Kami Idea: Indonesian Design and Its Malaysian Connections

From scarves to a clothing label

Kami Idea began in Jakarta in 2009, founded by Istafiana Candarini, Nadya Karina and Afina Candarini. In a January 2017 interview, the founders described an early business in handmade accessories, including statement necklaces and scarves. Nadya recalled dyeing jersey scarves themselves with tie-dye techniques. Customers then asked for the scarves to be enlarged from 60 to 80 centimetres so they could serve as hijabs.

That request helped change the direction of the label. Istafiana described clothing and hijabs becoming more important while the accessories gradually disappeared. Nadya took the creative-director role, and the range developed into Basic, Signare, Limited and Wedding lines. Different kinds of clothing were becoming part of the same design identity.

The founders also recalled supplying hijabs for Hijabers Community gatherings during the label’s early years. The Malaysian connection was already present in this account: Istafiana said the label had entered other offline shops there in December 2016. Those were developments in an Indonesian company’s reach. SWA, 24 January 2017.

Early experiments in colour and pattern

Gujo: moss green across several forms

In March 2016, Kami’s Gujo collection brought moss green and graduated colour into a jumpsuit, trousers, a shawl and a dress. The maker’s captions also identified the Karli jumpsuit and Kanya trousers, attaching names to individual pieces within the shared direction.

Speaking to Dream, Istafiana explained that Kami was preparing ready-to-wear collections rather than presenting a show at that year’s Indonesia Fashion Week. Gujo’s accompanying message referred to verses of Al-Insyirah about ease alongside difficulty. The announcement paired that stated inspiration with the green palette and graduated colour of the garments. Dream, 16 March 2016.

Rare: the walls around a working day

The idea for Rare came from a familiar place: the room in which the designers worked. Previewing the collection in April 2017, Nadya described translating walls into printed motifs for Fashion Lab at Galeries Lafayette in Jakarta. The palette used cool tones.

Her explanation paired the apparently cold walls of large cities with warmth concealed behind them. It was a personal reading of an everyday built environment, expressed through print and colour. The account distinguished this direction from the softer-coloured Eid designs then being prepared for mid-May. Dream, 13 April 2017.

Haya and Maze: two kinds of imagery

Kami Idea’s Raya Presentation 2017 brought Haya and Maze together at the Grand Hyatt in Jakarta. Pesona’s account described the collection’s distinctive patterns and predominantly pastel colours, with Hijabenka as the collaborating company.

The two names referred to different visual subjects. Haya drew on the dragonfly, which the collection’s story associated with simplicity and grace. Maze used the labyrinth and the idea that a difficult route can still have a way through. The label had also participated in Pesona’s Ramadan Fashion Delight that year, before presenting these two ranges at its own trunk show. Pesona, Raya Presentation 2017.

EIDscapade: sea, rain and embroidered detail

For EIDscapade in May 2018, Kami presented Marra, Varsada and Hanagami, and Promenade. Nadya explained the ideas at the Ritz Carlton Pacific Place: Marra took its pattern from the meeting of sand and seawater, while Varsada and Hanagami set spring rain against flowers opening. She associated the sea with ideas of vastness and openness. Promenade involved Lace Story, a specialist in embroidery and fine lace.

The presentation comprised thirty looks. Green, grey, brown and pink appeared on polysatin, polycrepe, organdi and polycotton, with comparatively simple cuts. Nadya linked those cuts with her wish to offer clothing for the visits and gatherings of the festive season. Printed scenery, seasonal contrast and embroidered detail offered different ways of developing the collection’s surface.

Nadya also said these Indonesian collections differed in colour from those shown in Malaysia. That distinction makes the cross-border relationship more tangible: a shared label could adjust the presentation of a collection for another setting. Dream, 17 May 2018.

Runway shapes and the work behind them

Neoma: layers, volume and lace

At Jakarta Fashion Week 2019, held in October 2018, Kami showed Neoma. Nadya described the Korean figure Hwang Jin Yi as an inspiration, particularly her interest in artistic ability and independence. The collection translated that interpretation into clothing with a soft appearance and a more assertive urban shape.

