The Indonesian street wear brand Dominate surprised everyone when they were suddenly featured on the influential blog Hypebeast. Well, everyone but the brand's founders.Ardila Ramadhan (Dila), Nayarana Paramasatya (Naya), and Renaldi Morteza (Keshong) started Dominate back in 2013 when they were brought together by a mutual friend, Andra, who sadly passed away of a heart attack before the brand could take off.
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They came from pretty diverse backgrounds. Keshong was the singer of the Semarang-based metalcore band Bring Her Head to Athena who once had a clothing brand called Solid Gold. "It sounds more like an insurance company," Naya said with a laugh.Naya was active in the skating scene. Only Dila knew anything about fashion—having worked at the Jakarta street wear shop Orbis and already helmed a few fledgling clothing brands. But they knew it would take off once one of their early jacket designs was eagerly embraced by the market. Since then, Dominate has done collaborations with Taiwan's Less, and Urban Outfitters EU. But, for the brand's founders, it's only the beginning.
VICE Indonesia: How did you all start working together?
Keshong: I wanted to run a legitimate brand, not just follow the trends, but one that can actually develop into something. I also came from an environment full of musicians, so no one understood the fashion business. Then I realized that I needed a retail person. That's when Andra introduced us to Dila.
Naya: Keshong had just arrived in Jakarta, and I was a music guy. I didn't know shit about running a brand, all I knew about was how to run a band. When I ran into them [Keshong and Dila], I realized how much I didn't know about the industry. [Laughs]
Dila: During my senior year of college, I was very into metal and I was just doing my thing. Then I realized the next semester that Keshong was missing from campus. Apparently he had been hanging out with us the entire time.
Naya: Andra had a big role in bringing all three of us together.
Keshong: I wanted to run a legitimate brand, not just follow the trends, but one that can actually develop into something. I also came from an environment full of musicians, so no one understood the fashion business. Then I realized that I needed a retail person. That's when Andra introduced us to Dila.
Naya: Keshong had just arrived in Jakarta, and I was a music guy. I didn't know shit about running a brand, all I knew about was how to run a band. When I ran into them [Keshong and Dila], I realized how much I didn't know about the industry. [Laughs]
Dila: During my senior year of college, I was very into metal and I was just doing my thing. Then I realized the next semester that Keshong was missing from campus. Apparently he had been hanging out with us the entire time.
Naya: Andra had a big role in bringing all three of us together.
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Why did Dominate decide to focus on jackets?
Naya: The first time we created a jacket, we felt that the brand was getting stronger. When it was still just the two of us [Keshong-Naya], it was still nothing. We were just making stickers. Initially, we wanted to tap into skaters, but we ended up getting into DJs and the hardcore scene instead.
Dila: We started by making t-shirts but they were just a way to bridge the theme we wanted to expose. Sales-wise, jackets have always been our strongest. That's our luck I guess. Most brands rely on t-shirts in terms of sales even though the profit margin is almost nothing and it's very driven by the trends.How did you penetrate the Indonesia street wear market?
Dila: One day out of the blue, Andhika Adji Dharma [the co-owner of Orbis] rang their store and asked 'who is Dominate?' The store clerk that day said, 'It's Dila's brand, one of the new employees.''Oh alright, I want to see Dominate products in Orbis.' That was our turning point. It was late 2013 and Adji found out about us from Footurama's posts back during the message boards era. Adji was an expert in street wear and he managed to hear about us even though he was living in London at the time. That pushed us to do more. We mustered up the courage to supply a larger amount of Dominate products for Orbis. Keshong also said our products made it to a store in Semarang. Those were the stores that supported us when we were nothing. Nobody knew who we were at the time, but we would never forget those who trusted Dominate since the beginning. That's why we always ask our friends to model for us—real people—so the brand's message gets conveyed properly.
Naya: The first time we created a jacket, we felt that the brand was getting stronger. When it was still just the two of us [Keshong-Naya], it was still nothing. We were just making stickers. Initially, we wanted to tap into skaters, but we ended up getting into DJs and the hardcore scene instead.
Dila: We started by making t-shirts but they were just a way to bridge the theme we wanted to expose. Sales-wise, jackets have always been our strongest. That's our luck I guess. Most brands rely on t-shirts in terms of sales even though the profit margin is almost nothing and it's very driven by the trends.How did you penetrate the Indonesia street wear market?
Dila: One day out of the blue, Andhika Adji Dharma [the co-owner of Orbis] rang their store and asked 'who is Dominate?' The store clerk that day said, 'It's Dila's brand, one of the new employees.''Oh alright, I want to see Dominate products in Orbis.' That was our turning point. It was late 2013 and Adji found out about us from Footurama's posts back during the message boards era. Adji was an expert in street wear and he managed to hear about us even though he was living in London at the time. That pushed us to do more. We mustered up the courage to supply a larger amount of Dominate products for Orbis. Keshong also said our products made it to a store in Semarang. Those were the stores that supported us when we were nothing. Nobody knew who we were at the time, but we would never forget those who trusted Dominate since the beginning. That's why we always ask our friends to model for us—real people—so the brand's message gets conveyed properly.
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What obstacles did you have to overcome during the early days of Dominate?
Naya: We had to find vendors from scratch. This one time we worked with a vendor in Joglo [West Jakarta], and everything was cool at the beginning. The deadline was met and the price matched our budget. But when we received the final product, it was so bad. A three-centimeter neck became five centimeters. It looked like a wide turtleneck. We were mad and asked for a revision but they ended downsizing everything. We were furious and asked them to destroy everything.
