Tri Handoko's Mind Game
Tri Handoko's show for IPMI Trend Show 2016 was an exceptional story for me. What I expect to be another genius work of himself and his fashion director, Ajeng Svastiari, turned out to be shocking in contrary - nothing typical, of course (as Tri Handoko always been), but this time it was specifically fenomenal. I learned about Tri Handoko's loss of his recently passed-away father just a few moment before, and I realized it was the core story of this "MIND GAME" presentation. The show was started in dark, where a video without spoken or written script were about to be displayed in the big screen. Tri Handoko (who didn't know about the video content before the rehearsal), stepped into the center of the room and sat on the floor. The short clip played along. A vague visuals of a long, lost family member was scattered inside the scenes. He started to cry. And so we all, too.
The fact that there were no words written in the video made it even more relatable for the many different folks inside the room. I definitely remembering my passing grandfather, in silent. Not long after the waves of emotion, models of Tri Handoko walked into the room in minimal lights. They were dressed beautifully in monochromatic shades and red, topped by shining nails-embelished accessories designed by Rinaldy A. Yunardi. For me they looked like a troop of broken souls, seeking for a meaningful path in life. It's sad, beautifully sad... But in pain, comes revelation. And it all brings out greater strength.
When the lights went bright, models didn't walk but posed in quiet, starring bitterly afar. People went crazy and taking pictures from any possible directions. It took me some time to get back from my sensitive senses, and start shooting. I can't tell you which one shall be a favorite, because they equally beautiful, and for the love of black and red - I had to love them all.
Never did I think about a possibility of being in a fashion presentation where the strongest engagement was its emotional, authentic story-telling about the designer's personal lost. Deeply touching and heart-warming, Tri Handoko's "MIND GAME" setting itself apart from a mundane representation of style. It moves beyond that. It talks about life itself, and there's nothing essentially more beautiful than the flaws every human carry on themselves. Thank you for the wonderful, peculiar, powerful message. x