Khaki, peach and terracotta were among the colours. Hanbok-referenced forms became layered outerwear, while the reported materials included polywool, lace and polyester. Volume, hanging sections and overlapping layers changed the outline of the clothes. Printing remained present, accompanied by embroidery and stitched decoration developed with Lace Story.

The presentation extended into shoes coordinated with the garments, as well as scarves. Neoma’s complete looks therefore connected the proportions of its outer layers with the accessories worn beside them. Wolipop, 24 October 2018.

Paradis: adapting an earlier runway idea

Paradis followed at Senayan City’s Fashion Nation in March 2019. Nadya described it as a development of Neoma, with lighter ready-to-wear cuts and softer colours. The presentation took place on the event’s Modern Modest stage, alongside collections by Restu Anggraini and Rani Hatta.

Clouds and waves supplied the new motifs, developed through printing and embroidery. Lace contributed another surface. The ten looks included dresses, scarves, blouses and outerwear. The shapes retained a flowing quality, with tunics and dresses developed in response to customer requests for different cuts.

Fitri Tropica, Natasha Rizki and Dian Ayu appeared as muses in the presentation. The report described their chosen outfits as reflecting their different personalities. Istafiana also emphasised the material selection for this Ramadan range, alongside the changes to the tunics and dresses. Wolipop, 21 March 2019.

Friendship in a Box: showing the pattern process

Kami’s tenth-anniversary exhibition in 2019 turned the drawings behind its scarves into installations. Called Friendship in a Box, it presented the work of the three founders through several spaces at Senayan City. The exhibition was advertised for 4 May to 7 July on the centre’s first level.

The Memory area showed earlier collections on video. Inspiration explained where patterns began, while Workshop invited visitors to contribute ideas for a scarf pattern. The announcement said a selected idea could be produced by the label. Engagement provided a place for messages, and the final Shopping area brought the finished collections into the exhibition.

Mora and Neoma were introduced alongside this account of the brand’s development. The arrangement connected a drawing, its printed textile and its eventual place in a collection. The installations put the founders’ starting ideas on display alongside explanations of how a pattern developed into a scarf. Jakarta Fashion Week, 9 May 2019.

Ruze: a stronger floral direction with Sarah Sofyan

At Jakarta Fashion Week 2020, held in October 2019, Kami reunited with Sarah Sofyan for Ruze. The pair had collaborated the previous year. The later collection developed a vintage floral direction around French marigold and the founders’ interpretation of Sarah’s character.

Sixteen looks brought sequins and sheer materials into blouses, trousers, skirts, shirts, outerwear and dresses. Blue, burgundy and mustard appeared alongside pastel colours. IDN Times described the floral patterns as more pronounced than the label’s earlier, finer designs. Colour helped give the flowers that stronger presence across the clothing.

Nadya discussed combining the marigold reference with sashiko stitching. Istafiana connected the collection’s contrasting qualities with her impression of Sarah as both gentle and determined. Those were the makers’ explanations of their collaboration: the choice of a recognisable flower, more assertive pattern and decorative stitching gave the renewed partnership a specific clothing vocabulary. IDN Times, 30 October 2019.

Clothing for home and celebration

Cadiya: lines meet jasmine

At MUFFEST in February 2020, Cadiya brought lines and jasmine together. Nadya described an interest in simplicity and in the relationship between a structured linear pattern and a familiar flower. Terracotta, salmon, beige, sage, navy and turquoise supplied the colour range.

The fourteen looks included tops, bottoms, outerwear and dresses. Textured crepe, cotton and textured jersey were among the reported materials. The cuts were largely simple, with asymmetry, embroidery and sequins introducing more concentrated details. Decoration therefore appeared alongside decisions about the garment’s outline and surface.

The collection formed part of Wardah’s Fashion Journey presentation. Nadya associated its lines with stability and moderation. The account distinguished the more rigid effect of the vertical lines from the sense of space suggested by horizontal ones. These were the design’s intended associations, combined with the jasmine motif in the same printed cloth. ANTARA, 22 February 2020.

