INDONESIAN LUXURY FASHION BRAND SEAN SHEILA EMPLOYS 100% DISABLED WORKERS
Highend fashion brand Sean Sheila is known for its endeavors with the disabled and was awarded the Best Inclusive Employer for recruiting one hundred percent of disabled workers in its Purbalingga studio.
Being honored graduates of Raffles Design Institute Singapore in the year 2011, Malaysian Sean Loh and Indonesian Sheila Agatha decided to collaborate in creating beautifully tailored apparel. Their first successful feat was winning Harper’s Bazaar Asia New Generation Award regionally for both Malaysia and Indonesia.
The couple's eponymous label, named Sean Sheila, came to fruition a year later, bearing their style consisting of simple tailored classics, embedded with beautiful handmade fabrics. The label came into existence thanks to the support of their friends and mentors. The womenswear brand, whose first collection was fully funded by its two founders, was launched in Indonesia, Australia, and Malaysia.
The brand was established with a dedicated focus on empowering women with high-quality fabrics and dramatic silhouettes that combine traditional silhouettes and modern tailoring. They are known for their unique layering and their approach to embroidery.
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Rapid expansion
Before the pandemic, the brand releases two collections each year and launches them for wholesale buying in showrooms, including those affiliated with Paris Fashion Week.
The brand first debuted on the catwalk in Sydney during Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week 2014, and have since been showcasing their collections in Jakarta Fashion Week, Indonesian Fashion Week, Harper’s Bazaar Fashion Festival, Singapore Audi Fashion Festival, Samsung Fashion Step-Up, Singapore F1 Fashion Show and KL Fashion Week.
The brand received more awards since, from Martel Rise Above Award 2016 to the Elle Emerging Designers Award 2016. Today, Sean Sheila is available in multiple department stores and multi-label boutiques around Southeast Asia, including Masari, as well as various stockists in Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The brand wishes to expand globally, especially within Southeast Asia as well as to bigger markets around China, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States of America.
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Redefining beauty
With a growing range of product offerings, Sean Sheila plans to continue to be a ready-to-wear brand that offers customers a touch of tradition in its own unique perspective of modernity. And, it's done with a distinct awareness. The brand not only pays attention to its environment but also the society.
Sean Sheila employs persons with disabilities behind the fashion design process. Based in Sheila's hometown, Purbalingga, the studio opens its doors to workers who are speechless, quadriplegic, and deaf with Sheila applying transfer of knowledge by learning sign language.
The idea came from her sister, Stephanie Widjaja. When setting up her business, Sheila did encounter obstacles in finding quality human resources, because many prefer to work in large factories that dot the city where they live.
For their efforts, in commemoration of the 2018 International Disability Day, the Government of Purbalingga Regency bestowed The Best Inclusive Employer award to Sean Sheila for recruiting one hundred percent of disabled workers.
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