Citayam: Not Just ‘Street Fashion’
This even started getting more and more attention when it was “infiltrated” by political figures, celebrities, artists and social media activists.
The urban social phenomenon of Citayam Fashion Week in the Sudirman area, Jakarta, is a unique event that is interesting to observe. This phenomenon is also a “protest” against existing societal problems.
At first glance, two things can be observed about Citayam Fashion Week (CFW). First, the idea of organizing the CFW was initiated and rolled out by young people who incidentally come from Jakarta’s buffer zones, such as Depok, Bojonggede, Bogor and Citayam.
Second, the activities of these young people are considered eccentric, unique. In fact, sociologist Drajat Tri Kartono of 11 March University (UNS) Surakarta calls it "subversive" (Kompas.com 18/7/2022), of course in a nonaggressive context.
This even started getting more and more attention when it was “infiltrated” by political figures, celebrities, artists and social media activists. The media then descended on this street fashion event.
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> Citayam as Social Phenomenon
The CFW phenomenon should be explained beyond the above. This writer will examine it from two interrelated aspects.
Social transformation
From a sociological point of view, the CFW is the result of an ongoing societal change. However, this change was not led by politicaians or business actors, not even by the social elite. The CFW actors actually come from the suburbs, are mostly school dropouts, and have no financial resources.
They are very different from the young people of Jakarta who identify with millennial characteristics, such as technology, education and high-end lifestyles.
In social stratification, the group behind the CFW is actually young, lower-class people. They may have been marginalized by urban elite because they do not have competitiveness or a comparative advantage. They are very different from the young people of Jakarta who identify with millennial characteristics, such as technology, education and high-end lifestyles.
The CFW is instead driven by marginal agents who have carried out a blitzkrieg at the core of the metropolitan social order. They are merely united by group solidarity, courage and a fixed mindset. However, when they came together, these social agents proved capable of shaking up society and creating an authentic social scene.
As we have read in various media, the main players are Bonge and his friends.
These Citayam youths took to the streets, expressed freedom, and broke the status quo in an elegant way, producing a new order that was free from formality without the intervention of the political-economic elite, even tradition. As we have read in various media, the main players are Bonge and his friends.
The strategy of social change this group promotes is to create a new stage by reconstructig the social strata.
These young people who were originally at the lowest level (of society) have moved to the top layer and then became trend setters. They succeeded. The proof is that content creators, celebrities, politicians and YouTubers are competing to be present at the event, moving "down" from their positions and entering the stage created by these young people.
They adapt themselves to the CFW phenomenon, which did not originate from them. Even economic actors are now starting to use these the CFW agents as actors in low-budget product endorsements.
Why did this happen? From a sociological perspective, change happens naturally in a society at all levels of its complexity.
At the macro level, for example, change can occur in the context of economic, political and cultural policies. At the mezzo level, these changes occur in groups, communities and organizations. Meanwhile, at the micro level, social change can also occur through individuals and involve interactions between individuals.
Referring to Sztompka’s theory (2017), all these things happen because society is not static, but on the contrary, it responds to circumstances. They have tried to come up with new ways and discard the old traditions.
As a result, a new and sudden social trend has emerged in the community to make us wonder, "What's going on in Sudirman?"
From this concept, we understand that new patterns of the CFW style were born as a response of social agents. It was not created independently or came into being its own, but was created, recreated, and constructed by society through a number of agents. As a result, a new and sudden social trend has emerged in the community to make us wonder, "What's going on in Sudirman?"
So what has triggered these social agents? A number of reasons. It could be that “boredom” has emerged among people who are tired of being isolated amid the Covid-19 wave that constantly comes up with new variants.
It also includes the political scene that is starting to heat up, showing how power is being fought over as the elections draw closer, and even social and controversial public issues, such as sexual harassment in public spaces, the immoral acts of religious leaders, controversial murder cases involving security forces, rising fuel and food prices, and tax issues. All these are internal factors.
What about external factors? The winds of global recession that have begun to blow have raised concerns over the Indonesian economy. The collapse of a country, such as Sri Lanka, and the possibility of this occurring in other countries has become a public issue.
What about Indonesia? All these factors are variables that have direct and indirect effects in creating a burden for the community. There is a deadlock over the problems of daily life, which then creates expressive behavior in public spaces, such as the CFW in the Sudirman area.
Social revolution
In his famous book, Political Order in Changing Societies (1968), Samuel P. Huntington explains that when there is a sudden change in domestic society that involves a transformative change against the dominant values and myths in that society, including changes to the social structure, it is certain that a social revolution is taking place in that society.
Revolutions always start from various unresolved social issues and social upheavals. Problems of social inequality, sharp intergroup divisions, neglect of social problems and legal injustice, the working class which is always the victim of capital owners, opportunistic leaders and stifled aspirations are natural triggers for the emergence of a crisis of trust in society.
Huntington's view above makes us look at the CFW from an “unusual” perspective. The CFW is actually a warning. On paper, the CFW is a unique phenomenon. It is creative. However, using Huntington's analysis, the CFW is a product of a social revolution that it trying to fight the establishment through alternative channels by choosing the street as a “battlefield”, breaking the long-standing idea of a stage, and is very anti-elitist.
The CFW fights against the economic giants who has marginalized them and people like them, drained them of their economic power, and have turned them into mere coolies and forced laborers in the capitalist system.
By turning the streets into an economic asset, the CFW is fighting against this status quo.
The CFW is also seen as fighting against public spaces that have been used as expensive commodities in Jakarta that are impossible to access if they have no money. By turning the streets into an economic asset, the CFW is fighting against this status quo.
The CFW also opposes the view of the elites that so far tend to focus on themselves, using various means to raise their image and place themselves at the top level of the capital city. On the CFW’s streets, authenticity is seen, exposed and provides a new stage for the unfortunate ones.
We don't know what the CFW will look like in the future. Social researchers and behaviorial experts should take specific approaches and then propose a more egalitarian concept for everyone, at whatever societal level they may be.
Do not let the CFW phenomenon simply be “used” by various interests without responding to the social motives and the voices of the revolution that is being conveyed in a unique way by its social agents.
Sonny Eli Zaluchu
Sonny Eli Zaluchu, Doctoral Student of Sociology of Religion at Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga
(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo)
