Rafi Abdurrahman Ridwan is an old hearing-impaired boy of nine, from Jakarta with great imagination and great dreams for the future. He has already managed to accomplish what many could never dream and became the youngest Indonesian fashion designer.
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- Rafi Abdurrahman Ridwan
I learned from Rafi in Jakarta Fashion Week 2012 held in Jakarta in November 2011. I was in the pit of the photographer for the duration of the week and I loved the clothes and show tissue "with" I'd never heard of before contrasting . When the designer is out on the podium at the end of the show, I am afraid to see Rafi on stage, smiling and waving to all his friends in the audience and knowing that I had just seen her beautiful creations. It was there that Rafi presented 24 outfits ready-to-wear all that he designed in one day.
I sent them Rafi to congratulate him and to send him some of my photos of her show and was delighted to receive my message and he and his parents invited me to meet them at the Plaza Indonesia so that they can share the story with me Rafi. As her parents spoke, Rafi sat immersed in his pad sketch a drawing of me, filled with incredible detail and color, and I noticed that everything in his image must correspond exactly to hair accessories, bags, fabric and shoes . There was no sketch made, he drew directly felt tip black, being careful not to make mistakes along the way. Her mother explained that people were skeptical to believe they were involved in the drawings, but as they explained that they have no creative ability and nor do their two young children.
motherRafi, Shinta Ayu Handayani, was diagnosed with rubella in the first trimester of her pregnancy and her doctor informed her that her baby could be born with health problems and birth defects . Shinta and her husband, Mohammad Ridwan, decided to continue the pregnancy because they believed not to have the right to choose life or death of another human being, and they believed that the child God had given them was a blessing.
Rafi was born in July 2002 with a healthy heart but had no reactions or sensitivity to light until he was three months old and there is hearing impaired. He also suffered from respiratory infections and so he spent much of his life in and out of the hospital and still takes weekly trips to the hospital to date.
Rafi's parents have enrolled at the Santi Rama school for the deaf from the age of 2, and it was there that Rafi started his obsession to draw the fish he liked to look in the home aquarium. After watching "The Little Mermaid" Disney Rafi became enamored of Ariel the mermaid princess, but was confused as to why she was wearing underwear and so he started designing clothes to cover his chest, and later to see her as a human being on television, he began designing dresses and outfits for her to wear full.
Around this time Rafi asked her mother, "What's its like?" Who almost broke the heart of Shinta as she sought a way to explain his abstract to his son. Shinta decided to explain to her that Rafi is composed of several colors like yellow, pink, blue, etc., and from that day, photos of Rafi became works of art filled with detailed many colors vibrant.
At the age of five years, Rafi had his first fashion show by Indonesian designer, Auguste Soesastro, and this show has inspired him to become a fashion designer. After becoming very ill and bedridden, he became obsessed with fashion magazines and TV fashion to improve his sketches and he practically dragged his mother to Jakarta Fashion and Food Festival festival after learning he was detained .
This is the festival that Rafi met with Indonesian designer Barli Asmara Barli and showed some of his detailed and colorful drawings. Barli recognized the enormous potential in front of him and called Rafi Shinta and his workshop where they could see some of his own designs and creations. Rafi was fascinated at the workshop have never realized that all the clothes are first created from sketches and not just bought ready-made from a store.
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- Rafi drawing Tasha
Rafi has a book called "Letters to God" where he writes all dreams and wishes and it was in this book that Barli saw Rafi's dream to be able to hear and hold a mode for its 9th anniversary show. Having the time and resources to help Rafi with his dream his own show, Barli worked with him to create a small collection that was shown in the canteen of Plaza Indonesia, July 20, 2011. It was here that seven of Rafi designs were shown on the catwalk, all of which were designed Rafi including the fabric used for all garments.
After the show, Lia Candrasari, the founder of the LC Foundation, Rafi approached to congratulate him on his outstanding talent and suggested he meets with writer and textile designer Nonita Respati Purana Batik, and designer accessories Prad- jasaputra Ariani, who is behind the brand Aarti. The three decided to collaborate together and established Purana-Aarti-Rafi, or PAR, and they presented their first collection at Fashion Week Jakarta in November 2011, which received a standing ovation.
not only the fashion Rafi dream becomes a reality, but also with the help of Lia and the LC Foundation, he received a cochlear implant in her right ear to Singapore General Hospital in August . This allowed Rafi to hear voices and sounds for the first time in his life, and through weekly sessions of therapy, he was learning to recognize sounds and begins to learn to sound through the word which is a very exciting development for Rafi. There are no sign language for communication within the family, with Rafi Shinta having taught to read lips instead, so slowly he learned to make sounds as he moves his mouth to speak to his parents. Hopefully with this first implant, it may be able to receive another in his left ear in a few years.
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- A letter to Rafi - Tyra Banks
Shinta believes that there is no precipitation for Rafi to hold its next fashion show and he should concentrate on his studies, but Rafi dreams are big and know no boundaries and is now eager to showrooms where his talents on the catwalk in Australia, London , Milan, Paris and Tokyo, and is also dreaming to meet his biggest idol, Tyra Banks.
I am extremely eager to help Rafi show his exceptional talent in the world in any way I can, and that his father, Mohammad, said: "Most of us are afraid to dream. We are limited by our own logic and complicated fears. But Rafi is a child and he simply believes in his dreams. And slowly but surely, his dreams come true. "
I wish Rafi every success for the future and I really believe that all his dreams come true.