Jember Fashion Carnival 2019: The Tribal Grandeur

Jember Fashion Carnival (JFC) 2019 is an annual fashion carnival held in the beautiful city of Jember in East Java, Indonesia taking place on the 4th of August 2019. This carnival shows off extravagant costumes that emphasize the traditional Indonesian motif. This 18th year of JFC, the main theme that is chosen is Tribal Grandeur and over 6000 carnival guests are participating.

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The idea of JFC itself started off by the idea of Dynand Fariz, a local fashion designer and educator. It was originally his carnival and first held in 2001. It was then officially named as JFC on the first of January 2003. Since then, the carnival has been held every year in the month of August. Sadly, Fariz passed away earlier this year in April but has left us with a wonderful event to his legacy.

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JFC sits on the first place of Best Carnival in Asia and the 3rd best in the world following Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Carnival and Pasadena Flower Carnival in Los Angeles, USA. JFC has represented Indonesia and won third place in the International Carnaval de Victoria 2016, an event set in Seychelles-Africa, following Notting Hill (USA) and Reunion (France). JFC has also won multiple costume competitions worldwide like winning the Best National Costume. Last year in December, JFC has again won the award of Best National Costume in the Miss Supranational event held in Poland where 82 countries took part. This was the third time Indonesia has won that award, previously in 2015 and 2016.

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JFC has also contributed to the Garuda costumes that were worn by those accompanying each country down the red carpet in the Asian Games 2018. It has also helped Indonesia win the award for Top 5 National Events in the Calendar of Events Wonderful 2018 and also the Most Popular Mice Industry in 2018 by the magazine Venue.

This year on the 31st of July 2019,  JFC International Event (JIE) 2019 has officially opened.

The 1st of  August 2019 is the Pets Carnival. The next day it is the Kids and Artwear Carnival and then it is followed by the Wonderful Archipelago Carnival Indonesia. Finally, JIE 2019 is going to end with the most awaited event which is the Grand Carnival itself (JFC).

This year the carnival invited Anne Avantie, Indonesia’s fashion icon who presented her best work with professional models walking down the carnival. Eight motifs were presented which were Aztec, Minahasa, Hudoq, Zulu, Viking, Mongolia, Karen, and Polynesia. The whole carnival ended with a guest star Cinta Laura Kiehl, covered in a Dayaknese themed costume topped with a tiara decorated in a Viking decoration, waving on top of a parade car.

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Also participating is Putri Indonesia 2019, Frederika Alexis Cull wearing a costume themed Bird of Paradise. This costume was worn by Indonesia’s 2018 Putri Indonesia, Sonia Ferdina, for Miss Universe in Bangkok. It is completed with a headpiece decorated as a Cendrawasih bird, a beautiful icon from Papua, as she stands on top of a carnival car decorated with the same theme.

Getting to Jember is not that hard, you can access it by train, bus or even by plane. Garuda Indonesia has a daily flight route from Surabaya to Jember. You can also reach Jember easily by train since it is on the main East Java line and is directly linked to cities in Central Java. You can also reach there by Jakarta, Jogjakarta or Surabaya - check the official PT KAI website for more information on schedules. 

After the carnival, don’t forget to visit the other beautiful places you must visit in Jember! There are many waterfalls, mountainous areas and stunning beaches in Jember, so you might want to check them out! The number one place you should try visiting is Payangan Beach. As you’re on your journey to the beach, you can see how the bay shapes beautifully as a heart. You can also check out the Tancak Tulis Waterfall, it’s cool air, lush greenery and the sound of water will guarantee to make you feel like you’re in paradise.  

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This spectacular show of traditional costumes has always been long-awaited and never fails to capture people’s attention before seizing their hearts. Jember Fashion Carnaval 2019 has been wonderful and the costumes presented there are still making people stare in awe. Watch it all in front row seats on the next JFC 2020!

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