Jakarta - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) through the Acting Director General of National Export Development, Mardyana Listyowati, officially opened the Muslim Fashion Festival (MUFFEST) 2024. The event, which took place at Istora Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (8/8/2024), is an important step for Indonesian Muslim fashion to strengthen its position in the global market.
The Ministry of Trade expressed its belief that Indonesian modest fashion can be better recognized internationally through global-scale exhibitions such as MUFFEST. The event is considered an effective platform to introduce various Indonesian Muslim fashion products to the international market, in line with this year's theme, "Flying to the Global Market."
"Indonesia actively organizes various global Muslim fashion exhibitions, such as MUFFEST, Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW), and Indonesia International Modest Fashion Festival (IN2MF). This is one of the factors driving the rapid development of the Muslim fashion industry in Indonesia," said Mardyana when opening the event.
The Ministry of Trade has taken various strategic steps to develop Indonesian modest fashion in the global arena. These steps include business matching, exhibitions, digital promotion, and strengthening trade cooperation through opening market access in various international forums.
Also attending the opening ceremony were the Ministry of Trade's Director of Export Development for Services and Creative Products, Merry Maryati, National Chair of the Indonesian Fashion Chamber, Lenny Agustin, and Head of Bank Indonesia's Sharia Economics and Finance Department, Imam Hartono.
In addition, to protect domestic industries and businesses, the Ministry of Trade has established the Task Force for the Supervision of Certain Goods Subject to Import Trade Administration. The task force involves 11 ministries and institutions, including law enforcement officials and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
Based on the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI), Indonesia is currently ranked third for countries that develop modest fashion products after Turkey and Malaysia. Mardyana hopes that through events like MUFFEST, Indonesia's goal of becoming the world's modest fashion mecca can be realized soon.
"The Ministry of Trade fully understands the importance of the involvement of all parties to realize Indonesia as the world's modest fashion mecca and become a new force of the national economy," said Mardyana.
Mardyana also invited all parties to participate in the peak event of Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW) 2025 which will be held on October 9-12, 2024 at ICE BSD City, Tangerang. "The JMFW 2025 event is planned to be sustainable with the organization of Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2024 so that it is expected that more buyers will attend and establish cooperation with Indonesian business actors," he added.
MUFFEST 2024 is expected to be a platform that not only introduces Indonesian Muslim fashion, but also encourages collaboration and innovation in the industry, and enhances Indonesia's position in the international arena as one of the leaders in the modest fashion industry.