, I AM NOT THAT LATE.
Or shall I say, better late than never?
September hasn't been too friendly to me. 

Well, setelah badai NYFW berlalu, tibalah taifun UNGA alias Sidang Majelis Umum PBB yang memang secara rutin dimulai setiap minggu ketiga September. Istimewa memang bulan yang satu ini.

In fact, September has always been super special here in the city.
The first two weeks, we welcomed celebrities, socialites and those blink-blink VVIPs adorned with the latest mode of fashion watching the top-notch show on the front row on series of NYFW.

Then, the following week, NYC is again welcoming the VVIPs from almost 193 members of the United Nations. That's true, the High Level Week of the UN General Assembly is on full swing on the third and the fourth week of September.

This time, the city is once again swelled with the presence of Heads of States and Governments - Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, - and Ministers with all their entourage. Plus extra Secret Service, CIA, FBI, and NYPD officers :). 

And I was lucky to be involved in these two big events at the Big Apple!
Well, I don't know whether lucky is the right word as I was surely bombarded with works, head-over-heels for all the preparation, the execution and the aftermath :).

Soooo..that's a long introduction indeed!
Back to Anniesa Hasibuan and D'JAKARTA now!

I bet many of you has seen or read the news about this historic moment when Anniesa Hasibuan walked that NYFW runway with long standing ovation from all.

The first Indonesian Designer joining NYFW the Show.

The First time ever Hijab style showcased the NYFW runway.

The first time ever Indonesian model, Laura Muljadi, walked on NYFW.

THE FIRST TIME EVER!

It's surely mind-blowing!

Not only for Anniesa, but for Indonesia as well!

Again, together with her team, I was assisting Anniesa with some preparation of the big show. Mostly on the Public relations issues, like media interviews and interpreting.

It was an honour indeed. And a lot of works at the same time, particularly during and after the show.

welcome :)

So now... Ready to see more of D'JAKARTA?

Jakarta.

Oh Jakarta...

The capital city of my beloved homeland, Indonesia.
Who wouldn't fall for it? despite its endless, crazy traffic :)

Famously known for its unique styles reflecting the rich cultural diversity, this Capital of Indonesia inspires Anniesa to once again present another remarkable face of Indonesian stunning ethnic mosaics. 

behind the scene

For Anniesa, it all felt like a dream come true.
A great dream...as a designer to be presenting her works to the world in NYFW.
Such a prestigious venue to show the world how beautiful Indonesia is.
How vibrant and colorful the hustle and bustle of live in Jakarta.

And Anniesa is capturing them all in her prét-a-porter designs.

Anniesa Hasibuan is also collaborating with WARDAH make up art, which is the original cosmetic from Indonesia. Sharing the same vivid vision and mision, both Anniesa Hasibuan and Wardah are proud to show the beauty of Indonesia to the world. 
And they started together here in the Big Apple.

That day, September 12, was started with the solemn Eid Adha celebration. We performed our sholat at the Indonesian mosque, Al-Hikmah, in Astoria, Queens. Then we were heading to Indonesia Fashion Gallery in midtown for the final preparation.

Sholat Idul Adha duluuu :)

IT WAS THE D-DAY!

After a little nap, more butterflies on her tummy, and the make-up session, Anniesa was ready. 

And off we went to the Dock, Skylight Moynihan Station. 

It's for real, people!

Backstage.... It was like a big party itself.

Beautifully messy.

Crazily hectic.

And sucessfully pumping the adrenaline to every pore of our body.

Super excited!

Models, Make-up, dresses, beauty palettes, instructions, lists and endless selfie as well as wefie were tossed up in the air.

The excitement was beyond control!

Cheeeeers from AH team :)

After some final touch on her 48 pieces of collection, Anniesa and all the team were ready for the rehearsal.

the final touch..

It took a few minutes to have the models did their blocking and walking before the show. 

the rehearsal

Then Anniesa took a brief moment to have a 'me time'.

In that very runway.

it's her :)

In between, Anniesa did many live as well as recorded interviews with a wide ranging media personnel who were waiting to make a special interview for her. 

during the interview

Most of them asked about the theme of her collection, the inspiration behind her work, why NYFW and what she thought about hijab style.

What bring here to NY?

What new things she will introduce to NYFW?

And how she felt about all this NYFW...

more behind the scene snaps :)

Meanwhile, outside of the Dock, guests and invitees were lining up already.

they just couldn't wait..

Ambassadors, diplomatic communities, 

Fashion communities, media representatives, potential buyers and more were joining the show.

It was a full house indeed.

Then the show started.

Sitting on the front row, next to my Ambassador's wife, we definitely enjoyed every single piece of Anniesa's labour of love.

enjoying the show, taking some pictures and sending it directly to my socmed :)

And D'JAKARTA surely has successfully grabbed the attention during the NYFW.

