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Watch Out, the Next Trend in Fashion is Made of Wood

Watch Out, the Next Trend in Fashion is Made of Wood

In this day and age, people are socially conscious when it comes to what their accessories, clothes, and other fashion items are made of.  As technology has advanced, alternatives has evolved to suit our functional and aesthetic needs.

 

Ilham Pinastiko and Slamet Riyadi, founders of PALA Nusantara. Brown wooden watches by PALA Nusantara. Image: PALA Nusantara
Ilham Pinastiko and Slamet Riyadi, founders of PALA Nusantara. Brown wooden watches by PALA Nusantara. Image: PALA Nusantara

 

With these opportunities in mind, Ilham Pinastiko and Slamet Riyadi, two designers from Indonesia developed a line of fashion and lifestyle products made of wood, called “PALA Nusantara” (Nutmeg of the Archipelago). The brand name is inspired by the popularity of pala (nutmeg), natively grown in Indonesia, which makes the archipelago most wanted by the world. They hope that the glory of nutmeg could be their vision to promote Indonesia’s richness to the world. 

 

Unique design for urban lifestyle. Image: PALA Nusantara
Unique design for urban lifestyle. Image: PALA Nusantara

 

They first launched their product with wooden watches. With simple, clean, and understated designs, it highlights the natural movement and grain of the wood and the elegance of leather strap.

Local wood and leather are their prime materials, such as Sonokeling, Ebony, and Albasia, and ox leather from Sunda or Java. They still have to import some parts from other countries, such as watches machine from Miyota Japan and maple wood from the United States. All of their watches are resistant to water splash. 

Image: PALA Nusantara
Image: PALA Nusantara

 

The watches line come with three different colors, red (Merah), blue (Biru), and brown (Cokelat). Each design represents Nusantara’s native tribe craftsmanship with their character and uniqueness. For example, the red watches with red genuine leather, white stiches, dark and light wooden materials is inspired by human blood that is perceived as symbol of life in Torajan Tribe in Indonesia.

 

Red wooden watches by PALA Nusantara. Image: PALA Nusantara
Red wooden watches by PALA Nusantara. Image: PALA Nusantara

 

Being graduated from Master of Design degree at Bandung Institute of Technology themselves, both designers insist on the rigorous process from research, selection of materials, the sketch to mock up, local craftsmanship, and quality control until it reach the market with high performance and quality. “Our issue is to lift Nusantara culture to the world, so we have to do it flawlessly,” said both founders.

 

Production process by local craftsmen provide high quality and performance. Image: PALA Nusantara
Production process by local craftsmen provide high quality and performance. Image: PALA Nusantara

 

They expand their product line to wooden bowtie. Its creation process relies 100% on high skilled local wood sculptors in Java and selected Indonesian materials. It was described as, “Not just another fashion items, but also a state of art.” The wooden bowtie goes well with formal or casual outfits, adding a modern and artistic fashion statement.

 

Wooden bowtie by PALA Nusantara. Image: PALA Nusantara
Wooden bowtie by PALA Nusantara. Image: PALA Nusantara

 

In the future, PALA Nusantara hopes to explore the richness of Indonesia’s culture into more urban lifestyle products. What would you want to see next? Bracelets, shoes, or bags, perhaps?

 

 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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