Dita Soedarjo

Empowerment through fashion

DITA SOEDARJO FOUNDED clothing and makeup brands Virgin Villains, Dignity Woman and D’licate Eyelashes earlier this year. All the brands aim to empower women. Dignity Women offers free public speaking workshops and job opportunities for underprivileged women in Jakarta. While part of the income from D’licate Eyelashes will also benefits underprivileged women.

“We teach them the skills they need to succeed,” says the 25-year-old daughter of entrepreneurs Soetikno Soedarjo, head of the MRA Group, and Dian Muljadi, Publishing Director of Fimela.com. Dita has also set up Let’s Share, a charitable initiative that focuses on education and healthcare. The group recently teamed up with Unicef to support children in eastern Indonesia.

A Fashion Merchandise Marketing graduate of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, Dita is Marketing Manager of Haagen-Dazs Indonesia. This is one of the companies that makes up the family business of MRA Group, which has interests in five sectors: media, lifestyle and entertainment, food and beverage, automotive and property. Before joining Haagen-Dazs, Dita helped her mom run Fimela.com, an online media portal for modern Indonesian women with high mobility.

“I love ice cream, so I enjoy my role at Haagen-Dazs,” says Dita. “My greatest mentor is my father. He taught me how to love my job. He taught me that if you find difficulties along the way, you shouldn’t see it as an obstacle but as a chance to grow. He also taught me that a failure is never fatal. My parents have both succeeded in their careers and they have inspired me to try to be like them. For me, success is not valued by numbers or material possessions. It’s when you can use your skills to help others to grow.”