Let's take a look at the details.

some details

For the patterns, Anniesa uses printing techniques for belt and batik to add the Indonesian touch and her bold signature characters. 

Love the shades she chose and all those intricate details. 

Even the funky glasses looked super cool.

All the lace, the patterns, the embroideries, the pearls and beads...all harmoniously created such stunning dresses, tops, pants, jackets, and more.

don't you just love it :)

As for the colors, this time, Anniesa has earthy tone combined with gold, green and peach, dominated these intricate designs.

love it!

Everything was flawlessly beautiful!

Particularly the final piece... Gracefully worn by Laura Muljadi, Indonesian top-notch model. I could hear people were grasping for air as they saw this final piece.

Before standing up to giving Anniesa standing ovation that she deserved.

the final piece..

What a show!

No wonder Anniesa got a standing ovation... A rare sight in NYFW for sure.

Anniesa proved to the world that modest style was not limiting the women's ability to express themselves or their passion in fashion. 

No.

Wearing hijab does not prevent you from looking gracefully beautiful.

For sure, there are certain level of dignity and accomplishment that women feel when they faithfully adhere to their personal choice on what they want to wear in line with their religious believes, while at the same time they can be uniquely themselves, beautifully dressed in comfort and style.

And Anniesa has her elegant way of proving it!

So proud of you, Anniesa.

NYC loves you and we just can't wait to see more of your great works.

Kudos to Indonesian Designers who always brought their amazing creations for the world to see. Viva INDONESIA!

Till the next NYFW :).

*Some of the photos are courtesy of Aldiphoto, combined with my personal collection.

Tapis and Songket at Indonesian Diplomatic Reception

The harmonious melody from kolintang, one of Indonesian tradisional musical instruments, filled the UN Delegates Dining Room on the 4th floor of the UN Headquarters in New York. 

Angin Mamiri, one of the traditional songs from Sulawesi, welcomed and serenaded the guests that night.

One by one, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors, and other distinguished guests joined us that night for our national day reception.

Yup, we had our annual reception for the 71st anniversary of the Indonesia's independence on the third week of September. 

Hosted by H.E. Retno L.P. Marsudi, our Minister for Foreign Affairs, this annual event was convened on the margins of the High Level Week of   UN General Assembly 71st Session. Although the independence day was celebrated on August 17, but here in New York City we held the reception during the September session on the UN GA in order to welcome more dignitaries and VVIPs.

But this year is super special indeed.

Why?

Because we have H.E. Jusuf Kalla, the Vice President of Indonesia and Madame Mufidah Kalla, his spouse, as our guests of honor.

Moreover, we also have the official launch of the campaign for Indonesia's candidature for the Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council for 2019-2020.

We also held the reception on the 4th floor of the UN Headquarters, slightly different from the usual venue of the meeting hall at our Permanent Mission.

Hours before the reception, my colleagues and I were rushingly preparing the UN Delegates Dining Room.

As always, we bring the taste of Indonesia to the UN

Tapis and songket were chosen as the main traditional fabrics we used for decoration that night. We mixed it with tenun Troso and loro blonyo, the famous Javanese couple in wooden form.

Add caption

We adorned the room with more songket, tapis and tenun all over the place.
We were surely having fun decorating the room with Tapis and Songket at Indonesian Diplomatic Reception.
Welcoming board, bar table, guest book corner, columns, souvenir bags corner.
Simply everywhere :).
Colorful Sundanese paper umbrella also brighten up the room.

We used many gawangan, the tradional wooden fabric holder, to showcase those variety of songket, tapis and tenun being displayed.

Tapis from Lampung, adorning one of the corners of the room

As for me, I was proudly wearing my Tapis Lampung in gold and black, coupled with france lace kebaya in turquoise and gold. 

Then around 6.30, guests were arriving.

Minister Retno, adorned in black kebaya top and black-and-white batik skirt, welcomed our guests, while being accompanied by H.E. Dian Triansyah Djani, our Ambassador/Permanent Representative.

Minister Retno and Ambassador Djani welcoming guests

At 7.15, after the arrival of our Guests of Honor, H,E, Mr, Jusuf Kalla and his spouse, Minister Retno opened the reception with short remarks. She officially launched the campaign for Indonesia's candidature for the UN Security Council Non-Permanent Member year 2019-2020 as well. Our Vice President stroke the gong  as the symbol of that official launch. We sincerely hope we have all the supports from our fellow friends and states.

And the night continued with happy chats and friendly gathering amidst 
good food and some traditional performances. Various choices of hot and cold hors d'oeuvre as well as Asian corner with sate, Mongolian beef and dumplings were served.  

The food for that night..Various hors d'ouvre for our guests

For sure, we have some Indonesian traditional performances for our distinguished guests, gracefully performed by Saung Budaya, a special group preserving Indonesian traditional dances and cultural performances based in New York City. Tari Piring from West Sumatera and Tari Bajidor Kahot from West Java got a great applause from our guests that night. 

