The Samarinda born entepreneur Jenny Yohana Kansil is coming to our short interview. Ten years ago, she moved from Surabaya to Jakarta to create one of the best fashion schools in Indonesia, Istituto di Moda Burgo Indonesia.

Some of her best graduates are Janice Pradipta Setyawan and Benita Pradipta Setyawan, who founded MAQUINN. They have been known to have a successful show in Milan. Jenny also shared how proud she is of the twins' accomplishments. Jenny, who lives in Jakarta, is planning to create another fashion collection around September 2021. 

Jenny also told us that becoming a fashion designer has been her long-time dream, but she never thought she could make it. She defined that she loves something elegant, simple yet eye-catching. It was shown when The S Media interviewed her via Zoom. She wore this white t-shirt with an eye-catching necklace. 

The S Media talked with Jenny about many things, from her favorite fashion designers to her hope for the Indonesian fashion industry. Jenny, who is Roberto Cavalli's fan, is an open-minded, fun-loving woman who shared her most honest thoughts. 

Hi, Jenny. You were the founder of Instituto di Moda Burgo Indonesia. Could you please tell us about how you built this fashion school? 

It started when I went to Istituto di Moda Burgo in Italy to pursue my dream to become a designer. After three months Fernando Burgo offered me to open a branch in Indonesia. Because there were a lot of inquiries from people in Indonesia. But, not everyone was able to go to Milan, Italy.

Why are you interested in having a career in the fashion industry? Do you have any favorite designers from Indonesia or any other country? 

I feel it was meant to be. I was into clothes since I was a kid. I really love to draw and play with dolls. Back then, fashion in my era is different from fashion in your era. Right now, fashion has established itself.

I have a lot of favorite designers, and they are quite inspiring me. Starting with the local designer, I love Ali Charisma. I am really into a designer that could attract the international market. I think Ali Charisma is one of the Indonesian designers who could do that. He got a lot of clients in Australia, the U.S, and Europe. He is super creative as well. He is just like a chameleon. He is also the founder of the Indonesian Fashion Chamber.

I also like Deden Siswanto. I never thought that we could be friends. He is really genius in the way he plays with the fabric and pattern. 

What do you think about the current talents in Indonesia? What should young people do to be great designers?

If I see the new talents right now, I'm very optimistic about the future of Indonesian fashion. Because they are very talented and have such an authentic and unique taste. I think in this era, they are provided with technology.

With the presence of technology, they could explore more, and they could see more. They were brilliant and got inspired by many things, maybe because they were traveling a lot. I really hope they could be the future of Indonesian fashion. 

What do they need to be the best designer?

First is mastery, the primary skills of a fashion designer. And then in our fashion school, you could learn how to do fashion illustration, pattern making, and we have Burgo Method with one on one individual lesson using Books issued by Burgo Milan and everyone without talent can mastery the skills with this method 

A young designer also needs to have a vision for the next five, ten, or twenty years from now. From what I see, this young generation tends to give up on something easily.

If you want to be a great designer, you have to know what you want, and you should know your next plan after you get what you want. So when you feel you want to give up, you should remember that vision once again. Just remember the outcome that you dreamed of.

So I think, from this young generation, I only see that they lack consistency. It's not about how good you are. It is about how good you want to be. No one gets the result from an instant time. Louis Vuitton started his business in the 18th century. 

The pandemic has actually changed the local fashion industry. I felt that right now, the local brands have more opportunities. More people are interested in a fashion brand with a lot of heritage or even cultural background.

Without a doubt, the fashion industry in Indonesia has a lot of potentials. We need to support young, local talented designers, or maybe just taking a class at Instituto di Moda Burgo Indonesia.