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It’s October in Jakarta, and the noticeable buzz of fashion has hit the streets. Jakarta Fashion Week is here again, and what a rush it is.

- Joseph T. Gonzales

Boasting dozens of designers and hundreds of brands, fashion week in this town can be a dizzying swirl of not just shows, but blitzes, media promotions, marketing gimmicks and, yes, with the advent of a new generation, content creators and influencers. Everybody and their social-climbing relatives are here to see and be seen, and maybe, just maybe, make it in the scene.

This year though, the digital age reigns supreme. TikTok Shop, after its Tokopedia acquisition, made its fashion week debut by sponsoring its very own revue. Local brands that might not yet qualify as luxury labels, but have gained massive followings on the platform (and of course, incredible sales performance), were selected by TikTok to further their campaigns.

These homegrown labels, or even what just might be boiled down into popular points-of-sale, might not make the cut for hoity-toity Cruellas, but in an industry where what moves, wins, TikTok is making a very good case for sponsoring local tastes. We would be so lucky if we had something similar. Facebook live selling seems like the only viable avenue we have for small startups.