Dimas Anggara’s new venture, “#OOTD: Outfit of the Designer” (2024), is not for those expecting a feat akin to “The Devil Wears Prada” or “27 Dresses.” The film nosedives from sugary romance to tragedy quickly. The aesthetic along the lines of “Emily in Paris” is only an invitation to let the tragic narrative unfurl its colors in time.
It is the story of a young Indonesian girl in Europe with a colorful aspiration caught in a slew of tragedies that seem to appear out of nowhere. Will she ever be able to free herself from this web of tragedies? How reliable are her loved ones in helping her sort her way through the muck? We attempt to throw some light.
#OOTD: Outfit of the Designer (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
An Indonesian girl in Birmingham
Nare, an Indonesian-origin fashion designer, lives in Birmingham and leads a charming life well surrounded by friends from her native land. As part of a photo shoot, she meets a young photographer, Bagas. With Bagas, Nare develops a bond quickly. Bagas advises Nare to host a fashion show on the street to showcase her work to the public at large. Baras, on the other hand, is living the consequences of the death of his younger brother in the devastating mud volcano of 2006.
Luni, Nare’s best friend, joins in for the fashion show. When Nare pitches the idea of sustainability in fashion to her professor as her final project, she suggests Nare dig deeper into her still half-baked idea. To this end, the professor advises her to plumb the depth of Indonesian heritage and meld it with her knowledge of fashion. Nare finds interest in mud dyeing. Nare’s college friends join hands and make Fashion on the Street a success. As Nare and Bagas’ relationship starts blooming, Luni gets overtly jealous and starts acting possessive toward Bagas.
Should Luni be trusted as a friend?
Mala, Nare’s friend, is in an abusive relationship. Nare houses her for a night following a brush with her husband, but Mala, still trauma-bonded to Andrew, leaves the following day with him. At Luni’s birthday lunch, Nare announces to her female friends that she is finally dating Bagas. This visibly irritates Luni, and she asks Nare if she has disclosed her familial details to Bagas. Later, after parting ways with her friends, Luni calls Bagas and instigates him against Nare by claiming that Nare’s father caused the mud mishap.
Nare presents her pitch on the Traditional Japanese Manual Resist Dyeing Technique. She believes that using mud will give the fabric a darker color. Nare proposes moving beyond simple sustainability and creating job opportunities for local Indonesian communities by outsourcing natural ingredients from them for her project. Her professor gives her a thumbs-up. However, Bagas’ sudden cold behavior and disappearance upset her.
Azka’s arrival in the story only brings mishaps
Azka, Nare, and Luni’s high school friends throw a surprise birthday party for Luni and invite all her friends. Nare gets high, and Azka forces her to have sex with him. In a shocking turn of events, a few days later, Nare tests positive for pregnancy. Nare’s life is upended in a moment as Azka and his parents have become the deciding agents of the course of her life. They force her to move to Jakarta. Azka asks Luni to help him announce their marriage to the world. As Azka announces to the world their baby’s arrival, Bagas sees Nare in Azka’s arms and is shattered. Bagas leaves, never to return.
Who helps Nare in rekindling her bond with Bagas?
Nare is comforted by Mala and Dantie when she learns about Luni’s malignant moves that have driven Bagas away. Her friends advise her to look for the silver lining even when she is marrying Azka against her will. Nare’s mother and friends try to shift her gaze from pining over a loveless marriage and advise her to care for the baby. Even in the unfortunate state, Nare’s face outshines a brightness when given the opportunity to talk about her final project.
Nare moves back to her parents’ house in Jakarta. Vier, Nare’s sister, asks her about how she brought herself to this. To this, Nare tells her about the man she really loves, Bagas. Vier recognizes Bagas from her internship days in Java, where he was quite popular among the guys. Vier calls Bagas and hands over the phone to Nare. Later, the two meet, and Nare fires him with her pent-up anger and confusion over his disappearance. Bagas tells her that they are too different. He assures her that since she is married now he can always be his friend that she can lean on.
Nare’s unrelenting affection for Bagas
While trying their hands on the eco-print technique, Vier notices Nare’s eyes light up as she speaks about drawing inspiration from Bagas and being reminded of Bagas by the colors. It was Bagas who encouraged Nare to make use of Indonesian natural ingredients. Vier surreptitiously gets a video of Nare’s confession and sends it to Bagas. This leads to Bagas driving down to their house as a surprise. Nare and Bagas prove their love has not died down after all.
#OOTD: Outfit of the Designer (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Does Nare’s life ever recover from the back-to-back onslaught of tragedies?
One night, Nare receives a call from a distraught Dantie, who gives her the news of Mala’s death. Dantie narrates that Mala caught her boyfriend cheating on her with another girl. This caused Andrew to retort with fury and beat Mala up. Dantie tells her that Luni is unreachable. When Nare gets back home, she finds Azka and Luni having virtual sex. Nare calls off her marriage and throws away her ring. Following this, we see a flashback where Azka confesses to Luni that although Nare is his high-school crush, their marriage would not deter him from pursuing a relationship with Luni.
Nare’s violent retort causes Azka to tip men into murdering Bagas. Following Bagas’ death, Nare faces a miscarriage, too.
In the mid-credits, Nare shows her parents and grandmother her new collection made of Klungkung songket from Bali. Her fashion line is a success, but Bagas is not there to see it. The film ends with Nare pining for Bagas as she feels his invisible presence around her.
