“First of all, you have to know that Sebastian Gunawan
is not only me,” the designer says at our shoot. “My wife,
Cristina Panarese, and I are a duo in business too.” The
couple met in Milan when attending the same school and
worked at several labels before starting their own line
under Gunawan’s name in 1992. Since then, the label has
grown to include four brands across ready-to-wear and
bespoke. Panarese’s focus is on the ready-to-wear lines,
while Gunawan devotes more of his time to the business
of bespoke.
“When I was young, I didn’t know what fashion meant;
I was just interested in watching people dress up and do
their make-up,” Gunawan says. But by high school he was
working with a seamstress and designing costumes for
events and birthday parties. Today, Sebastian Gunawan
is recognised as the Best Couture House in Indonesia
by the Asian Couture Federation, and has built a loyal
clientele around the region. Dramatic silhouettes, exquisite
embroidery and larger-than-life proportions—these are just
a few of the traits of the duo’s creations.
“We always come out with something feminine,”
Gunawan says. “We try to make our clothes not just
elegant but fun”—which is why he selected his niece,
Rosalindynata Gunawan-Bakrie (Ling, for short), to be
photographed with him. She personifi es his playful, yet chic
sensibility. “Ling has an allure and she likes to experiment
with her looks,” Gunawan says. “Even though she’s petite,
she’s able to pull off a lot of things because she has that
charm. She can look good in any attire, be it classic,
avant-garde, casual or sporty.”Sebastian Gunawan with Rosalindynata Gunawan-Bakrie
Photographed in his Jakarta studio by Agus Santoso Yang; Words by Edith Emeralda
HAIR: RAN; MAKE-UP: RICHARD THEO180 singapore tatler. october 2019