Jana: a shared palette across family outfits

For Eid in 2020, Jana adapted an earlier Kami runway collection into coordinated ready-to-wear. Dark green, brown, mustard and terracotta formed its earthy palette. The announcement described nine looks, extending from women’s tunics, wraps, long outerwear and dresses to men’s and boys’ koko shirts and girls’ dresses.

Colour linked the family garments without making them identical. Floral elements appeared in women’s clothing and children’s dresses, while the men’s and boys’ koko shirts used related colours without the flowers. The announcement also described a script-like element alongside the flowers in the women’s and children’s prints. The connection between the outfits could therefore remain visible even when the pattern changed.

Pleats introduced detail at particular points, including sleeves and tunic hems. The printed pattern and the folded sections gave the garments two different kinds of detail. Jana was presented through the online Ray Stream Fest during pandemic restrictions, taking the coordinated collection into a virtual presentation. ANTARA, 20 May 2020.

Biena and a cactus-patterned homewear range

The July 2020 eleventh-anniversary scarf, Biena, used three elements associated with bees: honeycomb shapes, flowers and the routes followed while searching for nectar. Nadya connected the imagery with collaboration. The motif carried that intended story through geometry and botanical forms, with seven colour choices announced in voile.

The same release introduced homewear with a different printed subject: monochrome cacti. Ivory and charcoal were the two colour directions. The garments came as a long dress or as a tunic with culottes, using a mixture described through linen and cotton-rayon.

Biena continued a sequence of anniversary scarves that included Jemima in 2017, Sashi in 2018 and Neoma in 2019. The homewear took the label into another setting: its first range for wearing at home, announced while pandemic restrictions kept more activities indoors. The described cuts were simple and loose, with the long dress and two-piece outfit offering different ways to carry the cactus pattern. ANTARA, 15 July 2020.

Darla: dried petals and quieter homewear prints

Darla, announced in March 2021, was a homewear collaboration with content creator Dhatu Rembulan. Nadya explained that its name came from Darling and connected it with the friendship behind the project. Potpourri supplied the visual reference: small pieces of dried petals became a pattern that was deliberately kept from looking too full.

Lilac, Soft and Sweet Pink, Misty Grey and Naval were the announced colours. Six looks included tops, trousers, outerwear and a midi dress. The selection allowed the same printed idea to appear on individual separates and on a garment with a longer continuous surface.

Dhatu said she had wanted to collaborate with Kami for some time and welcomed the proposal. The founders’ account describes considering her character and her home when developing the colours and motif. The potpourri reference connected those surroundings with the small scattered forms on the clothes. SINDOnews, 9 March 2021.

Personal stories in scarves and clothing

Minira: a Malaysian childhood remembered in flowers

The Minira collaboration with Malaysian presenter Farahanim Razak began with a question about something personal to her. At its March 2021 online launch, Istafiana explained that Farahanim had spoken about the hibiscus flowers near her childhood home.

Farahanim recalled growing up in Pahang, in a village named Bunga Raya, with the flowers connected to memories of her parents. Those recollections supplied a specific starting point for the scarf’s botanical design. Blue Sand, Rose Ashes, Granada Red and Deep Emerald were the four announced colour choices, in airy voile.

The partnership had been discussed in 2019 before the pandemic delayed its development. Its eventual presentation joined an Indonesian label with a Malaysian collaborator through a remembered place and a named flower. For the separate histories of head coverings and regional craft, continue to Amani’s Malaysian khimar and tudung account. Liputan6, 21 March 2021.

Janika Lynna: repeated motifs and mixed panels

For Raya 2021, Janika Lynna brought repeated motifs into clothing for adults and children. Nadya described Scandinavian clothing and Nordic art as inspirations and connected the motif with a linden tree and ideas of grace and peace. The design account emphasised the repetition of the pattern and the combination of different motifs within one garment.

Blue-grey, ruby red, cream, navy and dusty green appeared on dobby fabrics and dobby mixed with polycrepe. Named pieces included the Kheira top, Mora tunic, Mishira dress and Aelin dress. The wider family range also included koko shirts and children’s dresses.

