reon labs
ABOUT
MAXIMALIST is an experimental film exploring Indonesia's rich history of maximalist fashion, a visual language that has existed for centuries yet is rarely recognized as such today. The film stages a quiet confrontation: richly adorned figures in traditional Indonesian dress, drawn from archival photography dating back to the 1800s, are gradually closed in on by anonymous, uniform red-hooded figures, a visual metaphor for how that maximalism is being eroded by today's pull toward simplicity and sameness. At its core, the piece is a reminder that Indonesia was maximalist long before the term became a design trend elsewhere, and an invitation to look again at what that richness still has to offer. The film went on to win Best Music Video at Sunra x London Design Festival 2026.
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PROCESS
The inspiration for this project came from a trend I noticed on Instagram: a post that suddenly went viral, with an Indonesian user sharing photos showing just how maximalist Indonesia had been since centuries ago. That post struck me, and it became the spark for this film, a way of showing that Indonesia was maximalist long before it was a trend, and that somewhere along the way, that richness gave way to simplicity. From the photos in that post, I pulled outfits spanning several different regions of Indonesia and used them as the basis for a set of character sheets, each built around a distinct traditional look. For the settings, I mixed locations rooted in Indonesian elements with others that lean more surreal. From there, the actual video production began.
Credits
More Experimental Work
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AiR
TunnelVision
Dan DeGeest