Why Raffles Jakarta Shapes the Fashion Industry in ASEAN Now
- Raffles Jakarta
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
Southeast Asia produces a significant portion of the global apparel. It produces relatively minimal amounts of apparel. That statement delineates the economic status of the region as well as its primary prospect. For many years, ASEAN nations have provided manufacturing capabilities to brands based in other locations, securing only the smallest profit margins in the value chain, while pricing, desirability, and ownership decisions were made in Milan, Paris, New York, and London. The current transition is from manufacturing to creation, reliant primarily on the region's ability to cultivate designers instead of merely factories.
This is where a design institution in Jakarta pertains to a regional inquiry.
Why does Raffles Jakarta shape the fashion industry in ASEAN now?
Raffles Jakarta influences the fashion sector in ASEAN currently, as the region's limitation has transitioned from production capability to design creativity, which is fostered through education rather than financial investment.
Indonesia serves as the pivotal market, boasting a textile industry valued at approximately USD 41 billion, which sustains around four million jobs and contributes nearly 6 percent to the national gross domestic product, in addition to modest fashion exports projected at USD 8.4 billion in 2024.
Historically, the nation has been deficient not in production but in the design aspect that seizes value and cultivates brands. Raffles Jakarta cultivates a curriculum through practitioner-led studios, operates within a network across five ASEAN nations, and has enabled students to compete successfully in Milan while still in attendance. The contribution involves providing resources to address a deficiency that the region has recognized and is endeavoring to rectify.
The shape of ASEAN fashion
Some scale first. ASEAN is home to more than 670 million people (HKTDC Research, n.d.), and the Southeast Asian textile market was valued at approximately USD 39.9 billion in 2024, projected to reach USD 50.4 billion by 2033 (IMARC Group, n.d.).
Within that bloc, Indonesia has a significant role. Its textile industry was valued at roughly USD 41.27 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 47.36 billion by 2031 (Mordor Intelligence, 2026). The sector supports close to four million jobs, concentrated across industrial hubs in Java, and contributed around 5.84 percent of national gross domestic product as of early 2024 (Surya Cipta, 2025).
Textile and apparel gross domestic product growth returned to positive territory in 2024 at 4.26 percent after contracting the previous year, with the Purchasing Managers' Index reaching 53.3 by November 2025, its highest level since February of that year (Business Indonesia, 2025). The country's vertical depth is the part competitors struggle to match. Production spans spinning, weaving, dyeing, and garment finishing, which means Indonesian manufacturers can capture margin at several processing stages rather than only at the commodity end (Market.us, 2026).
The gap that education fills
The profundity of manufacturing does not equate to dominance in the industry, and this differentiation is significant. In the fashion industry, design, branding, and distribution primarily create value, while the assembly process does not.
A nation that manufactures clothing according to another firm's requirements receives a payment. A nation that creates the design possesses the intellectual property, determines the pricing, and cultivates the brand value. The disparity accumulates over decades. Indonesia's strategy demonstrates an understanding of these principles.
The industry's declared goal is to ascend the value chain toward technical and premium fabrics instead of basic yarn, aiming to secure a top five ranking among worldwide textile manufacturers by 2030 (World Fashion Exchange, 2026).
Structural impediments are recognized: elevated energy and labor expenses; antiquated machinery, with approximately 57 percent of looms and spindles exceeding fifteen years in age; and more affordable regional rivals (Mordor Intelligence, 2026).
Equipment can be purchased. A design culture is incapable. It requires training, and this process spans a generation.
Modest fashion is the category where the region can lead
Indonesia is poised to lead rather than emulate in one significant sector. Indonesian modest fashion exports amounted to USD 7.1 billion from January to October 2025, reflecting a 3.9 percent rise compared to the corresponding period in the prior year.
The industry expanded from USD 6.9 billion in 2020 to USD 8.4 billion in 2024 over a span of five years (Invest Indonesia, 2025). As the most populous Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia possesses the internal market and cultural expertise to establish the category instead of conforming to external definitions, with the declared national objective of emerging as a global frontrunner in modest fashion (Invest Indonesia, 2025).
The organizational framework is developing in alignment with that aspiration. The Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week 2026 took place in November 2025, drawing both local and international purchasers, while the Jakarta Modest Fashion Summit 2026 aimed to unite approximately 2,000 designers, entrepreneurs, content creators, and professionals from the creative sector (Invest Indonesia, 2025). This necessitates designers capable of operating at a global standard within a defined cultural context. This process is a training inquiry prior to being a trading inquiry.
Why the timing is now
A multitude of circumstances has coincided. International purchasers are consolidating their presence instead of withdrawing from the area.
Analysis of sourcing trends reveals that American fashion firms augmented their reliance on Indonesia in 2025, in conjunction with other Asian locales, as a strategy to mitigate dependence on a singular nation (Sheng Lu Fashion, 2026).
The scope of trade access is expanding, as the comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the European Union and Indonesia was finalized in 2025, eliminating textile tariffs over a seven-year period, subject to labor and environmental regulations (Mordor Intelligence, 2026).
Focus is also transitioning. The State of Fashion report by Business of Fashion and McKinsey indicated that emerging Asia Pacific nations, such as Indonesia and Thailand, are becoming increasingly significant in the global fashion industry, with 58 percent of executives surveyed perceiving these regions as having favorable opportunities (Business of Fashion, 2024).
Regionally, consumers are gravitating toward local identity. Examination of Southeast Asian fashion indicates a transition from solely brand-centric luxury to narratives, heritage, and regional identity, with designers transforming traditional textiles like Indonesian batik, Thai silk, and Philippine inabel into modern interpretations.
Every one of those factors enhances the worth of a designer who comprehends both global standards and regional material culture. That is a particular educational offering.
