WHEN DESIGN BECOMES BUSINESS STRATEGY
Across industries, the most successful brands have a common strategic advantage: exceptional design. From luxury fashion to technology and retail environments, design has progressed from a purely aesthetic discipline to a key driver of business innovation and competitive differentiation.
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Consider the Hermès Birkin Bag's enduring influence. Its timeless design, meticulous craftsmanship, and scarcity-driven positioning have made it one of the most recognizable luxury products in the world. What began as a handbag is now a symbol of design excellence and brand storytelling.
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Similarly, the Apple iPhone transformed the relationship between people and technology with its simple interface and intuitive industrial design. Brands like Dyson show how engineering-led design can reshape entire product categories, whereas experiential retail pioneers like Gentle Monster show how spatial design can reinvent the retail experience itself.​​
These examples demonstrate a powerful truth. In today's economy, design is no longer a supplementary function. It is a strategic engine that determines how brands generate value, connect with audiences, and establish long-term cultural relevance.
A Global Design Network Shapes Creative Leaders
Designers must be prepared to contribute meaningfully to the global creative economy through more than just technical training. It necessitates exposure to various cultural perspectives, interdisciplinary thinking, and active participation in industry.
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The Raffles Education Network is one of the world's largest design education networks, with 16 campuses in nine countries across Asia and Europe. Within this international ecosystem, students collaborate across borders, investigate emerging creative technologies, and create design solutions to global challenges.
Raffles Education Network
Milan Design Week, widely regarded as the world's premier design event, is one of the most prestigious platforms for this global dialogue to take place. Every year, it brings together designers, brands, and creative institutions from around the world to showcase the ideas shaping the future of design.
Raffles Jakarta Designers represent Indonesia on the global stage
Raffles Milano launched an international open call for submissions for Milan Design Week 2026, inviting the global Raffles community, including students and alumni from all campuses, to participate.
The call sought projects with originality, vision, and a distinct design identity that could contribute meaningfully to contemporary design discourse. Among the selected works were two outstanding projects from Raffles Jakarta that proudly represented Indonesia:
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Permaculture Self Project" by Dollie Sahertian, Raffles Jakarta alumnus.
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Gentle Monster Flagship Store" by Dyllon Barlie, a current student at Raffles Jakarta
Their selection highlights the creativity and conceptual strength emerging from Indonesia's design community, as well as how Raffles Jakarta students contribute to global design conversations.
A track record of design excellence from Indonesia
These international accolades add to a growing list of accomplishments that establish Raffles Jakarta as one of the leading institutions shaping Indonesia's creative future.
In 2025, Christabell Bellini, a Fashion Design student at Raffles Jakarta, became the only Southeast Asian finalist to compete at Mittelmoda, The Fashion Award in Milan [Read More Here].
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Her collection "Suburbia" recreated the allure of 1950s suburban life with playful silhouettes, imaginative details, and a strong narrative concept [Read More Here]. By combining nostalgic references with contemporary design language, the collection drew international attention and demonstrated emerging Indonesian designers' ability to contribute to the global fashion conversation.
Carolin Valentina, a Fashion Design student, achieved another remarkable milestone by winning Lomba Perancang Mode 2025 at Jakarta Fashion Week, one of Indonesia's most prestigious fashion design competitions [Read More Here].
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Her winning collection, "Luruh: The Molting Forest," was inspired by environmental challenges in Kalimantan [Read More Here]. The collection used sustainable materials and powerful storytelling to explore nature's cycle of destruction and renewal, transforming fashion into a medium for environmental reflection.
These achievements follow a consistent pattern. Over the years, Raffles Jakarta students have consistently received recognition in both national and international design competitions, bolstering Indonesia's global creative presence. More importantly, they demonstrate how education that incorporates design thinking, cultural context, and global exposure can enable young designers to shape the future of the creative industries.
Begin Your Journey as a Global Designer
Raffles Jakarta encourages students to develop not only technical design skills, but also strategic thinking, storytelling ability, and creative confidence, all of which are required to succeed in international design environments.
Students gain experience transforming ideas into influential creative work through industry collaborations, global exhibitions, and opportunities to participate in prestigious platforms such as Milan Design Week.
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If you want to be a part of the next generation of designers who shape industries and cultures around the world, your journey can start here.
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If you want to be one of the design innovators who represent Indonesia on global stages, like our students, contact our admissions team to learn about the requirements for Raffles Jakarta's design programs.
