By now you’ve probably heard about how President Joko Widodo recently became a fashion icon. In another “gagal focus” moment for Indonesian social media (in the same vein as the handsome policemen meme that fascinated many after the Jakarta terrorist attack in January), some netizens were less impressed by the message the president gave during a press conference early on Saturday condemning the violent end to the November 4th protest than by the stylish bomber jacket he was wearing when he gave it.
There were numerous reports that the Zara-brand khaki bomber jacket had sold out at several stores in Jakarta and Indonesia in the days after the president’s speech. Reuters confirmed with PT Mitra Adiperkasa, the Indonesian company that owns the franchise rights to Zara in Indonesia that demand for the Rp 899,000 jackets was extremely high and that they had already placed new orders to keep up.
However, it seems that the president himself might not have put a lot of thought into his sartorial choices that night as the jacket is not even his.
When asked about the iconic outerwear at a press conference today, Jokowi replied, “Jacket? Ooo..that jacket is my kid’s which I borrowed,” as quoted by Detik.
Jokowi did not mention which of his children the jacket belonged to, but we’re guessing it belongs to his youngest son Kaesang.
Some commenters online have suggested that there is actually a deeper meaning to the Jokowi jacket’s popularity – that it might in fact symbolize a form of support for the president from middle-class Indonesians who might otherwise be uncomfortable showing their support for him in the midst of the controversy surround the November 4 protest. But hey, that’s probably reading too much into things, right?
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