The regional competition, and what it rewards
It is beneficial to understand Indonesia's position relative to its neighbors, as the rivalry within ASEAN is genuine and not solely focused on design.
Vietnam has developed a significant production capacity, primarily catering to the fast fashion and disposable markets, while industry analysts have identified a deficiency of design experts in the region, proposing that importing designers from other Asian countries could expedite the advancement of the nation's fashion industry.
Cambodia and Thailand fiercely contend in terms of production expenses and proficiency. Singapore operates as the commercial and distribution center of the region instead of a manufacturing base.
The trend throughout the bloc mirrors that of Indonesia: significant manufacturing capability, but limited capacity for innovation.
An examination of clothing exports revealed that ASEAN nations incorporate approximately 35 percent foreign value added in their apparel exports, indicating a significant dependence on imported materials and, consequently, on external decision-making (Sheng Lu Fashion, 2026).
The design layer is the area of contention rather than the production floor.
The first ASEAN nation to cultivate expertise in design authorship will disproportionately benefit from the surrounding manufacturing sector. Indonesia's strengths in that competition include its extensive domestic market, its artisanal legacy in batik and woven fabrics, and its role in modest fashion. The drawback has been a less robust influx of globally educated designers, which is precisely the gap an international design institution in the capital seeks to fill.
What a school actually contributes
Being precise about the mechanism matters more than asserting influence.
It supplies the design layer. Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing and Management are taught alongside Visual Communication Design, Digital Media Design, Interior Design, Business Administration, and an MBA at the same institution. A region trying to move from manufacturing to brand ownership needs both halves and graduates who have experienced both.
It applies international standards locally. An international academic team of practicing professionals, holding international certifications and substantial industry experience, delivers the teaching. Students are corrected according to the standards that European and North American buyers apply, without needing to relocate to encounter them.
It has produced evidence of competitiveness. Students and graduates have won the Mittelmoda Fashion Award in Milan, reached its finals as Southeast Asia's only representative, taken the Harper's Bazaar Asia NewGen Fashion Award, and won Jakarta Fashion Week. Those results demonstrate that work originating in Jakarta competes at the level where authorship is recognized.
It is structurally regional. Raffles Education operates 16 colleges and universities across nine countries, with campuses in ASEAN member states, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia, alongside Indonesia, plus a European base in Milan. Cross-campus exchanges, competitions, and transfer routes mean a student's frame of reference is regional and international rather than national.
It graduates people four times a year. Four intakes in January, April, July, and October mean the supply of trained designers enters the market continuously rather than annually, which matters when an industry is trying to build capability at pace.
The honest limits
Overstating this would undermine it, so three qualifications.
One school does not shape an industry. Indonesia's creative economy employs 27.4 million people, roughly 18.7 percent of the national workforce (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2025), and the fashion sector's direction is determined by trade policy, capital investment, energy costs, and global demand far more than by any institution. The accurate claim is a contribution to a specific and necessary input.
The structural problems are real. Better design does not solve aging machinery, energy costs, and competition from lower-cost neighbors. They constrain what design can achieve.
Recognition takes time. Milan finals and regional awards are meaningful signals, not proof of arrival. Building a design reputation at the country level took Italy and France generations, and Southeast Asia is early in that process.
What is actually being claimed
In light of those constraints, the justifiable stance is clear. ASEAN possesses a manufacturing foundation, burgeoning domestic consumerism, trade accessibility, and, currently, global recognition. The most lacking aspect has been the design authorship that transforms production capacity into proprietary brands and realized value.
Such proficiency develops through studios, critique, competitive exposure, and industry connections, built over years, one group at a time. A design and business school located on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta, staffed by active professionals and linked to institutions in five ASEAN nations and Milan, is currently generating the necessary talent that the region requires. The extent of influence over the industry will hinge on the creations of the graduates.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the fashion and textile industry in ASEAN? The Southeast Asian textile market was valued at approximately USD 39.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 50.4 billion by 2033. ASEAN is home to more than 670 million people, and the bloc has become a major global sourcing destination, with Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand among the leading apparel exporters.
What is Indonesia's role in ASEAN fashion? Indonesia is one of the region's largest producers. Its textile industry was valued at around USD 41.27 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 47.36 billion by 2031, supporting close to four million jobs concentrated in Java and contributing roughly 5.84 percent of national gross domestic product as of early 2024. Its vertical depth spans spinning, weaving, dyeing, and garment finishing.
Why does design education matter to a manufacturing region? The answer is because value in fashion concentrates in design, brand, and distribution rather than assembly. A country that manufactures to another company's specification earns a fee, while a country that originates designs owns the intellectual property and builds brand equity. You can buy manufacturing capacity with investment, but you have to train design capability over years.
How large is Indonesia's modest fashion sector? Indonesian modest fashion exports reached USD 7.1 billion between January and October 2025, up 3.9 percent year on year, having grown from USD 6.9 billion in 2020 to USD 8.4 billion in 2024. As the world's largest Muslim majority country, Indonesia has stated the ambition of becoming a global leader in the category.
Is international attention shifting toward Southeast Asia? Yes. Industry research has noted that emerging Asia Pacific countries, including Indonesia and Thailand, are gaining prominence on the global fashion stage, with 58 percent of surveyed fashion executives believing that these regions offer promising prospects. Sourcing data also shows international buyers deepening rather than reducing their use of Indonesian suppliers.
What regional presence does Raffles have in ASEAN? Raffles Education operates 16 colleges and universities across nine countries, including campuses in the ASEAN member states of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia alongside Indonesia, plus a European base in Milan. Cross-campus exchanges, competitions, and transfer routes give students a regional and international frame of reference.
Arman POUREISA Marketing Manager
References
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