Jakarta. Indonesia Fashion Week, the biggest annual fashion event in the country, will happen again on April 1-5 at the Jakarta Convention Center. Just as it was last year, IFW 2020 will be a celebration of all things Kalimantan.

Designers in the ninth edition of this event are set to highlight cultural influences from the island's Dayak, Kutai and Banjar tribes.

"We're celebrating the vast influence of Kalimantan culture. Just like we did last year, we want to motivate creative minds on the island. We also want our young designers to remember their roots by incorporating Indonesian culture in their creations," IFW president Poppy Dharsono said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

To live up to the Kalimantan theme, IFW collaborated with a small-scale fashion social enterprise in Kalimantan called Handep. Handep empowers over 100 farmers, crafters and women in five villages in Central Kalimantan by helping them gain access to the fashion market.

"We want to lift the economy in those villages in a sustainable way by paying close attention to our local wisdom. We make bags and accessories inspired by Dayak weaving traditions, transforming them into wearable fashion," Handep chief executive Randi Julian Miranda said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

IFW is also embracing sustainable fashion this year by ensuring that each piece on its catwalk was made in environmentally friendly ateliers that leave little waste. 

IFW 2020 will feature collections from local designers Poppy Dharsono, Naniek Rachmat, Misan Kopaka, Warwick Purser, Julie Kalimudin, Hattaco by Rani Hatta, Wahyo Abraham, Merah Chumaero, Ida Royani, Dana Duriyatna, Vini Alya Hapsari, Katherine Sumanto and Aam Hamada.

It will also feature works by international designers Bianca Lumi and Tiziano Guardini from Italy, Jaroslaba Wurll from Slovakia, Chourouk Bennani from Tunisia, Hama Hinnawi from Jordan, Marcela Alvares and Claudia Trujillo from Colombia, Cristina Chiriac from Romania, Mac Taug from the Philippines, ReZa Shah and Bernard Chandran from Malaysia, May Myat Waso and Yone Yone from Myanmar, Carlos Vigil from Peru, Dilnoza Erkinov, Gulruh Erkinova and Maftuna Murodkobilova from Uzbekistan.

Aside from the obligatory trunk shows, bazaar and exhibitions, there will also be Peruvian dance performances throughout the week.

IFW has been held by the Indonesian Fashion Designers Association (APPMI) since 2012.

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