LADIES FIRST. For our 10th anniversary, we reacquaint ourselves with 10 DA MAN Darlings who show us that girls do indeed run the world

Ladies First

All outfits by Sacoor Brothers

Photography Glenn Prasetya
Styling Sidky Muhamadsyah
Fashion Assistant Koko Namara
Make Up Angel Pieters by Bubah Alfian, Eva Celia by Talia Subandrio, Hannah Al Rasyid, Paula Verhoeven and Marissa Nasution by Arimbi, Kimmy Jayanti by Dian Puspita, Laura Muljadi and Millane Fernandez by Linda Kusumadewi, Kelly Tandiono and Salvita Decorte by Archangela Chelsea at Studio47
Hair Hannah Al Rasyid, Paula Verhoeven and Marissa Nasution by Yessi Ferli
Videographer Sadam Dwi Satria
Digital Retouch by Surya P. Nugroho @STUDIO47

Click next for an up-close and personal interview with each personality.

GIRL POWER. One thing that you will notice when you meet Hannah Al Rashid is how often the actress says the word “awesome”

HANNAH AL RASHID

Outfit by 3.1 Phillip Lim, shoes by Michael Kors

This habit certainly reflects the personality of this London-born star: A friendly, positive individual who is also not afraid to speak her mind. When we met her again for the third time, the 32-year-old has recently participated at the Women’s March in Jakarta to raise awareness of gender issues plaguing in this country. “I’ve been living here for nine years now,” she begins, “and so far there’s been a few life-changing moments in my life and the Women’s March was one of those experiences that I will remember until the day I die.”

As an outspoken feminist and a United Nation’s SDG mover for Gender Equality, she recalls that in the beginning of her career, she refused roles that only exploit the body image or the looks of the character. Her recent role in “Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss Part 1,” however, has prompted questions since the franchise is known to be quite misogynistic. “What I tried to do in this movie was to create a female character that is not perceived as such,” Al Rahshid points out. “Even though she’s considered pretty and sexy but that’s what men think of her. She herself doesn’t showcase those traits on the screen; she shows other qualities.”

This May, however, you can watch her in a less contentious role as she plays as Tara in the highly anticipated romantic movie “Critical Eleven.” “It was really fun to play something really light and fun in comparison to the action-packed and sadistic [expletive] I was doing previously,” she contends. “So, that was really cool.”

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN. Eva Celia is currently focused on music, having just released her first English debut album, “And so it Begins,” which contains eight tracks that she wrote all by herself

EVA CELIA

Outfit by 3.1 Phillip Lim, shoes by Michael Kors

“Just focusing on my album and my musical activities, trying to write more, get back to the studio and, you know, enjoying life,” says Celia lightheartedly of what keeps her busy these days.

Celia admits that the lyrics she wrote are based on what she was going through at that moment and describes the album as “hopeful, experimental and cool.” Furthermore, the 24-year-old says that when it comes to songwriting, writing the lyrics is always the hardest part for her. “I love writing stories, I love writing poetry, but it’s a different thing when you’re trying to fit the words into the melody,” she explains. “At the end of the day the lyrics are always the last.”

She might still be in her 20s, but she sure is wise beyond her age. Our conversation also touches on the millennial generation and the negative connotations attached to them. Naturally, she wants to change this image by discussing social issues through her own platform. “I always admire public figures who use their platform to sort of make a difference and raise awareness on social issues,” Celia elaborates. “Right now, millennials are the biggest part of our population. Then why don’t we do something, stir something up and shift our focus to something more important than just ourselves?

SHE’S GOT THE VOICE. Angel Pieters is living proof that a former child star can turn out all right

ANGEL PIETERS

Outfit by Michael Kors

Or in her case, way more than just all right. The 19-year-old started her singing career when she was nine, when she took part in a singing competition. Ten years later her career is still going strong, and it seems like she’s just getting started. When we met her again almost a year after we first wrote a profile story on her, Pieters says that she’s busy preparing for her debut album. “It’s still in the pre-production, I’m still choosing the people I want to work with but hopefully it will come out this year, if not by early next year,” she enthuses.

Looking back, the Whitney Houston fan sees that the past 10 years has been an evolving journey. “Everything that I’ve gone through seems like a beautiful struggle for me,” she says. I remember 10 years ago I was this kid who wanted to sing, who wanted to make an album and now that I’m here, I’m able to see that all of those past struggles were actually leading me to where I am right now.” With a down-to-earth persona and incredible talent, it seems that this angel’s wings are certainly made to fly.