Naya: We had to find vendors from scratch. This one time we worked with a vendor in Joglo [West Jakarta], and everything was cool at the beginning. The deadline was met and the price matched our budget. But when we received the final product, it was so bad. A three-centimeter neck became five centimeters. It looked like a wide turtleneck. We were mad and asked for a revision but they ended downsizing everything. We were furious and asked them to destroy everything.
How did you end up collaborating with Less and Urban Outfitters?
Keshong: Less noticed us when we were featured on Hypebeast, while Urban Outfitter EU saw our lookbook on Instagram and contacted us.I heard that other clothing lines were badmouthing you over the Hypebeast thing.
Naya: They were like 'oh Dominate got featured, so it doesn't take a lot huh.' They had no idea how difficult it was. We didn't just sit around in an air conditioned room, send designs to vendors, and wait until the final products were ready. That's not how you develop a brand, at least that's not how Dominate does it. I refuse to be labeled 'lucky.' If you don't have a solid design or good marketing, you wouldn't get to be where we are. Back then we blasted our lookbooks to so many people, but we got rejected because our design wasn't good enough. The minute we were on Hypebeast, people downright talked shit about us.
Keshong: Less noticed us when we were featured on Hypebeast, while Urban Outfitter EU saw our lookbook on Instagram and contacted us.I heard that other clothing lines were badmouthing you over the Hypebeast thing.
Naya: They were like 'oh Dominate got featured, so it doesn't take a lot huh.' They had no idea how difficult it was. We didn't just sit around in an air conditioned room, send designs to vendors, and wait until the final products were ready. That's not how you develop a brand, at least that's not how Dominate does it. I refuse to be labeled 'lucky.' If you don't have a solid design or good marketing, you wouldn't get to be where we are. Back then we blasted our lookbooks to so many people, but we got rejected because our design wasn't good enough. The minute we were on Hypebeast, people downright talked shit about us.
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For the past year, your business has been geared more toward the international street wear market. Are you worried about being labeled as anti-Indonesian?
Keshong: Fuck that. When you raise yourself to international standards, Indonesia will follow. I'm not just trying to survive locally, since there's a slim chance to survive in the local market. You get dragged down to the local level.Your collections are getting more exclusive, both the price and the quantity. What's the reason behind this?
Naya: We will never restock a product. We want our customers to feel exclusive when they have our limited products. [Keshong] likes to make it hard for people to get our stuff. When a product has sold out and there's still a lot of demand for it, some people ask us to print extra just for them. How much are you willing to pay us just to print one for you?
Dila: Some people are selling Dominate's used products already. That surprised me. I want to sustain the business up to the level where we are, not more. I don't want to be so big that we have to mass produce our stuff. That's why we want our products to be exclusive. We also don't do discounts. We're trying to change customer's habits so they don't only purchase our products when it's discounted.Do you apply different strategies for local and international markets?
Dila: Our exclusive products for Taiwan's Less and Urban Outfitters EU will not be available in Indonesia. We will launch a new collection for local markets in April. We're also doing a collab with Pop Up Prasetya Mulya Business School.How do you maintain Dominate's design identity?
Dila: We choose to create something timeless. That's why we choose 20-weight cotton. We don't want our t-shirts to be worn at home, washed, and then left in the drawer forever.
Keshong: All design concepts come from me for stability. If I go off concept, Naya and Dila would remind me, saying 'what's this? This isn't Dominate!'
Dila: My task is to keep Dominate 'Dominate.' Not Keshong's Dominate. There was a point where I didn't trust Keshong's designs since every designer tends to be influenced by other designers. I don't want this to happen to Dominate.What's Dominate's long term goal?
Dila: The dream is to have Dominate providing all three of us a living so we don't have to work office jobs. Being involved in Dominate has really changed my lifestyle. It pushes me to pray more, follow my religion's teachings, and donate more money.
Keshong: [Laughs} You fuck!
Dila: You ass!
Keshong: Fuck that. When you raise yourself to international standards, Indonesia will follow. I'm not just trying to survive locally, since there's a slim chance to survive in the local market. You get dragged down to the local level.Your collections are getting more exclusive, both the price and the quantity. What's the reason behind this?
Naya: We will never restock a product. We want our customers to feel exclusive when they have our limited products. [Keshong] likes to make it hard for people to get our stuff. When a product has sold out and there's still a lot of demand for it, some people ask us to print extra just for them. How much are you willing to pay us just to print one for you?
Dila: Some people are selling Dominate's used products already. That surprised me. I want to sustain the business up to the level where we are, not more. I don't want to be so big that we have to mass produce our stuff. That's why we want our products to be exclusive. We also don't do discounts. We're trying to change customer's habits so they don't only purchase our products when it's discounted.Do you apply different strategies for local and international markets?
Dila: Our exclusive products for Taiwan's Less and Urban Outfitters EU will not be available in Indonesia. We will launch a new collection for local markets in April. We're also doing a collab with Pop Up Prasetya Mulya Business School.How do you maintain Dominate's design identity?
Dila: We choose to create something timeless. That's why we choose 20-weight cotton. We don't want our t-shirts to be worn at home, washed, and then left in the drawer forever.
Keshong: All design concepts come from me for stability. If I go off concept, Naya and Dila would remind me, saying 'what's this? This isn't Dominate!'
Dila: My task is to keep Dominate 'Dominate.' Not Keshong's Dominate. There was a point where I didn't trust Keshong's designs since every designer tends to be influenced by other designers. I don't want this to happen to Dominate.What's Dominate's long term goal?
Dila: The dream is to have Dominate providing all three of us a living so we don't have to work office jobs. Being involved in Dominate has really changed my lifestyle. It pushes me to pray more, follow my religion's teachings, and donate more money.
Keshong: [Laughs} You fuck!
Dila: You ass!