Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande all wear Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesian accessories designer with ‘the Midas touch’

The designer began playing with wires at his brother’s electronics factory and made a tiara. He has since become a household name in Jakarta’s fashion circles

Rinaldy got his start making accessories for designer Didi Budiardjo’s show in 1997 and saw his creations worn by his childhood idol, singer Aaron Kwok, in 2016

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A model wears creations by Indonesian designer Rinaldy Yunardi during the 2016 Indonesian Fashion Week in Jakarta. The famous names that have worn his creations include Taylor Swift. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:15am, 30 Nov 2020Updated: 5:27am, 30 Nov 2020

Indonesian accessories designer Rinaldy Yunardi recently took to Facebook to post a music video of US-based singer Nicki Minaj wearing a sleek blue visor and singing What That Speed Bout?!.

Rinaldy designed the visor. Within seconds, dozens of Rinaldy’s fans and friends liked his post. “You never stop making us proud ko [bro] …” one wrote. “Keep inspiring.”

Rinaldy’s tiaras, masks and accessories have been worn by a constellation of stars, including Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. In October, American actress and singer Jennifer Hudson appeared on the cover of the November issue of Entertainment Weekly wearing a Rinaldy crystal-encrusted headpiece.

“It was inspired by a 1920s ladies’ hat,” the designer says, at ease in his West Jakarta studio. “It’s actually quite simple, made of metal and crystals, yet it looks so glamorous. And that’s creativity.”

Rinaldy won the highly coveted Supreme WOW Award in 2019. Photo: courtesy of Team Muara Bagdja

Rinaldy has come up with elaborate creations favoured by the world’s most famous faces despite not having an educational background in art or fashion design.

For the 2019 World of WearableArt (WOW) competition in New Zealand, he made a costume from recycled paper, titled The Lady Warrior. The judges described the entry as “an extraordinary metamorphosis of a fragile organic material into something beautiful, demonstrating perfect balance and form”. The costume swept the awards, winning the Avant-garde Section, the International Design Award: Asia and the highly coveted Supreme WOW Award.