LIFE IN THE FASHION LANE. Adding one more entry to the list of Indonesian supermodels is Laura Muljadi

LAURA MULJADI

Outfit by J Brand x Simone Rocha in Farah Khan

After she was scouted in the Netherlands years ago, Muljadi has been featured in numerous publications, became the face of various brands and even walked at the New York Fashion Week.

Like in our first meeting years ago, Muljadi appears quiet at first but readily opens up once she feels comfortable. She says that she’s currently taking on fewer modeling gigs to focus on her public speaking and Italian language courses. “I want to try something new,” she explains, “I’m always interested in communication studies, and my main focus is in personal branding. As for learning Italian, that’s because my husband is Italian.”

Another activity that she’s been involved in is helping those in need. Currently, Muljadi is involved in a project called “Bumbu Kari” aimed at educating mothers from impoverished neighborhoods on how to create handicrafts. “We empower mothers to make their own income by selling these products,” she points out. “Most of these women lack confidence in what they can do to help support their children, and by having these skills they are helping their kids to go to school.” Picture-perfect and passionate about helping others, Laura Muljadi is certainly the epitome of being beautiful both inside and out.

FULL FORCE FASHION. It’s been quite a while since we last caught up with model Paula Verhoeven, so we were quite intrigued as to what she’s been up to these days. Well, for starters, she coyly admits that she is currently dating someone

PAULA VERHOEVEN

Outfit by Givenchy

The 29-year-old, though, is still busy strutting down runways and doing photo shoots, just like this one. “I’m very grateful with the progress of my career,” says the September-born star. “I’ve done so many different things; I did a movie; I feel so blessed.” Having spent 16 years in the entertainment industry, Verhoeven sees herself becoming a model mentor one day. “When I was young, I used to think that I’d be a model until I’m 40 or 50-years old,” Verhoeven continues. “But now, when I feel I’ve accomplished everything I’ve ever dreamed of, my passion has shifted. Now I want to be one of those people who work behind the scenes.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still love doing commercials or occasionally walk for fashion weeks, but now I’m at a point where I’d like to contribute to the modeling world by sharing my experience to aspiring models,” she adds. Verhoeven has already made plans to open a modeling school with her friends, but she’s still waiting for the right time to turn that dream into a reality. “Young models, most of them are still at the stage of figuring out what they want to do,” she concludes. “They need guidance and I’d be happy to share the lessons and experience that I’ve had to them.”

IN FULL SPIRIT. The old adage that third time’s a charm certainly fits our third encounter with singer Millane Fernandez

MILLANE FERNANDEZ

Outfit by Fendi

This “little bubbly girl” (her words, by the way) opens up the conversation by recounting what she’s been doing these past couple of years or so after the last time we chatted with her. “I had the opportunity to sing the World Cup Anthem in 2014 representing Indonesia,” she starts. “I also went to this international music competition in Russia last year representing the country; out of fifteen countries I got the second place.” Then she adds that since last year, she’s been working on her own album.

Actually, she’s going to be releasing two albums: One is in Indonesian, which is a first for her, while the other one is in English. The 30-year-old adds that she wrote everything herself and even produced both albums herself. “There are love songs, but most of the songs are about self-encouragement, how to pull ourselves up again when somebody’s telling you you’re not good enough,” says the German-Indonesian songstress.

Oh, Fernandez also has a café that she is running together with her big brother Nino Fernandez, and in the midst of it all that she is still keen on doing another movie. Talking about the future of her career she says that “There are so many things I haven’t achieved, but I’m working on it and I’m having faith. At the end of it all I’m just pursuing what I love the most and that’s actually the biggest goal and achievement for me.”

ROLE MODEL. At the age of 25, Kimmy Jayanti has certainly earned the coveted status of being called a supermodel

KIMMY JAYANTI

Outfit by Fendi

“Yeah, I’ve been doing this for eleven years,” she begins. “I’ve done many things in my life, I’ve been through a lot, nothing in this life surprises me anymore.” She then goes on to explain what it takes for someone to be considered part of the elite: “A supermodel is someone who started from zero; you’ve been through a lot and you’ve become an irreplaceable personality.”

For sure, this particular supermodel exudes a strong persona without being arrogant; she’s fun and has a charming no-holds-barred attitude. During our conversation, she mentioned about a modeling school that she opened last year called, appropriately enough, the Kimmy Jayanti School. “I always tell my students ‘I open my school just to share my experiences. My school is a fun school but this is not a joke. I came here, I devoted my time and I want you to do something even bigger than what I did,’” she says.