High necklines, hanging layers and a pleated variation gave the dresses different arrangements. Mixed colours and patterns were joined into the same piece. Nadya described the intended appearance as feminine, ethnic and glamorous, and said the team wanted to offer a different expression from its previous Raya collections. ChanelMuslim, 10 May 2021.

The monogram: a letter, a flower and a line

Kami introduced its first monogram scarf in October 2021. Nadya explained the pattern through three elements: the letter k with a dot, flowers and lines. The letter identified the brand, while the dot represented a beginning. Flowers referred to the roots from which the company had grown, and the lines stood for the team and customers involved in that development.

The scarf was announced as a 120-centimetre square in twelve earth-tone colours. Its packaging included a letter, extending the founders’ description of the project as a message to their customers. The account placed the release on 2 October, following a virtual gathering the previous day.

Nadya said customers had been asking for a monogram for some time. The company chose airy voile and made the design part of its twelfth-anniversary year. Here the scarf’s imagery described the label itself, with a letter included to address its customers directly. Liputan6, 2 October 2021.

Friendship Trilogy: partners, relatives and founders

Friendship Trilogy organised Kami’s Raya 2022 presentation around three relationships. The opening chapter concerned the different personalities of the founders. A second involved Titi Kamal and the Adanna collection, using the campaign’s idea of friendship within a couple. The third, developed with Mega Iskanti, centred on family and the Caelia collection.

The makers described Adanna through an inspiration from African textiles. Caelia took another direction, with pastel colours and varied but relatively minimal cuts. Those stated differences gave the collaborations separate appearances within the shared Raya presentation.

The founders’ chapter was planned as a virtual fashion show, introducing three people whose different characters complemented one another. Titi’s chapter referred to her life with Christian Sugiono, while Mega’s used the idea of home. Istafiana explained that she wanted friendship to encompass family, work and other relationships as well as a pair of friends. ANTARA, 25 March 2022.

Print meets lace and layered clothing

A Garden Dream: combining two design specialisms

Kami and Lace by Artkea developed A Garden Dream for Jakarta Fashion Week 2023, presented in October 2022. By then the label had shortened its name from Kami Idea to Kami, a change made in 2017. Its floral prints met the collaborator’s lace in dresses, blouses and outerwear. Lace, satin and chiffon were among the materials described in the collection accounts.

The partners also chose a brighter palette together. Baby blue, turquoise, pink and yellow appeared in Fimela’s report; Jakarta Fashion Week’s own commentary later identified arctic-blue floral lace. The colour direction was described as a departure from the usual identity of either label, making it a joint decision within the collaboration.

The runway styling also involved shoes from RAJNIK and bags and accessories from TAM ILLI. The presentation brought those pieces together with the print-and-lace clothing, extending the collaboration’s complete outfits beyond the garments themselves. Marketing, 29 October 2022; Fimela, 1 November 2022; Jakarta Fashion Week, 23 December 2022.

Charaka: stepped motifs and winter layers

In its February 2023 account of Charaka, Kami described a collection for New York that drew on Tapis from Lampung. Istafiana connected its step-like motif with the label’s fourteen-year development. The collection combined that reference with clean lines and layered autumn-and-winter styling.

The materials ranged across knit, corduroy, quilted and woven cloth, velvet, denim, tweed and organza. This selection supplied different surfaces within the layered looks. Kami’s account described ten looks and a later video presentation in Jakarta, where the founders explained the collection’s development.

Istafiana described the styling as a meeting of Kami’s established designs and an edgier image of New York. For the broader regional context, Amani’s Indonesian garments and textile traditions article follows those histories separately. Kami, Charaka account, February 2023.

Prudence: a floral range of coordinated separates

Prudence, launched in March 2023, used four small-flower motifs: lavender, kaliandra, forget-me-not and cosmos. The makers attached ideas of purity, affection and family to the range. Its garments included dresses, outer layers, tops, wrap skirts and loose trousers for women, alongside koko shirts for men.

The team described satin for the women’s clothing and cotton for the koko shirts, with layering and pleats among the details. Nadya offered two specific combinations from the collection: a tied kimono-style top with a wrap skirt, or the same approach with wide trousers. The change of lower garment altered the outfit while keeping the upper piece central.

