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Direz: I started to develop my interest toward fashion through denim and indigo. In 2009, I started a small online community with interest in denim named darahkubiru, which still going strong until today. At that time, the information about denim, indigo and its related topics were scarced and it is really hard to get high quality menswear items in Indonesia without importing. Then I met my partner that has started to experiment in natural indigo and we decided to continue the dyeing experiment in a form of products and brand. Therefore, Bluesville, a menswear brand that we think represent the color Blue the most and we wanted people to always relate the color blue to our brand. Coincidentally, we kinda started jn a small workshop on the outskirts of Jakarta, so I think the name represent the way we start the brand well enough.
Direz: We always think Bluesville as our experimental playing field where we can develop and deliver unique products as well as maintaining high quality items. Before sustainability trend take over, we already imbue some of the elements in our process such as using natural colors, slow production process through traditional means as well as making durable products that can be worn longer. We want our products to reflect Indonesian craftsmanship, ultimately delivering quality products that fits Indonesian lifestyle.
Direz: We started the brand through natural dyeing focus, then branching out to other traditional methods such as hand weaving, batik and others. But we elevate those processes into our own way, improving each process to a certain level to deliver the standard that we wanted. These modified traditional processes then is transformed into a modern form of clothing, versatile enough to be worn through various trend waves and always being relevant in the modern society.
Direz: Our own founders background were all different, from design, to engineering as well as legals. Those skillset turns out doing well combined to run the business until today. Although we mostly hire people that is related to fashion in some way, but we are always open to work with people with different scene. For an example our graphics design were once working as a barista in a well known coffee shop, our production lead can also lead some photoshot because he is once a photographer. We like this kind of variety because it really brings the creatives and critical thinking throughout all the team together.
Direz: Right now we are improving on our supply sides especially in indigo farming, as we see this as our next experiments to create an accessible natural indigo dye and scale it to semi industrial levels. Think of a crafted denim and jeans with natural coloring but with an reasonable pricing. We are also planning to expand our market to the neighbouring countries as well as Asia first, growing organically through our built connection over the past years.
Direz: I like to categorize the problem into 2 major factors: manufacturing and branding. By setting our brand as a high quality and craftsmanship focus brand, we always face challenge in delivering the best product be it from the supply side such as making the right materials, covering supply for natural coloring and finding the right manufacturing partner. While Indonesia is known as a garment manufacturing country, but not all the factory here work with the same vision to deliver high quality products, some are prioritizing quantity over quality. Building connection with the right partner over the years has helped us to develop our own fabric that up to our standard. We also have small sewing workshop that employs highly skilled people that have the same work ethos and vision to deliver quality items, not burdened by the quantity that have to be reached each period of work.
From the branding side, it is also difficult to communicate our vision to the market. When we started in 2012, there’s practically no one that does natural indigo and natural dyeing in the market jn Indonesia, so we have to set some kind of trend and example ourselves. By doing set of story telling amd activation such as workshop and stuff, we manage to bring our vision effectively to the market.
Direz: Probably think first about why do your brand needs to exist. I always think about this every morning, so I can be reminded why I should continue to grow the brand. I think having a strong vision and mission in the first place as well as distinction from other brands will set the brand for a sustainable growth. Sometimes following the trend is the right way but without a strong core brand values, it will not be sustainable in the long run.
First, think about why your brand needs to exist.
