Behind Republik Sebelah Mata: Sejauh Mata Memandang x Eko Nugroho at JFW 2025

On the last day (27/10/2024) of Jakarta Fashion Week (JFW) 2025 held at Pondok Indah Mall, Jakarta, the Sejauh Mata Memandang (SMM) runway was adorned with the well-known patterns of the brand harmoniously blended with the familiar motifs of Eko Nugroho’s work. Concocted by Chitra Subyakto, Creative Director and Founder of SMM, renowned artist Eko Nugroho, and visual designer Felix Tjahyadi, the Republik Sebelah Mata collection, while beautiful, also impressed an air of disquiet with the designs taking on a notably darker tone.

The idea to collaborate together with Eko for a collection began years prior to JFW 2025. Both Chitra and Felix, had been long time fans of Eko Nugroho’s works, dating back to far before his exclusive pieces featured in the film What’s Up with Love? 2 (2016), for which Chitra was the stylist on set. “Regardless of that, Mas Eko's work itself really resonates with me, especially his words, his verbal expressions. The visuals of course already speaks for itself,” Felix remarked. Several years after Felix had become a long-time collaborator of SMM, Chitra had gifted Felix with a set of Eko’s wayang puppets which sparked the conversation around collaborating with the artist. They both visited Eko’s 2023 solo exhibition, Cut the Mountain and Let It Fly, at ROH Projects, Jakarta, where they also met Eko’s family. This moment finally kickstarted their long held aspirations of collaboration.

Chitra explained that once they had discussed a potential collaboration with him, he gathered a few select pieces from his iconography for Chitra and Felix to sift through. After handing the roster of icons to Chitra and Felix, Eko completely handed over the reins to them. “So, actually, Mas Eko only saw the collection for the first time that night at DEWI Fashion Knights,” Chitra explained. Felix, who is incredibly familiar with the SMM archives then set out to find where the two entities intersect visually. The familiar visual elements of Eko’s work, like the UFOs, aliens, monsters, and eyes, are merged together in each look with the core elements of SMM including the chicken and pinwheel. “This is what I wanted to combine. What if the Sejauh chicken was fused with Eko Nugroho's alien mutations? This is the umbrella of this collaboration,” Felix explained.

Felix explained that the collection was initially intended as a celebration of SMM’s 10th anniversary, wanting to allocate enough time to do the collection justice because, for Felix, it was important to equally highlight both SMM elements and the recurring motifs in Eko’s work.  But lo and behold, the invitation to take part in not only JFW 2025, but the DEWI Fashion Knights’ stage at the event, and with this invitation, the collections timeline effectively moved up to October. 

The meeting between Chitra, Felix, Eko Nugroho, and his family also played a crucial part in the creation of this collection. “We always say our CEO is Mother Earth... We also take inspiration from each of our mothers. So my mother, who has always worn kain (traditional cloth) everywhere, was a big inspiration for the looks. And also, Mas Eko’s wife, Bu Mita, is such a lovely person, and we really enjoy being with her. We were also inspired by Bu Mita’s mother,” Chitra explained. She continued to elaborate that Mita had posted a photo of her late mother wearing a white kebaya which had sparked them to create a kebaya inspired by her. Felix also expressed similar sentiments about Mita, “When you meet her, you can just feel that she’s such a good soul.” As such, according to Felix, women are at the heart of this collection. His own mother came out of retirement and was heavily involved in the creation of each look, from pattern-making to production. In fact, all the materials used in the collection which was not newly created, archival or defect textiles from SMM actually came from his mother’s atelier’s deadstock.

The Republik Sebelah Mata collection is also a perfect showcase of just how aligned SMM and Eko’s work are ideologically. Both parties' concerns and anxieties for social and environmental concerns were there in the limelight. Sustainability has always been at the forefront of SMM’s vision. “Chitra always says, ‘Every day is Earth Day!’” Felix said. This, in combination with Eko’s work being the furthest thing from apolitical, with bold statements from Eko’s work like “Manusia Semakin Berisik dan Bumi Semakin Membisu” (English: Mankind Grows Louder and the Earth Grows Mute) and “World Peace When?”, birthed a collection that did not shy away from heavy topics. 

Sustainability was also a core focus in the production process. This collaborative collection used responsible materials which involved a network of SMM's production partners and Studio Sejauh across various regions in Indonesia. Notably, the collection includes TENCEL fabric printed with digital techniques using ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certified dyes, crafted by a textile printing partner in Tangerang, Banten. Additionally, the cotton used is hand-screen printed by artisan partners in Denpasar, Bali, while hand-drawn batik is created by Mugi Batik in Pekalongan, Central Java, and batik stamp work is produced by batik artisans in Banyuwangi, East Java. The collection also features M-Tex coffee leather, made from coffee skin waste processed with the help of bacteria by Bell Living Lab in Bandung, West Java.

SMM has also collaborated with several weaving partners, including jacquard weaving using 100% recycled cotton thread processed by Studio Sejauh's partner in Solo, Central Java, and white cotton woven from cotton harvested by Sekar Kawung’s farmer partners in Tuban, East Java. These materials are woven by Craft Denim in Pekalongan, Central Java, and naturally dyed with plant-based indigo by Shibiru in Temanggung, Central Java. In addition to these collaborations, more than 50% of the materials used in this collection are sourced from upcycled deadstock fabrics from SMM and Sharon Jap Atelier.

Republik Sebelah Mata certainly caught the eyes of many at JFW 2025. The team behind each and every look had the momentous task of equally representing Eko Nugroho and SMM, while sending a loud and poignant message to all. This is no small undertaking especially through the medium of fashion. While the incorporation of Eko’s iconography was what caught the eyes of many, Republik Sebelah Mata is not only an ode to his extensive visual language but also a deconstruction and reconstruction of SMM silhouettes. In the pursuit to equally present the visual language of Eko Nugroho and SMM, the collection takes on a complex narrative evident in the details.