Sebastian Gunawan

Sebastian Gunawan (born in Jakarta, 2 July 1967) ^[1] is an Indonesian high-fashion designer and has been recognized as an 'Asian Couturier Extraordinaire' by the Asian Couture Federation.^[2]

He studied in the Susan Budiardjo fashion school then moved to Los Angeles and the Instituto Artistico Dell Abbigliamento Marangoni in Milan, Italy. After studying fashion in Italy, he returned to Indonesia to establish his own fashion house and in 1993 launched a collection called "Sebastian Gunawan".

Sebastian married Cristina Panarese. He has one daughter from his marriage.

Throughout his career, Sebastian Gunawan has shown evening gowns encrusted with beads, crystals, sequins and semiprecious stones, which in turn gave birth to "bling-blingism"^[3] for the fashion world in Indonesia. He is now a member of the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association.

From Sketch to Style

Sebastian Gunawan is also famous for his sketches. It was this talent that made him think to become a fashion designer. He started when he was still in high school.

At first he designed clothes just for fun, but then Sebastian attended a design course at Susan Budihardjo Institute of Design in Jakarta in 1985. He then deepened his expertise in fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, USA where he graduated and obtained the Certificate of Fashion Design.

His teenage fashion sketches received recognition in Milan in 1991 when he graduated in Fashion Illustration at the Istituto Artistico Dell'Abbigliamento Marangoni. During his Milan years he also collaborated with Egon Von Furstenberg.

He held his first fashion show in 1995. A collection named "Potret Hidup" ("A Life Portrait") featured designs that later became his signature mark: dramatic evening and ball gowns.

In 1997 he created Votum, his second line; a ready to wear collection marketed in department stores in Jakarta. The collection is feminine and still rich in details.

In 2000 Sebastian Gunawan again expanded his product range with the introduction of "Sebastian's", also called "Red Label". This collection is a design of prêt-a-porter, only available to loyal customers at his boutique.

In 2005 Sebastian Gunawan again developed his fashion business by designing a collection of children's clothes, called "Bubble Girls".

In 2006 he launched "Sebastian Sposa" a medium-high fashion bridal collection.

Glitz & Glam

Sebastian Gunawan's designs have an international taste. They are distinctly western, with a strong European touch.

His designs are enhanced with embroidery, Swarovski crystals, beads, semiprecious stones and sequins sewn by hand using the techniques of haute couture.

Having previously designed the evening gowns, he entered the Muslim fashion by participating in the "Islamic Fashion Festival" in Kuala Lumpur in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In 2004 the Indonesian Textile Association asked Sebastian to represent Indonesia at the IAF (International Apparel Federation) in Barcelona, Spain. The theme chosen by the committee was "Global Travel Fashion" He designed a collection including sheer tops and trousers as well as long jacket with an attractive application pattern. The collection was called "I Miss Bali". With this collection he was awarded the IAF Young designer's award.

In 2004 he showed his collection in three events at once, the "Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week", "Hong Kong Fashion Week Spring Summer" and "Southeast Asia International Fashion Show" in Naning, China. A year later, he presented his main line collection at the "Bangkok International Fashion Week Summer 2005".

Sebastian owns boutiques in a few shopping malls in Indonesia.

References