Kuala Lumpur - Our economy may have taken a hit, but not our fashion. This Hari Raya, designers emerge with the finest fabrics, prettiest jewellery and most lavish designs to show that they`re not about to surrender to the gloom.
Every year during Ramadan, Hazarul Hamidi, 26, will leave Terengganu in his trusty, old pickup to sell kain songket. In his vehicle is whatever he needs for his one-month stint in Kuala Lumpur: his wife, his children, his smartest clothes and a few hundred thousand metres of this shimmering cloth.
“This is my grandmother`s business. She gave it to my mother, who then gave it to me,” Hamidi says. “She`s the one who tells me to come to KL because the people are richer here.”
His mother is right. The amount of sales in the city easily trumps those back home in Terengganu as Hari Raya draws closer.
Standing by his little wooden kiosk in Bangsar Shopping Center, Hamidi is able to sell thousands of ringgit`s worth of songket to KL`s elite, including celebrities like Datin Seri Normala Shamsuddin and politicians like Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique.
“Who says songket is a dying tradition? The demand is just as good nowadays! Many women buy it to make baju kurung and kebaya, because it`s very resilient. My own songket from 30 years ago still looks the same,” Hamidi says.
The price of a single piece of Hamidi`s songket can sometimes fetch up to RM15,000 and he claims that this does not deter the customers. It`s easy to see why: elaborate and exquisitely textured, his cloths are works of art more than anything else.
Creating all of Hamidi`s Hari Raya songket takes about 150 workers, mostly women in their 30s, who work around the clock back in his little village. It takes up to eight months, and the painstaking work is created solely by hand, according to a theme predetermined by Hamidi`s mother and her team of designers.
“She`s a very fashionable lady in her 50s,” says Hamidi. “She still hasn`t lost touch with the trends, and checks the magazines out from time to time.”
This Raya, it`s all about flowers. Abstract blooms dance prettily across richly brocaded, cream-coloured silk. This trend, according to Hamidi, is called samping sutera pokok.
“People love this. Unfortunately, I`m not selling as well this year because of the economy,” he says.
Out-of-towner Rinawati Sahata agrees that the economic outlook has not helped, and the shop in Shah Alam where she works selling ready-to-wear baju kurung has not been spared. As global financial systems take a further tumble, customers are keeping a closer eye on their wallets, Raya or no.
“Usually, this place is packed every day with people hunting for their Hari Raya clothes. But now, the crowd only comes in during the weekends,” the 33-year-old promoter says, referring to the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam.
Prices have also gone down from last year, but Sahata says this has not helped. Business is still slow. Nevertheless, she says that Malaysians spend a lot more compared to her native country, Indonesia, where they buy just one or two pieces for Hari Raya.
Back to the future
“The clothes in Malaysia are more conservative. The ladies here don`t like to wear bustiers or corsets, and they don`t want the sleeves to be transparent,” Sahata says.
This doesn`t mean that the baju kurung here lacks style, however. Designers have cleverly compensated for the conventional predilections of Malaysian women by getting more creative on silhouettes, colours and techniques.
Dresses are now butterfly-light in chiffon or satin, with a liberal dose of sparkle among the baby-blue and green tones. It`s also a playful fusion of both the traditional and contemporary: subtly nipped at the waist in order to drape beautifully along a woman`s curves, and yet polished and modest.
“It`s called Kurung Pahang. It`s a hit among younger women who buy it in bulk. They`ll usually find matching outfits for their husbands and kids,” Sahata says. “It`s also one of my favourite cuttings because it flatters a woman and makes her look taller.”
Even some non-Malays want to get in on the action.
“I was first introduced to the virtues of baju kurung back in high school. It quickly became one of my guilty pleasures, something that I wore whenever I felt that my pinafore felt a little too stuffy,” says Veronica Tan, 29, an accounts executive who bought her most expensive piece for nearly RM500.
“Nowadays, I still wear the baju kurung to the office and other formal do`s. It`s so versatile that I can`t imagine life before it existed.”
My stroll through the PKNS Complex conjures up images of twinkling stars, shooting comets and, of course, oh-so-feminine florals. Sequins, embroidery and coloured stones abound, on dresses, headscarfs, bags, jewellery and shoes.
“The angkasawan mood hasn`t died down,” says Sahata, referring to this enthusiasm for all things shiny, which she reckons is reflective of Malaysia`s first foray into space last year.
“Now everyone wants to fly with Sheikh (the astronaut).”
What a gem!
Like Sahata`s clothes, salesgirl Siti Aisyah Ismail`s systematically displayed, Made-In-Taiwan accessories sparkle with equal intensity under the flourescent lights.
“The economy may be bad, but the clothes don`t reflect that,” says the 18-year-old.
“Women still want to deck themselves out with rings, brooches, necklaces and earrings. The shinier, the better. It means the stones are of better grade.”
The creativity of the handiwork, meanwhile, is even more stunning. Necklaces and earrings of gold and silver swirl, twist and dangle like Frank Gehry sculptures. Never mind if they are genuine or faux, the sparkle is making women from all income brackets swoon upon sight.
Zubaidah Oli Mohamed, in her 40s, heiress cum director of the chain of K.M. Oli Mohamed stores, says that the well-heeled favour jewellery inlaid with sapphires, rubies, emerald and diamonds for this year`s Hari Raya.
She agrees with Siti`s observation that their customers` design preference differed dramatically with age.
“Older women like their accessories to be huge; something that is loud and proud. On the other hand, the younger generation have simpler tastes. They want something they can wear after Raya is over because they don`t have as much to splurge,” says Zubaidah.
White gold, though, is all the rage at the moment because it is more modern (and less kitschy) than its yellow counterpart.
Branch manager of Poh Kong, Ricky Tham, 40, says gold has always been the top seller during Raya season because of its resale value.
“They can always sell it if they outgrow it. Flowers are in vogue this season,” he says.
But no matter how dazzling these creations are, sales have clearly slowed compared to last year. Some malls are virtually devoid of shoppers despite the long Friday lunch break, and the overall mood among retailers and window-shoppers is sombre.
Tham sighs: “I`ve seen women splash out on thousands of ringgit of jewellery for their four-year-olds without batting an eyelid, but not anymore.” Stories by LOUISA LIM
Source: http://thestar.com.my (September 27, 2008)
