Last Saturday, Peggy Hartanto and Sean Sheila returned to Jakarta Fashion Week for the Dewi Fashion Knight (DFK) show. Throughout the years, the brands chosen to show under DFK have carried the reputation of being the standard-bearer for the local fashion industry. With the exception of accessories brand Aidan & Ice (a tediously long show filled with Chanel-inspired outfits and brain-melting music—even Svida Alisjahbana, the chairwoman of Jakarta Fashion Week, who was seated at the front row looked bored), Peggy Hartanto and Sean Sheila delivered collections that at least gave them the credentials of showing under the distinguished banner.

Designer Peggy Hartanto of the namesake label presented a collection that continues to mine from the brand’s previous offerings. Her fixation on flora and present-day feminine aesthetics culminated in a singular design vocabulary of clean lines and vivid colours. In particular, the scalloped edges that were present in her past collections made their round again here in variations.

There is a sleeveless navy dress with a scooped neckline that is graphically contrasted with protruding white scalloped details from the waist down, resembling the fins of sea creatures. In another, the scalloped details, which took inspiration from a moon orchid, were applied on a bralette top. Another variation, seen on a lemon dress with matching gloves, brings to mind the form of fluttering butterflies gently clapping their wings as the model strutted.

A quick scan around the audience and your eyes will likely land on women in bold colour dresses with clean geometric lines. Chances are, those are Peggy’s creations. To this day, one of the striking elements of the brand that continues to appeal to her clientele is the fact that there is rarely a need to accessorise or dress it up even further. Her dresses are self-assured as much as they are beautiful to look at.

But the same strength displayed in this collection also proved to be its Achilles’ heel. Never mind that scalloped details are revisited again here. Even so, there is a feeling that something is missing—the yearning for the designer to sink her teeth beyond the self-evident beauty of flowers and nature.