Sekar Ayu is a fashion brand at the Fashion Design Education Study Program, Semarang State University. At the 2023 Semarang Fashion Trend (SFT) event, Sekar Ayu UNNES brought Thrifty Chic as the theme for this collection. The material and process for making the work is in the form of upcycling, in which clothes that have been stored for a long time are reused and re-designed to add accents in the form of processed materials, or changed into a much different shape and appearance. This is in line with UNNES’s vision as a conservation university that applies the concept of sustainable fashion.
At the Semarang Fashion Trend 2023 event which was held on Wednesday – Saturday (9-12 August 2023) at the Fashion Runway Hall, BBPVP Semarang, Sekar Ayu UNNES presented 2 fashion collection products. The first collection is “Ancient Bones”, which refers to trend forecasting of The Survivors-Thrifty Chic. The use of clothes that have been stored for a long time and have faded in color and then reused. This fashion design has a source of ready-to-wear clothing ideas with streetwear styles. Streetwear is known as street fashion which around the 90s became a global trend. The main material used in this dress is denim jeans which are faded using the “discard” technique to create abstract motifs on denim jeans. The designers who designed the first collection were students of the UNNES Fashion Design Education Program on behalf of Syifa Rahma Qonita, Siti Nur Meisaroh, Ulin Nur Kholifah, and Tariesya Rahmawaty Gunawan.
The second collection that was shown at the Semarang Fashion Trend 2023 event with the theme “Upcycle Become Chic” departs from the emergence of the fast fashion phenomenon due to fast changing trends as a result of people’s demands on fashion, resulting in massive exploitation of clothing. This design concept has exaggerated shapes and details, excited, exciting, dominant, large and striking. The colors used in this design are also very sharp and prominent which gives a contrasting color combination, namely colors that are opposite to one another. One way to reduce the impact of exploitation of denim materials is the Upcycle method. Upcycle is a technique of recycling clothes that are no longer used or have no selling value anymore, into clothes that generate sales value and are suitable for use. Besides using denim, the selection of supporting materials is Troso Jepara Woven fabric and Lurik Prasodjo fabric. The design used is a streetwear look with clothing accessories such as chicken eyes, safety pins, chains, hats and sneakers. The manufacturing techniques for this second collection consist of stiffening denim, bleaching, paint, burn out, slashing, and patchwork. The designers who designed this second collection were UNNES Fashion Education Program students on behalf of Putri Adhitya, Junissa Amalia Adani, Denta Aditya, and Istyanti Hutagalung. The SFT 2023 collection works are supervised by Supervisor Dr. Sri Endah Wahyuningsih, M.Pd., Dra. Widowati, M.Pd., Roudlotus Sholikhah, S.Pd., M.Pd., and Atika, S.Pd., M.Pd.
