Boleh cerita dong kak, awal karir menjadi pekerja seni atau pekerja kreatif. How did you become a stylist in the first place?

The journey until i became a stylist was relatively a long one. I thought i would be working in corporate my whole life — for international brands to be specific. My first internship was in Galeries Lafayette, then PT. GAP where i handled Celine, Givenchy, and Marc Jacobs, before working as a legit employee in the office of Chanel. Along the way here, I met a bunch of stylists, freelance and magazine editors, who regularly loan samples for photoshoots. I was honestly quite mesmerized with their job desk. After only 6 months in Chanel, I left to become a writer and stylist for Dewi Magazine, where i spent 3 fun years of work.

How you define your self as a stylist? Apa sih yang menjadi fokus seorang stylist dalam suatu project?

I honestly just play around with what i like, aside from being aware of the current trends. Growing up watching cartoons has helped me in terms of choosing the colours since i really like to play with vibrant pieces. The focus is probably, for me at least, showing my personality through editorials.. i’ll start from there.

Personally, what do you feel about being a fashion/food stylist?

It’s really fun! It’s no easy job though, plus it’s very physical. But since I enjoy doing it, i’d say it hasn’t been a burden for the most part.

Do you have some figures that you look upon in relation with styling, photography or fashion? Atau semisal kak Dinda punya personal preference soal favorit fashion era tertentu?

This is not an easy question because there’s quite a lot of inspos and references for me out there hahaha. But i would say Marc Goehring and Yoon (Ambush) are the two most influential people in terms of work and how I dress myself in general. Listening to pop punk while growing up also influenced my work i would say. There’s a touch of tomboy-ness in my style so you can kinda see that in my work.

How do you find yourself living in the creative industry? Is it always smooth all the time? Or do you have some unpleasant story?

Of course not, like any other jobs, you will stumble upon rough patches. But you know, you live and you learn right? And i can’t really say about the unpleasant story here hahaha, sorry!

Dari waktu ke waktu, gimana sih cara Kak Dinda untuk keep in track atau konsisten dalam melakukan suatu hal? Atau mungkin managing semua project yang sedang berjalan?

I really suck on keeping track of things since i’m diagnosed with ADHD, so the solution that stuck with me is that i wouldn’t take too many jobs in a month, max. 3, to avoid confusion with myself.

What is an important point or thing that you hold on while doing your job?

If it’s a literal question, it would be my steamer gun that my best friends gifted me for my birthday and my iqos. But figuratively, a clear mind.

Image by Dinda Pramesti

Talking about OnLazySusan or Kurasi Rasa, is that the out put of being a food enthusiast? Or purely, bentuk dari hobi memasak?

To start off, Lazy Susan is a culinary collective that consists of 5 girls with different academic backgrounds who love to eat and talk about food. The main idea is to make a platform where we can share our thoughts and news about the current issues that circulates the food industry, mainly in Indonesia — hence our tagline, Serving Delicious Stories & Experiences. Ku Rasi Rasa was our last collaboration event with Parti Gastronomi and Whaton House before the pandemic, a dining experience and exhibition that focuses on preservation. So yes, going back to the question, it’s a good way to say that it’s an output of being a food enthusiast.

Would you share a little about your model agency? What’s the process and story behind?

I’ve been working closely with Arief Ointoe for a long time, and I met Mas Tjohn at a party a year ago and we instantly clicked. Arief is photographer who owns a modeling agency called Ivy Models and Mas Tjohn is a model and stylist. The idea just kinda popped out when we were hanging out together, since there’s not yet a male focused modeling agency at least here in Indonesia. So we gathered the male models from Ivy models and merged them with the new guys we scouted. It’s been really fun though, we work in a great team and we’re slowly but surely growing together.

Image by Dinda Pramesti

Would you mind sharing your reading list? Or do you have some book recommendations or even movies?

Sure! BookTok really helped me up from my reading slump so shout out to the big community out there. I’m currently reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, my last read was My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh which was soooo good. My current To Be Read consists of: Circe by Madeline Miller, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, the list goes on.

To enclose this interview, do you mind giving some words for people who all strive to put their name in the marquee? or your personal thought to encourage people to do their job in the creative industry, in particular.

Hahahaha do i have my name in the marquee? Im not even sure about that. But if you wanna strive, make sure to start off with building portfolio! It really helps. You might not get paid for the first few jobs, but it’ll definitely pay off in the future. Also, keep good relations with your MUA, hairstylist, photographer, videographer, model, and the whole team basically. Ask them to collaborate and do frequent (and fun) test shoots! 🙂