Interview: Rinaldy A. Yunardi
- Audrey Clarissa
- Feb 3, 2020
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 29, 2020
Rinaldy A. Yunardi is also known as "Yung Yung". A name that is very familiar to the ears of not only the Indonesian but also International fashion-enthusiast. He is recognized as an Indonesian accessories designer. His designs are all spectacular and are worn not only by the local celebrities but Internationally. Nicki Minaj, Paris Hilton, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Kylie Jenner and models of Victoria Secret are a series of Hollywood well-known celebrities.
Through his extravagant designs, he received many awards, such as the Rising Global Stars award for Forbes Indonesia in 2017, then the World of Wearable Art in the same year, also won the Avant-Garde Section with its collection entitled Cosmos.
In February 2019, I was given the honor to interview this Worldly-known accessory designer in his working space.
how would you describe the main responsibilities of your job?
In every aspect of life, we need to have responsibilities, this includes achieving success and working in this creative industry. However, everything depends on how one will contribute to giving this responsibility. Why did I contribute so much effort and responsibilities towards our job? It is because I love this job and work from and with my whole heart. In this industry, I am not seeking fame or money, instead, I am responsible to continue and commit to present the best to all of my clients. Every designer has an ideology, if they don’t, they are not a designer. Growing, persisting and fight for a gift that is given by God, in my case, my parents’ support. This became my main responsibility to preserve this career of creating joy through my pieces.
tell us What is a typical day at work in the life of "rinaldy a. yunardi"?
Work, work and work. Fantasize, fantasize and fantasize. Experimenting. As my creations are not mass-produced but made-to-order, so each creation is very valuable as it is only one in the world. I gave my everything to create.
What was your first fashion job that led you to this fascinating career?
The first job I did was for brides, creating pieces that suit their stories and dreams. It was around the 96s. Although I did have started before, but my memories keep on recalling everything from the 96s. It was probably around this time I decided to pursue this path.
At what point did you felt and decide to pursue a career in fashion?
This is a very hard question for me. I had never, really never, imagined myself to in this position, to be titled and recognized as a designer. I have zero thoughts of pursuing this path. There was no specific certainty. It all began since the first experiment I did, which is an acrylic tiara that is fully hand-made by myself, I immediately felt comfort and joy after making this piece. As the day passed by, my love for creating immensely increase. I became more curious and devoted to this industry and would like to grow and maintain it. From this point, I am determined and made a decision in continuing this path as part of my life. The journey of my life that I am willing to do it wholeheartedly. It turns out I am able to contribute more than I expected to this profession. This has become my greatest achievement.
What were the most memorable/significant moments in your life?
There will be an up and down in every job and life. Anyone must have ever occurred in this situation somehow. It is a common thing. To this day, I still experience failure and fruitfulness. The most memorable moments of my life was very sad. It was when both of my parents left me and the world. I was deeply devastated at that time.
tell us the book you are currently reading. Do you have any favorite authors/publications?
I have always studied from books since back then there was no such thing as the Internet. Books that I always look up to are from designers with very extravagant personality and style, like Givenchy and Thierry Mugler. They like to experiment with ideas that in other’s opinion may seem odd and unconventional, but these people are able to make every single piece SLAY.
as a designer, How would you like women to feel when wearing your designs?
In creating pieces, I always try to explore and understand the needs and demands of a woman. Relating to how they feel emotionally and physically towards my pieces and enliven it. I only hope for a single thing, HAPPINESS. Success in my terms is not through money, but from the way the pieces bring confidence to those who wear it. I am more than happy to be able to see a smile and be a part of their happiest memories.
Creating these pieces for clients must be tough, How do you incorporate feedback into your design work?
I am a designer. I am a manifest of a dream. Every woman has a fantasy of their dream wedding since a very young age, dreaming of being the prettiest princess on that night. I do not force the clients to follow the trend and my ideology. Instead, I gave them the freedom to bring up their limitless imagination and translating it with my own style into unforgettable pieces, that will stay memorable forever.
Anyway, the logo of your brand looks very unique, do you mind sharing the meaning behind it?
The logo itself represents me. A guy with a zodiac sign of Sagittarius.
Sagittarius is represented with a half horse and half man creature running with a bow and an arrow on the hand. Whereby, the horse runs forward and directed by the human to shoot the end goals. The bow and arrow in the logo represent two different meanings. The bow, which gives the strength in the shooting, need to be as flexible as possible to be able to launch the arrow.
This represents the masculine side of me with a part of femininity, which in this terms he is able to listen and provide a sense of affection. Meanwhile, the arrow that is facing up represents the vision and goals that I aim with an eye to reach the highest outlook by facing the path gifted by God.
Unlike common wings of the bird, these wings are facing downside. It represents the sense of protecting, loving and appreciating, as well as taking care of the environment. The wings also symbolized masculinity, like the bone, and femininity, as the fur. Whereas if the wings consisted of the only fur it will never be able to fly and vice versa. It is a yin & yang. Balance is key in living.
you have created plenty of amazingly designed accessories, can you tell us which piece is your favorite? why?
I treat all of them as my own child. I create every single piece with my deepest heart and every step and process is very valuable for me. Each and every piece has no name, they are all anonymous. They are only coded with letters and numbers. I do not want to differentiate one piece from the other as each of them has a respective story and achievements. Some achieved the International competitions, where I presented 2 pieces and both won first place in their respective category. Thus, each piece fight to achieve their own achievement.
you have done numerous collaborations. Do you have any people in mind that you would dream to collaborate with?
Hmm.. there is no one yet. Talking about collaborations, my career has always been a collaboration with many people. I should mention Didi Budiarjo, Sebastian Gunawan, as well as Widhi Budhimulia, who gave me the opportunity to showcase as a designer in this industry. Moreover, collaboration projects occurred gave me the knowledge of the latest trend and ethics in collaborating with whoever. I also did several collaborations with non-fashion brands, such as electronics, water company and many more. The collaboration for me is combining the two souls to reach a certain meaning and similar purposes.
Can you share with us the story of your work used by international celebrities? Can you describe how you feel for the first time knowing it?
I could not express this overwhelming pleasure. Hahahaha. The first reaction and statement I thought were “how could it happen?”. There is plenty of creative people in this world. This made me speechless as I never imagined to be in this position I have achieved. Just by knowing they love my pieces have made my day when they are seen wearing them, that happiness doubled up. It is a gift sent by God. I am beyond blessed.
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Influential International and Indonesian celebrities wearing Rinaldy Yunardi's artworks
From your P.O.V., how will the Indonesian fashion market change in the 5 years? Why?
Throughout 23 years of creating, the fashion market has changed drastically. It was difficult to create anything back in the past, there is little to no resources to develop, from material sources and knowledge. Marketing back then was done from mouth to mouth. However, the industry in this present day has advanced a lot. There are designers here and there which means that the Indonesian fashion industry has developed so much. However, this should take in a positive way and does not damage Indonesian culture. As a designer, one should love and conserve the culture.
What advice do you have for those who would like to start a career in the fashion industry?
There is one crucial thing, from the HEART. Being honest with ourselves and learn who we really are and our skills. If it is from the heart, you will eventually love and will not destroy. I am very welcome to anyone who dives in this industry and enriches it. However, this creation should take responsibility for the career and fashion of Indonesia in the future. These generations are those who will be continuing the path we have made and bring manifest to the world of the existence of Indonesia’s creative industry.
Regards,
ACW
Instagram: @audreyclarissaa
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