Jakarta Style Blogger Profile: Putri Soe

Jakarta has a thriving personal style blogger scene. Local semi-celebrities like Diana Rikasari, Indonesia's number one most popular blogger overall, and Evita Nuh, a 13-year-old wunderkind who is frequently compared to Tavi Gevinson, have brought style blogging to a broad swath of Indonesia's middle-class. Their blogs are in English. Their tone is cute and quirky, with almost no detectable snark. People eat it up. I have, however, had a difficult time finding any street style bloggers here. Most likely this is for the obvious reasons I've already mentioned; it is simply very difficult to shoot style on the streets of Jakarta. And mall shots, as you've probably already noticed from my posts these last two weeks, just don't quite amount to the same thing. Fortunately, in a feverish Google search a week or so back, I came across Jakarta Style Journal, Putri ("Putche") Soe's photo chronicle of Jakarta's indie fashion scene. It's street style, but more in the vein of Jak and Jil or STREETFSN than The Sartorialist or Hel Looks. Putri prefers shooting candids at local fashion events over combing the streets. It's simply more productive. People actually get dressed up to go out to them. Otherwise, fashion here is just too difficult. There's the issue of the humidity and the issue of transport, the most common form of which is the motorbike, not the most fashion-friendly of vehicles. Try keeping your pants pressed and hair intact on one! In any case, Putri and I met up at the Tator Cafe at Grand Indonesia shopping town last week to compare notes on blogging and talk shop. We had a lovely conversation, despite distraction from a rat running across the floor and climbing the wall. Ah, Jakarta! Here is a brief profile of her and her impressions of the local fashion scene.

Name: Putri Soe
Blogs: Jakarta Style Journal, Supernice
Age: 20
Hometown: East Jakarta
Day Job: Student at the University of Indonesia (Media Studies)
Fashion Inspirations: Pinterest, Jak and Jil
Blogger Inspirations: Evita Nuh, Diana Rikasari, Sonia Eryka, June Paski 
How She Describes Her Own Style: Experimental and simple. Consists of many different things and moods.
What She's Listening to These Days: Blink 182, Rhianna, Nicki Minaj, "everything but jazz," or, apparently, Indonesian music. She tends to find it syrupy and sentimental.
What Inspired Her to Start Her Blogs: She's always enjoyed writing and photography, and with a blog, you can publish your stuff in seconds. She's also blogging to build a portfolio of her work, build a name for herself, and something of a personal brand. Plus, she sees blogging as an opportunity to get feedback from a supportive community, so that she can get better at all of those things.
What She Sees Going on in Indonesian Fashion: More and more people are getting interested, and Indonesian fashion is evolving rapidly, in part because of government support, prominent international events like Jakarta Fashion Week, Indonesia Fashion Week, and Next Level, and promotional groups like LocalBrand.co.id. The independent (or "indie") fashion scene is particularly big at the moment. To learn more about it, read my book DIY Style.
Favorite Indonesian Brands: Nikico, Danjyo Hiyoji, and Cotton Ink.
Her Own Brand: Spend enough time hanging out with Indonesian indie kids and fashionistas and it starts to seem like everyone's got their own brand these days. Putri's is called Blancteria, and she describes as "casual ready-to-wear for women." Putri designs the clothes and brings them to a local tailor, the same on who does the work of famous Indonesian couturier Sebastian Gunawan, to execute.