IKAT/eCut Highlights the Dark Side of Fast Fashion

A project on textile that highlights the relationship between art, design, tradition, and technologies aims to engage people to look critically at the fashion industry. IKAT/eCUT is an initiative of Goethe Institut and an exhibition of the project currently takes place at Gudang Sarinah in Central Jakarta until early next month.
“The whole project IKAT/eCUT was launched by Goethe Institute in Thailand first, so we kind of look at textiles in South East Asia, but also in Germany,” said Anna-Maria Strauß, the Director of Cultural Programme for Goethe Institut.
“We are trying to connect different perspectives on textiles and also different people. One of the concerns of the project is sustainability. So a lot of the projects we do within the bigger project IKAT/eCUT have something to do with textiles and sustainability,” she said.
The environmental aspect of textile is not discussed enough, she said, so the exhibition is a very good starting point for a discussion on textile industry, sustainability, and DIY (do-it-yourself) culture.
One of the highlights of IKAT/eCUT project is the Fast Fashion and Slow Fashion Labs, which are showcased in the exhibition at Gudang Sarinah. The Fast Fashion exhibition gives an insight into the negative side of the mass production of fashion. Far from telling people what to do or not do, the project aims to inspire people and to try sustainable alternatives, which are displayed in the Slow Fashion Lab.
“Slow Fashion Lab is super important because it introduces labels from Indonesia and various local initiatives, like upcycling, re-using plastic waste and making something beautiful out of it, that can be trendy again, and that people want to use and buy,” said Anna.
IKAT/eCUT also has Support Programs, some of them taking place outside of the exhibition, including discussion on fashion process and professions, Handmade Fabric Day demonstration, and Swap With Me, Baby!, a program in which people can bring in their clothes that are still in good condition that don’t fit anymore or that they don’t want to wear and swap with other people’s clothes.
IKAT/eCUT exhibition is running until April 9 and opens every day from 10am to 7pm at Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem, Jalan Pancoran Timur II B, Hall A.4. For more information on the programs, you can visit http://goethe.de/indonesia/ikat.
Camely Arta is undergraduate student majoring in Management. She spends way too much of her time binge-watching on Netflix, and takes pleasure in Mexican food occasionally.
Read Camely’s piece on Magdalene’s new initiative, Ruang (Ny)aman.