Tari Piring, Bajidor kahot and Kolintang from Indonesia

Then Pingkan Indonesia, a kolintang group from New Jersey, also performed some numbers of Indonesian songs and cotton field.

I helped presenting those dances and kolintang performance as the MC that night :).
Something that I haven't been doing for quite some times but always happy to do so.

We surely were blessed with the presence of many friends and distinguished guests that night. It was packed and looked like everyone had a great time. Many of the guests asked about the performances as well as Tapis and songket being displayed that night

some of the guests

We closed the night with some photo sessions and wefie.
It was a great night indeed.

Have you been to a diplomatic reception before?

Burning Sky

As glorious as the mighty sun.

The burning sky is here to again remind us all of the endless beauty of God's magnificent masterpiece.

Engulfed in its warm shades, it beautifully warms my heart.

Join us on Skywatch Friday and enjoy the magnificent skies from many corners of the world

WW: Bidding Farewell

We were having a blast while bidding farewell to my dearest friend and sister, Rima Cempaka.

Four fabulous years here in NYC and she has concluded her term with our Mission to the UN. Amidst the crazy, mad days for UN General Assembly 71st session High Level Week, we managed to sneak out on Sunday and threw her a see-you-again-soon dinner party, with a bonus of endless photo sessions, as always :).

We chose Pepsi Cola sign, one of the landmarks of NYC

Manhattan seen from Long Island City

our yummy food :)

Rima..in black and white in glasses :)

girls just wanna have fun :)

cheers..the 5 of us, while waiting for 5 more :)

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday  and have fun blog hopping :)

Introducing... Priceza

Saya baru saja complain ke suami.
This weekend, we have been strolling around some place just to find his favorite, one-of-a-kind wireless speaker.
Yuuuup...wireless speaker.

Saya dan suami memang penggemar musik. Rasanya sehari tidak mendengarkan musik kok seperti hidup tanpa shopping yang menyehatkan jiwa raga #lho. Jadi tidak heran kalau kami memerlukan perangkat speaker yang oke punya di rumah.

And that's exactly what he was looking for! mencari perangkat speaker yang paling oke, harga sesuai budget, spesifikasi yang kita mau dan dibeli dengan cepat dan mudah. Rasanya sebel kaaan kalau harus keliling-keling toko or mall hanya untuk cari barang kesayangan seperti ini :). Sudah kaki gempor, waktu habis, barang yang dicari belum tentu dapet lagi.

Untungnya, sekarang di tanah air, ada website khusus yang oke banget untuk bantu kita menentukan barang terbaik yang kita perlukan dan akan kita beli. 
Introducing...Priceza!
Have you heard of it before?

Check it out..

Compare and contrast is the first thing I do before buying something.

Baik dari harga, spesifikasi teknis, warna, sampai after sale service dan.

Buat saya itu adalah faktor-faktor penting yang membantu saya dan suami menentukan barang apa yang akan kami beli.

And now, we have so many options, termasuk Priceza yang sangat membantu konsumen untuk mendapatkan barang terbaik yang sesuai dengan yang kita inginkan.

Go ahead and check Priceza's website. 

Di sini, ada banyak pilihan produk komputer, handphone, kamera, elektronik, fashion, kosmetik, buku, sampai produk untuk ibu dan anak serta kesehatan.

Selain harga, ada ulasan tentang produk dan toko online yang menjualnya.

Tersedia pula simulasi cicilan.

Komplit bangeeet ya :).

Satu hal yang pasti, Priceza memberi jaminan Sebagai Shopping Search Engine yang sudah bekerjasama dengan Burda Hubert Media, kita bisa mendapatkan fitur-fitur canggih lainnya dari Priceza untuk memastikan agar kita bisa mendapatkan harga yang terbaik dari produk yang kita incar.

Kereeeen!

Btw, kembali ke speaker, suami pun jadi asyik melihat berbagai perbandingan antara JBL speaker dan Bose, dua merek ternama yang memang selalu di papan atas when it comes to audio system. Bahagia rasanya melihat banyak pilihan di Priceza lengkap dengan semua harga yang ditag oleh toko yang ditampilkan secara detail bersama dengan review dan speksifikasi produknya. Komplit, plit, plit!
Sebagai konsumen, terasa sekali dimanjakan nih :).

Saya pun tidak ketinggalan mengintip bagian kosmetik, my favorite :p.
Senang lihat aneka produk kecantikan ternama banyak tersedia di berbagai toko online, lengkap dengan harga, review dan informasi penting lainnya. Berbinar-binar deh mata melihat anek pilihan lipstik dalam berbagai warna :). Guess I can start choosing my fave now, thanks to Priceza.

So, sudah putuskan mau beli yang mana?