BOUQUETAN

Jennifer Leonardy
Singapore

Jennifer Leonardy is a LASALLE College of the Arts fashion designer based in Singapore. She values fashion as a cultural sustainability platform, and finds herself seeking inspiration from the varied cultures and fashion landscapes of Southeast Asia. Her focus is on women’s ready-to-wear fashions, and she specializes in creative pattern cutting, tailoring, and textile print design. Jennifer’s designs contemporised Indonesian heritage by juxtaposing cultural elements and motifs in a modern silhouette.

Inspired by the Letters of the Javanese Princess by Raden Adjeng Kartini,  Bouquetan is a Fall/Winter23 womenswear collection that reimagines the kebaya and batik sarong as semi-formal fashion pieces, recontextualizing these garments’ story on female emancipation and feminine identity.


Traditionally, the tight-fitting kebaya and batik sarong limits the body movements of women wearing them. It is also associated with the Javanese feminine identity of modesty and domesticity, and the idea of restrained sexuality.


Bouquetan explores beyond these Javanese values of conformity, to embrace the sensualness and autonomy of the urban woman in the modern workforce. The designs in the collection portray an unorthodox feminine identity, embracing the figure-enhancing shapes and drapey sashes to allow for freedom of movement and styling.

Kebaya, Batik Sarong, Heirloom Clothing, Cultural Identity

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