Raffles Jakarta and Raffles American School at Styles AsikFest 2026
Some of the best future-focused conversations take place outside of classrooms. They occur in malls on a busy weekend, between songs at a festival, or in front of a mannequin, causing someone to stop and say, "Wait, a student made this?" That was the driving force behind Raffles Jakarta and Raffles American School's participation in a festival at Lippo Mall Nusantara that celebrated everything people loved about the 2000s: music, fashion, pop culture, and the decade's carefree spirit. It was a natural fit for two schools that value creativity.
A festival that brings the 2000s back to life
The festival is centered around nostalgia. Visitors come for the soundtrack of their teenage years, as well as the outfits, photo opportunities, and shared memories of a decade that many Indonesians still associate with. Along with them are younger visitors who have never lived through the era but still adore its style, which includes low-rise jeans, butterfly clips, tinted sunglasses, and bold colors that have made a strong comeback in recent years. Raffles found the festival's mix of generations to be particularly interesting. Parents who remember the 2000s and teenagers who are rediscovering them were passing through the same area. Both groups had different perspectives on style, creativity, and identity. And both are having the same important conversation: what happens next for young people with creative ambitions?
Why two Raffles schools joined together
Raffles Jakarta and Raffles American School attended side by side, and this was deliberate. Raffles American School assists students during their school years, when curiosity, confidence, and creative habits are first developing. Raffles Jakarta continues that journey at the higher education level, offering programs in fashion, design, business, technology, artificial intelligence, and psychology. Together, they represent a path that can start early and lead to a professional career. Being together at one booth told families a simple story: creative development does not begin at eighteen. It has been nurtured for many years.
A child who enjoys drawing, styling outfits, or creating videos requires encouragement in school and, later, a serious, industry-focused education that translates that interest into real skills. Both schools are part of the Raffles Education network, which has expanded from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in 1990 to include 16 institutions in nine countries, including Bangkok, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Milan. Explore the network on our Worldwide Campuses page.
Styles AsikFest 2026: what visitors experienced at the Raffles booth
At Styles AsikFest 2026, the Raffles booth provided creative education directly to festival attendees. Student fashion pieces on display provided visitors with a close look at the quality of work produced by Raffles Jakarta students and the type of finish and detail that surprises people who believe student work is unfinished. For many visitors, that sparked a conversation. Teenagers wanted to know what it takes to become a fashion designer.
Parents inquired about programs, scholarships, and career paths. Some visitors simply wanted to learn how a garment was made. Each question was a small window into a much larger topic: how a creative passion can become a career. That is the true value of meeting people off campus. Many young people never attend a school open day because they believe creative study is not for them, or because they are unaware that such programs exist. A festival removes this barrier. It meets them right where they are, doing what they already enjoy.
Why the 2000s and creative education fit so well
There is a reason why a 2000s festival is an ideal setting for a design and business school. The return of 2000s style is one of the most obvious examples of how fashion works. Trends do not happen by accident. They come back in cycles, usually around twenty years later, when a new generation discovers them with fresh eyes. Designers revisit childhood images.
Social media spreads a look in days. Thrifting and secondhand fashion give original pieces new life. Understanding why a trend resurfaces and how to reinterpret it rather than simply copying it is precisely the type of thinking that a professional creative education fosters. Fashion Design students learn to research references from the 2000s and translate them into original collections using concept development, pattern making, draping, and construction.
Fashion Marketing & Management students learn why trends take off, who they appeal to, and how brands leverage cultural moments to create successful products. Students in Visual Communication Design and Digital Media Design create visuals and campaigns that reflect current trends across screens. So when festival attendees admired a 2000s outfit, they were witnessing the culmination of the very skills Raffles teaches every day.
Learning from people who shape the industry
The way Raffles students are taught contributes to the high quality of their work on display. Raffles Jakarta's programs are led by International Creative Practitioners, including fashion lecturers with international runway experience and fashion business experts from Raffles Milano. Students learn through studio practice and honest critique, which is the same process that professionals use to improve their work.
They also get to know the industry well before they graduate.
Raffles Career Development collaborates with the Center of Professional Development to integrate industry projects, attachments, and career guidance into student experiences. Public events like this festival share the same philosophy: creative work should be seen, discussed, and tested in the real world, not hidden away in a classroom.
From festival visitor to future designer
Every designer recalls the first time they realized creativity could be a career. For some, it was a fashion publication. For others, it's a movie, a music video, or a stunning outfit on a stranger. For a few visitors to Lippo Mall Nusantara, it could have been a mannequin from a 2000s festival. Each of the graduates featured on the Alumni Success Story page had a similar moment.
Raffles Jakarta alumni today include fashion designers who have won international competitions in Milan, graduates whose collections have been featured in leading fashion media, label founders, and business, design, and psychology leaders. Their stories demonstrate that the distance between a curious visitor and a working professional is much shorter than most people believe. It all starts with one decision: take creative ambition seriously.
Thank you to everyone who visited.
Raffles Jakarta and Raffles American School would like to thank everyone who stopped by the booth to ask questions, share memories from the 2000s, and express interest in creative education. Thank you also to the festival organizers and Lippo Mall Nusantara for hosting an event that brought together so many generations. Lippo Malls also sponsored PRISM 2026, Raffles Jakarta's graduation earlier this year, and we are pleased to continue that partnership. Events like this serve as a reminder of why we do what we do.
Creativity exists everywhere, in music, fashion, and the way people express themselves, and our role is to assist young people in turning that creativity into a future.
Intake January 2027 is now open.
If the festival piqued your interest, or you've always wondered if a creative career is right for you, there's no need to wait. Raffles Jakarta is accepting applications for January 2027 intake programs in fashion, design, business, technology, AI, and psychology.
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