Top contestants gather to exhibit their entries, carefully translated into full-size garments.
Photo by: Pha Lina
Vat Chanthy, a 25-year-old employee at the Taipore garment factory in Phnom Penh, models her shortlisted entry in the annual I Am Precious fashion competition, in which garment workers try their hands at designing their own clothes.
Vat Chanthy, a 25-year-old employee at the Taipore garment factory in Phnom Penh, models her shortlisted entry in the annual I Am Precious fashion competition, in which garment workers try their hands at designing their own clothes.
I MIGHT ... THINK OF RUNNING MY OWN BUSINESS.
A GROUP of Cambodian garment factory workers had a rare occasion to smile on Sunday after a year that has brought steady decline in the sector.
Far away from the monotony of the factory floor, the girls looked like seasoned performers as they modelled the creative visions of their co-workers.
After a difficult year for the Cambodian garment industry, in which an estimated 38,000 people lost their jobs, the I Am Precious dress and T-shirt design competition brought a ray of hope.
The contest, now in its second year, is open to garment workers across the country. This year, more than 1,000 people submitted designs, which were whittled down to a short list of 20, which were each then lovingly translated into an outfit. The winners were announced late last year.
Minna Maaskola of the International Labour Organisation, who coordinated the campaign along with several trade unions, said the competition had generated an enormous boost to the self-esteem of garment workers across the board. “In this campaign, the contestants have been very happy and glad,” she said. “They didn’t really know how big it was, and I think it has only been positive, and the girls have said that they are now famous in the factory.”
Organisers of the competition say they are aware of the need to create sustainable opportunities for workers and have added a pattern-making course to provide genuine opportunities. “That’s what we wanted to do this year, to improve it a little bit so there’s a continuation, there’s a training course, there’s something extra. It’s not just winning a bicycle,” Minna Maaskola said.
Photo by: Pha Lina
Finalists in the I Am Precious campaign, in which garment factory workers get to try their hands at being clothes deigners, model their creations on Sunday.
Finalists in the I Am Precious campaign, in which garment factory workers get to try their hands at being clothes deigners, model their creations on Sunday.
The dress that most dazzled this year’s judges – and the focus of Saturday’s photoshoot – was designed by Khean Vantha, 30, from Kampong Cham province. The stunning floor-length iridescent blue gown resembles a couture nod to the American flag. She said the contest had given her the confidence to consider pursuing a career in fashion design. “After winning the competition, I am being trained in clothes design by the ILO,” she said Sunday. “After the training ends, I might stop working at the factory and think of running my own business at my home in Kampong Cham.”
Sem Sinnun, 23, modelled Khean Vantha’s winning design during Sunday’s photoshoot – part of a forthcoming magazine feature. “Although nowadays I am a simple factory worker, in the future I want to be a clothes designer,” she said. “Even though I normally work every day, I am concerned about my job as a garment worker at Shen Zhou factory because of the global economic crisis and because some factories were closed already in 2009.”
2 comments:
beautyfull khmer ladies these days that make sihaknouk regrets his pass and dream to reborn for more young girls. try this ta chass: extreme make over.
They are so beautiful, the girls and the designs. I hope these designs can attract the attention of foreign importers so that these Khmer designers can earn good bucks and be recognized for their talent and hard work.
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