As the capital city, Jakarta is always at the forefront of Indonesian fashion, with the annual Jakarta Fashion Week event and the city’s top fashionistas and designers deciding what the rest of the pretty people should be wearing. But Jakarta fashion isn’t all about international designer brands. In recent years, independent local designers have made a big splash, appealing to those looking for alternative looks. Increased respect for street fashion is also an overriding trend. In terms of shopping, Jakarta is known, for better or for worse, as a metropolis of malls. We have some of the biggest and best shopping centers in Asia, and most Jakartans spend what might be way too much time in these air-conditioned temples to consumerism (hey, where else are we going to wait out the traffic)?