Jeanyrumoei

Excitement in dressing

Anyone who has seen the movie Phantom Thread knows that to be successful, a couturier depends on the loyalty of her clients. It’s gratifying for Jeany Rumoei, therefore, when she receives social media messages such as: “Jean, you make me feel like I want to get married again”, and “You’re the one who always makes a woman more confident with the styling, the one always successful to bring excitement in dressing.”

The founder of Surabaya-based Jeany Rumoei Couture admits that fashion was not her first career choice. “When I was younger, I was assistant to my late father when he went on business trips. He was in the electronics business, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. But my parents did not allow this because they thought working in electronics was a man’s job.”

Jeany won a scholarship for the diploma programme at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. After graduating, she went to obtain a Bachelor’s degree from the University of East London. She returned to Singapore and worked as a designer at a fashion company for a few months.

“Then I came back to Indonesia,” Jeany recalls. “I had a discussion about going into the fashion business with my father, and he told me to start small. So I began by designing clothes for my mother and her friends, and the business grew from there. My service is limited and intimate. I choose the materials and I do custom designs. I always think about how good my clothes will look on my clients.”