How 3 sisters from Surabaya turned Peggy Hartanto into one of Indonesia’s most recognisable fashion exports
The label’s signature silhouettes are designed to alter how a woman stands, moves and occupies space. Even its smallest accessory carries that intent.
(Art: CNA/Jasper Loh)
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If you’re drawn to clean lines, bold colour-blocking and modern occasionwear that feels architectural yet wearable, you’ve likely encountered Peggy Hartanto – the Indonesian label that has become one of our region’s most recognisable fashion exports.
Named after its creative director, Peggy Hartanto was founded in 2012 by twin sisters Peggy and Petty Hartanto, now 37, alongside their older sister Lydia, 39. Backed early by Singapore retailers, the label is stocked internationally across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States, and has built its reputation on sculptural silhouettes and precision tailoring.
The brand’s clothes project authority without aggression, offering a distinctly modern interpretation of power dressing that is grounded in structure, proportion and presence rather than severity.
Their story, however, began in an unlikely spot – a workshop in their hometown Surabaya, surrounded by machinery and industrial hardware.
AN EARLY LESSON
“Our family has an engineering and trade background. Nobody we knew worked in fashion or as creatives,” said Peggy. As children, she and her sisters were often brought to the family workshop after school.
“I always knew that being an entrepreneur is what I strive to do later,” she reflected. “But I think it would surprise little Peggy to know that the things she loved – art and creative work – is actually what she will do for a living.”
That little girl would go on to graduate as Best Student in Fashion Design at the Raffles College of Design and Commerce in Sydney – but not without a crucible moment. Two weeks before her final show, Peggy’s lecturer delivered a blunt verdict: The collection was “simply not good enough”. She would have to redo it from scratch.
“I remember crying a lot, redesigning, sewing, starting all over again while counting days to the show,” she said. “But that pressure forced me to think and create beyond what I did before.” The lesson it left behind: Never settle for less than the best.
When a woman wears a piece with a specific structure or volume that fits her well, it does more than change her appearance – it shifts her physical posture, confidence, and presence in a room.
SCULPTING CONFIDENCE
A stint at Australian designer Collette Dinnigan’s studio sharpened that further. From the outset, precision became Peggy Hartanto’s signature – most visibly in its fitted tailored dresses, perennial bestsellers that return season after season with subtle refinements.
But tailoring, here, extends beyond simplicity. The brand’s gowns feature scalloped peplums that frame the waist with graphic definition, voluminous drop-waist constructions that elongate the body, and dramatic draping engineered to hold its shape. Three-dimensional floral or leaf appliques appear as sculptural accents that add depth.
“We spend a lot of time on the technicality of the patterns to ensure they flatter the female form without risking being uncomfortable,” she explained. “When a woman wears a piece with a specific structure or volume that fits her well, it does more than change her appearance – it shifts her physical posture, confidence, and presence in a room.”
DESIGNING FOR COMPLEXITY
That belief sits at the core of the brand’s philosophy: Women contain multitudes.
“As women, we navigate a constant rotation of roles; as a creative, sister, business partner, leader, and for many, wife and mother,” said Peggy. Growing up as three sisters, she has seen those shifting roles up close. “Each of those roles demands a completely different side of us.”
Containing multitudes, to her, means having the ability to show up as your best self regardless of which hat you’re wearing.
From the start, we aspire to be a brand that is not defined by border. We wanted to speak to women regardless of where they are.
The Peggy Hartanto woman of 2012, she reflects, was “a young woman with a lively spirit, trying to make her mark in the world.” In 2026, she is “more multifaceted. She still loves the attention, but she values versatility… She doesn’t just wear our clothes to be seen – she wears them to feel like the most capable, authentic version of herself.”
The evolution is visible in its collections. What began as bold occasionwear informed by Australia’s affinity for minimalism and saturated colour has matured into a broader wardrobe offering. Structured blazers, sculpted midi dresses and statement gowns coexist with more fluid silhouettes, all united by a careful balance of drama and restraint.
BEYOND BORDERS
From the beginning, the sisters were clear: They would not rely on cultural motifs to signal Indonesian identity.
“We chose to define our Indonesian identity not through motifs, but through craftsmanship,” said Peggy. “From the start, we aspire to be a brand that is not defined by border. We wanted to speak to women regardless of where they are.”
That global mindset shaped early business decisions. According to Lydia, the brand’s managing director, they intentionally focused outward, launching their webstore, reaching out to international press, established a PR partnership in Los Angeles and entered global competitions.
“This built our credibility outside of Indonesia early on,” she explained. Singapore was among their earliest retail markets – the brand is currently stocked at multi-label store SocietyA – an important validation for a young Indonesian label with its sights set far beyond national borders.
The sisters also co-founded Ara, Indonesia’s first multi-label store dedicated to contemporary local brands – a move that helped reframe perceptions of homegrown design more broadly. But growth has remained measured. “We have prioritised organic growth over rapid scale,” Lydia said. “Growth must be sustainable.”
Case in point: The brand recently made the deliberate choice to pause its showroom presence in Paris and Shanghai to strengthen internal foundations before returning to the international stage. “If the first decade was about finding our voice,” she added, “the second is about longevity”.
A WORLD OF THEIR OWN
In 2025, Peggy Hartanto opened its first standalone flagship store in Plaza Senayan, Jakarta – a milestone that crystallised more than a decade of world-building. Designed to reflect the label’s aesthetic, the store blends deep brown and powder blue tones within a minimalist setting, where clean structural lines meet more tactile, organic forms.
For Petty, the brand’s art director, the space is an extension of the clothes. “The pieces are architectural yet soft, structured yet poetic,” she said. Translating that duality into a physical environment meant shaping “a feeling”: Light, proportion, materiality, and spatial rhythm as natural extensions of the silhouette.
“The intention is for people to experience the same quiet strength and sense of whimsy they feel when wearing Peggy Hartanto, even before they touch the clothes.”
Alongside the fitted tailored dresses the brand is known for, one of its current bestsellers is a leather card holder adorned with the label’s signature floral or leaf appliques. Born from shifting cashless habits and the desire for an accessible entry point into the brand, it has found an unlikely following. “It has become one of our best-selling SKUs at the moment,” said Peggy.
THE SISTERHOOD BEHIND THE LABEL
If Peggy is the sculptor, Petty is the storyteller and Lydia the strategist, the brand’s foundation is their shared history.
Having grown up immersed in family enterprise, building something together felt almost instinctive. Their unspoken advantage, they agree, is knowing each other “very well”. The boundaries between personal and professional have long since blurred; moving between sisterhood and strategy is second nature.
As twins, Peggy and Petty operate on what Petty describes as a “natural rhythm”. “We’ve been shaping ideas together for as long as we can remember,” she said. “Often, we can sense each other’s hesitation or excitement without needing many words.”
Of course, creative tension is inevitable. When perspectives diverge, Lydia steps in as mediator. Decisions are made collectively, occasionally by a simple ‘2–1’.
Business conversations, unsurprisingly, spill into family time. They make an effort to carve out sleepovers and sisterly hangouts, but all three admit it is “not possible to be together without talking about business” – before conceding, with a laugh, that they prefer it that way.