Apart from sharing her knowledge to young, aspiring models, she went into the business of teaching because she sees that modeling isn’t something that you can do as a long-term career. Right now she’s trying to branch out to other things such as being a presenter while also taking care of her beachwear line.

ACTRESS IN TRAINING. One thing we still remember from our first meeting with Kelly Tandiono back in 2012 is when she said that girls have their turning-point in their 30s

KELLY TANDIONO

Outfit by Chanel

Now, Tandiono herself has reached that critical age, and when we reminded her of her previous statement, she says: “Yes, it is, actually. As I said to myself, I’m not going to be model all my life. I’ve actually gone into something else now: acting. I also have my own swimwear line. Modeling is still going to be a part of me, but it’s not my first priority anymore.”

Tandiono says her transition from modeling has been pretty good, and along the way she managed to discover new talents and achieve something that she didn’t realize she was actually good at.

Currently, she is busy preparing for a triathlon in April as well as doing promos for her new movie “Labuan Hati.” In it, she plays as Bia, a socialite who has problems at home and decides to run to the famed Komodo island. Playing this role has proven to be a challenging task for Tandiono, who says that the character is completely the polar opposite of her. “The hardest part is to act like you can’t hike, how to pretend like you can’t dive,” she exclaims. “Because in reality, I don’t get tired!” By starring in this movie, she hopes to help boost Indonesia’s tourism sector.

JACKIE OF ALL TRADES. “It’s been seven years? Oh, my God!” Marissa Nasution blurts out at the start of our interview

MARISSA NASUTION

Outfit by Michael Kors

Reminiscing on the past, the 31-year-old says her career has been going on very well, as she is currently the host for an entertainment program on a local TV channel while still working as a presenter for on- and off-the-air events. She’s also set to appear in a movie. On top of all that, she also runs a travel blog called Matahari Luna together with her sister and has her own fashion label called Mermaid Inc. which, as the name suggests, rents out mermaid tails for events and parties.

During the months of April to May, though, she will be traveling quite a lot. “I’m really excited for this year; I want to focus a little bit more on work and on traveling,” says Nasution.

Presenter, check. Travel blogger, check. Businesswoman, check. Is there anything else she wants to do in the future? “Oh, my God! I’d love to be stewardess for, like, a month!” she blurts out once again with unbridled enthusiasm. “It was one of my biggest dreams from when I was younger. I’m a huge aviation geek. I love planes. You can put me in a plane or in an airport and I’ll be the happiest person. If an airline wants to hire me, even as an intern, I’m ready!”

ARTIST AT HEART. Last year, actress-slash-model-slash-artist Salvita Decorte decided to take a year off from work, but now she says she’s ready to get back on the field again

SALVITA DECORTE

Outfit by Chanel

“I’m starting fresh, I’m getting more into movies which is always what I want to do,” she exclaims. “I think now I’m finally now in the right space to start again.”

For one, she has a role in the highly anticipated “The Night Comes for Us” movie. Though still tight-lipped about it, Decorte dropped a couple of hints that she did many scenes alongside Joe Taslim and Abimana Aryasatya. Soon, Decorte will be shooting yet another movie that she has recently been casted in. Another couple of things that she will pick up again is painting and creating commissioned art pieces.

Reflecting on how her career has been going on so far, Decorte feels blessed and lucky enough to have met plenty of supportive people. She then goes on to tell how she always wanted to work with renowned director Joko Anwar and she finally got the chance to work with him in the “Halfworlds” TV series. Decorte says that her ultimate goal is to do movies outside of Indonesia and she’s optimistic that she can get there very soon, “You know that book ‘The Secret,’ where it basically says if you envision something and if you stick to that and then you say it out loud, it will eventually happen?” she goes on. “I can really see that in my career.”

10 Ladies For DA MAN’s 10th Anniversary

3.1 Phillip Lim,

angel pieters,

Archangela Chelsea,

Arimbi,

Chanel,

DA Darling,

eva celia,

Farah Khan,

Fendi,

Givenchy,

Glenn Prasetya,

hannah al rashid,

J Brand,

kelly tandiono,

kimmy jayanti,

koko namara,

laura muljadi,

Linda Kusumadewi,

Marissa nasution,

Michael Kors,

millane fernandez,

Paula Verhoeven,

Sadam Dwi Satria,

Salvita Decorte,

Sidky Muhamadsyah,

Simone Rocha,

Surya P. Nugroho,

Talia Subandrio,

Yessi Ferli