Sugar pie, honey bunch, it’s Jessica Mauboy!!!

 Happy Monday fashionista!

Let us begin this brand new week of May 2015 with serenading the songs of Jessica Mauboy, the Australian born diva with Indonesian roots.

It was only a few weeks ago that I watched ‘The Sapphires” DVD movie about Indigenous Australian female group in the late 1960s which one of the main characters, Julie, was played by none-other than the Australian Pop Princess, Jessica Mauboy.

Jess, as she is known to her closest ones, has been a household name in Aussie since she emerged as the runner-up winner of Australian Idol in 2006.

In 2008, as the Australian Cultural Ambassador, she went to Indonesia to appear at Indonesia Idol singing “Sempurna” in a perfect Bahasa Indonesia. During this trip, she received an extra warm welcome. This was not only due to her enigmatic voices but also to the close link she possess with Indonesian crowds as her father is an Indonesian who originated from Kefamenanu, in the province of Eastern Nusa Tenggara. Her mother is an Indigenous Australian. That makes Jess closely linked to both Australian and Indonesian culture, including culinary.

In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Jess admitted that she always have a sweet tooth to her paternal side Oma’s (grandmother) delicacy which is named ‘gara-susu’. It means a milk-based jelly cake which is consumed with a cup of coffee. Even at their family home in Darwin, Jess is not a stranger to Indonesian culinary as her Mother has learned to cook Indonesian cuisine for Jess and her siblings.

Aside from The Sapphires, Jess has also played leading roles in movies such as Bran Nue Dae. In 2013, she performed a duet with Ricky Martin and in 2014 she appeared at The Ellen Show and also performed at the Emmy’s Governors Ball in Los Angeles.

Meeting her after the show of Toni Maticevski, who is one of her favourite designer, is a wonderful encounter. Appropriately she dressed up in Maticevski in attending his show.

When I told her that I am a Sydney-based Indonesian and that I just started my fashion blog, she uttered “How exciting! Keep it up!”.

Needless to say more, Jess and JET had a fashionable siesta in front of cameras after that lovely chat and humming to tunes of The Sapphires,

“Sugar pie, honey bun

You know that I love you

I can’t help myself

I want you and nobody else”

Stay inspiring dear Jess! Would love to visit you in Darwin and try on your home-made fish curry someday!

Jess Mauboy, wearing an Indonesian Ikat long scarf over her blouse, watches the Ikat weaving process by the women in her father’s hometown in East Nusa Tenggara (Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/08/25/roots-return.html)

Jessica Mauboy, dressed up in Maticevski, with the designer Toni Maticevski

Jessica Mauboy performed her latest single in Uluru on March 2015. (Source: http://www.jessicamauboy.com.au/)

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