Sarawak Fashion Hi-Tea 2012 (17 November 2012)

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening" - Coco Chanel 

We got the chance to see the many talented Sarawakian designers display their creativity using Sarawak elements to their designs at the Sarawak Fashion Hi-Tea held on 17 November 2012 at the Concorde Hotel, Shah Alam.

Be it from the material (pua kumbu) to just having motifs of Sarawak I must say Sarawakian designers both senior and the newer ones really impressed me..

I loved looking at Von Jolly Couture's designs as he used Pua Kumbu as the main body of his creations.. Other designers were:

1) MO Studio

2) Erwan Asbor Collection

3) Q.Adamsha; and

4) Propaganda Boutique

Meanwhile, I also designed my own pua kumbu vest which is actually Baju burung (vest) worn by men. I tailored it to make it into a vest cinched on the waist to feature the "peplum" effect. 

Veeky's Design...

My favourite model....my husband :)

With my niece Ms. Kymberly and Ms. Medeline Prada

With Committee Member Mr. Gilbert

Committee members Ms. Magdalene & Ms. Casey

One of the designers Von Jolly

With Panggau Singgai CEO Ms. Alvina

Dresses using pua kumbu by Von Jolly Couture



By MO Studio

With Ms Malaysia World 2011 Ms Chloe and Ms. Pamela Tam 1st runner up

There you go, first stint of Sarawak Fashion...I really hope that this to be an annual event, I'm sure there are many talented Sarawakians out there who are eager to show their designs. It is a great opportunity to show the world that Sarawakian designs do have potential.

Let's make Sarawak Fashion a trend, our culture, a way of life....


<!-- nuffnang -->
<script type="text/javascript">
        nuffnang_bid = "0fc4f37f868aed3ab3efa761915cc306";
        document.write( "<div id='nuffnang_lr'></div>" );
        (function() {
                var nn = document.createElement('script'); nn.type = 'text/javascript';   
                nn.src = 'http://synad2.nuffnang.com.my/lr.js';   
                var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(nn, s.nextSibling);
        })();
</script>
<!-- nuffnang-->
                       

Old Iban Ngepan Making Their Comeback

Thanks to Borneo Hornbill Festival the younger generation of Iban knows the existence of almost extinct ngepan Iban (Iban costume).

Now even the older generation begins to value of culture by sharing such information to the younger generation. In this post I would like to highlight the “comeback” of the old Iban ngepan. I guess old is the “in” thing at the moment as what people say that “Old is Gold”….

1)      Ngepan Rawai tinggi

     -   I realized the existence of this ngepan through my reading of books written by English writer, namely Rev. Edwin H. Gomes. This book enlightened me on the ngepan Iban worn by the women of Saribas tribe.

    -   The ngepan would consist of the rawai tinggi (high corset), kain kebat as the skirt (ikat technique pua kumbu which is made into a skirt) and other accessories like tumpa (bangles), lampit pirak (silver belts), sugu tinggi (the headgear made of silver) gerunchong kaki (anklets) etc. 

2)      Ngepan Marik / Ngepan Dujung Marik)

    -   The uniqueness of this ngepan is that from the material that makes the costume i.e. colourful glass beads for the “baju ujan” and also the head gear which is called dujung marik. In the olden days, ngepan Marik or some people would call ngepan dujung marik are meant for brides. The skirt is called kain buri/kain burik i.e. velvet sewn with cowrie shells into intricate and beautiful designs.   This ngepan was significant in Kapit area.

3)     Ngepan Lampit Tusu

     -   This ngepan is worn in the Batang Ai, Engkelili, Lubuk Antu area. It is called ngepan lampit tusu as the two silver belts or lampit pirak is worn cris-crossing the breasts. This ngepan is famous as it shows the beauty of silver accessories on an Iban women those days.

4)      Ngepan Ringgit

      -  Ngepan ringgit is worn in the Skrang area. The word “ringgit” means coins hence this ngepan is full of coins linked to each other to form a dress or part of a dress.

There you go the old ngepan making their comeback and I bet they will be here to stay if the younger generation relives the tradition and embrace them like water and air.

The Culture Loving Friends of Borneo Hornbill Festival.....

The Culture Loving Friends of Borneo Hornbill Festival.....

Wow, it has been quite a while since I written something...been pretty busy..

I have many friends..but there are a few friends whom I got to know through my participation in the Borneo Hornbill Festival 2011..particularly Paren Nyawi, Ricky Kimwah, Robson Jelian, Delinda Griet and Stevie Sebol.

Each of them are culture loving in their own way, Paren for instance (top left picture) though he did not won the Keling title for BHF 2011, he used it as a stepping stone to promote Sarawak through many ways be it from him blogging activities, tv promotions, modelling and also roadshows throughout KL and Sarawak.

Next, Ricky Kimwah, or "cikgu Ricky" a Lunbawang chap who is never tired of finding his roots through his travelling in the rural Sarawak. Then as for Robson Jelian and Delinda Griet, bot of them are very talented in dancing particularly in Iban and Bidayuh traditional dance. Finally, my friend Stevie Sebol, a photographer, who potrays his Sabah culture in his photography.

There you go, a short stint on few of my friends who love their culture and I hope younger generation will always appreciate their roots as history makes who they are. You are the ones who will make your culture either "sync" or "swim" in this technology drived world.

Until we meet again...