Istafiana said the team was again considering Malaysian customers after the interruption of the pandemic. Colours and patterns were coordinated more closely across the family range that year. Nadya’s example paired cream women’s clothing with taupe menswear; she also identified navy as another option for men. ANTARA, 17 March 2023.

Orva and later complete outfits

Orva: two runway briefs

Kami’s 2023 Paris and London briefs developed Orva around the rain lily. For Paris, the label prepared ten looks combining the floral motif with Endek supplied by Agung Bali Collection. Draped layers, asymmetric cuts and sequins appeared alongside linen, cotton, silk, tulle and organza.

The London brief proposed twelve looks with a different set of details. Oversized cuts, pleats and a yoke influenced by the trench coat accompanied beadwork. Shantung, satin, silk and chiffon appeared with woven cloth from Garut, in blue, peach and brown.

Istafiana described the rain lily as a sign of hope in the label’s fourteenth year. Paris framed the design around the Endek collaboration; London framed it around an urban wardrobe. Both briefs presented those choices as part of the maker’s intentions for the shows. Kami, Paris and London Orva briefs, August 2023; published September 2023.

Orva Raya: adapting the idea for Eid

At the Orva Raya preview in March 2024, the founders described another development of the collection. Rain lilies remained central, while satin and pleated materials appeared in clothes that included tops, dresses and tunics. Istafiana pointed to a trench-coat detail at the back of a garment and to transparent material used with a light lining. She described adding the outer layer when receiving visitors as one way to change the same outfit.

The range extended into men’s short- and long-sleeved pieces, boys’ koko shirts and children’s dresses. Blue, peach and beige helped connect the outfits. Twelve colours of square scarf were announced alongside them.

Nadya explained that the scarf design used more contrast between its colours than earlier versions, allowing the flowers to stand out against a design that also contained stripes. She intended the rain lily to become a recurring emblem for the label, describing an interest in the flower’s simple form and its white and pink colours. Wolipop, 3 March 2024.

Cederra: floral imagery and geometric structure

Jakarta Fashion Week’s October 2024 account described Cederra as Kami’s contribution to Jakarta Via New York. The presentation followed the participating labels’ appearance at Coterie in September. Kami showed six looks built around floral imagery inspired by Indonesian forests and more structured geometric motifs.

The recorded combinations were precise: wide-legged trousers with a cropped blazer, a long light outer layer, a skirt with pleats and a dress with voluminous sleeves. The patterned cloth moved between tailored separates, a longer outer garment and a fuller dress silhouette.

These were changes in proportion as well as print: Cederra placed volume in trousers, skirt pleats and sleeves while giving the upper body the alternative of a cropped or longer outer layer. Jakarta Fashion Week, 27 October 2024.

Wrapped in Blessings: couples and family clothing

Kami’s 2025 Raya presentation, Wrapped in Blessings, distinguished coordinated couples’ clothing from a fuller family range. Nadya described Aristaya as pieces for a man and a woman, with floral embroidery. A collaboration with Atsiri added a fragrance-related element to the presentation, connecting the project with the founders’ interest in scent and personal association.

The later family collection extended the clothing to children, while Nabari developed a quieter earth-tone direction. Nadya described jacquard in the men’s and children’s garments, a Kami logo and colours including blush, beige and white with blue flowers. Short- and long-sleeved choices were identified for men.

Lace, embroidery and softer colours connected the wider presentation. The announcement placed Nabari’s planned release in early March and identified Syahnaz and her family as its muses. Their participation gave the family range a named campaign setting alongside the details of cloth, pattern and colour. Wolipop, 17 February 2025.

Katla: a staged range of everyday garments

Katla appeared at Senayan City Fashion Nation in September 2025. Istafiana described cotton among its base materials and connected the collection’s campaign with vulnerability and hope. The first stage, Katla Linear, included two dresses, a tunic, nine tops and two pairs of trousers.

The announcement scheduled a polo-like material with a linear pattern for the second week of October. Mahika and Dara were presented as the October and November stages of Katla, with the November chapter linked to Heroes’ Day and the campaign’s image of women as heroes. Those were the plans stated at the September presentation. Wolipop, 28 September 2025.