Tailor to the stars

Looking alike a character straight out of a manga comic, couture designer Tex Saverio seems to be out of place in Jakarta.
Clad in a black suit, his jet-black straight hair reaches his shoulder as bangs descend to his eyes from his right-side parting. His dark brown eyes are lined with a black dash, while his face is sleek and his complexion fair.
Tex Saverio is a name not easily spelled by many Indonesians, let alone pronounced.
“But I am Jakartan born and bred, a totally local product. Peculiar as it is, Tex Saverio is my real name,” he says over lunch at a chic bistro in South Jakarta.
It’s been a good year for the 29-year-old designer. In February, US television personality Kim Kardashian wore a dress he designed for a photo shoot and the image appeared in the March edition of US Elle magazine.
Last month he was in France for Paris Fashion Week where his collection for spring/summer 2014 received a warm reception.
And now his designs are coming to the big screen too through the wedding dress worn by Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”.
Saverio first attracted the attention of fashionistas at the 2010 Jakarta Fashion Week when he first staged his haute couture collection titled “La Glacon”.
His edgy yet theatrical and ornate creations awed fashion lovers and Saverio has since been dubbed the “Indonesian Alexander McQueen.
He was back in the spotlight when pop diva Lady Gaga donned his black tulle gown, embroidered with silk organdy and taffeta embellishments for the May 2011 edition of US Harper’s Bazaar.
Saverio’s journey into the fashion world began a little over a decade ago when he decided to quit his education to pursue his passion. His parents, though, weren’t quite so keen.
“I was enrolled at senior high school SMAK 1 BPK Penabur in West Jakarta, which was one of Jakarta’s elite schools. Getting admitted to the school was very difficult and my parents thought that I had wasted the chance.
“But I told them that I didn’t want to waste any more time. I knew where I wanted to go. I asked for their support and fortunately, they understood and gave their blessings,” he says.
Saverio later studied fashion at the Bunka School of Fashion in Jakarta, before taking an apprenticeship with the Phalie Studio, under a mentor whom he calls Miss Patricia.
 “I learned a lot from her. It was some tough learning. She directed me to always look for other aspects, other sides of fashion, to not get stuck with what already existed.
 “To have a globally successful label is the dream of all designers, including me. Considering the dynamic and positive developments of the fashion industry in Indonesia, I think it’s high time for Indonesian designers to go global,” adding that his new ready-to-wear collection maintains the Tex Saverio DNA but is interpreted as something more down to earth and wearable.
The young designers works closely with siblings Faye and Warren, who have decades of family experience in the apparel trading and manufacturing industry.
“We are targeting to make my ready-to-wear collection available for the upscale market in the US and Europe, but we are going to put more focus on the Asian market,” he explains.
“We are also planning to have our own cosmetic line, perfume collections and the like in the years to come.
“The House of Saverio will not only be an Indonesian fashion brand, but will also be a global lifestyle brand. It’s going to be an empire.”