A dress handmade by women affected by HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.
By Anasuya Sanyal
Channel News Asia
Posted: 21 November 2011
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia may be more synonymous with handicrafts than high fashion, but several organisations are melding the two with unique results.
The organisation Keokjay, which means "bright green" in Khmer, uses upcycled fabrics and easy techniques to transform offcuts into must haves, made by women affected by HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.
It's a way to include people who otherwise wouldn't be a part of Cambodia Fashion Week.
Jessica Marati, curator of the Ethical Fashion Showcase, said: "Doing a fashion week in Cambodia doesn't feel right without acknowledging the fact that there are organisations that are working with disadvantaged communities to create really beautiful items as well."
And it's not a fad, but a livelihood for marginalised women who could otherwise go into poverty.
Rachel Faller, creative director of KeoKjay, said: "Even though a lot of people can get free medication, they can't get jobs and it's very difficult for them to support their families. Additionally, if a woman has HIV, often she is blamed for it even if it's not her fault. And people will make assumptions and call them prostitutes."
While Cambodia is rich in handicrafts and traditional textiles, these items sometimes need a little help to get them to become covetable items.
Ms Marati said: "Either they're super traditional and not particularly attractive to Western audiences or they're completely Western and they've abandoned the tradition entirely. So the focus of this showcase is really to highlight items using traditional patterns and traditional graphic motifs that are very unique to Cambodia but putting a fresh spin on it."
Take the traditional checked scarf, the krama - instantly recognisable as Cambodian.
An organization called Good Krama works with street children to screen print modern motifs on them - a dose of instant cool.
Ms Faller said: "There are so many beautiful crafts here but a lot of times people don't know how to market them properly... I've realised that if we want to make a successful business and not just an another NGO it has to be really fashion forward."
Using modern Cambodia as inspiration is a win-win scenario.
Tourists will always be keen to pick up something unique but wearable back home.
Princess Norodom Soma, a radio talk show host, said: "(Tourists) don't see that Cambodia is a place to shop, but a place to see Angkor Wat. However, in a couple years you're going to see big shopping malls... it's going to take time - this is a rebuilding."
Sustainable, local, eco-friendly and chic - it's fashion fusion with heart.
- CNA/cc
By Anasuya Sanyal
Channel News Asia
Posted: 21 November 2011
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia may be more synonymous with handicrafts than high fashion, but several organisations are melding the two with unique results.
The organisation Keokjay, which means "bright green" in Khmer, uses upcycled fabrics and easy techniques to transform offcuts into must haves, made by women affected by HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.
It's a way to include people who otherwise wouldn't be a part of Cambodia Fashion Week.
Jessica Marati, curator of the Ethical Fashion Showcase, said: "Doing a fashion week in Cambodia doesn't feel right without acknowledging the fact that there are organisations that are working with disadvantaged communities to create really beautiful items as well."
And it's not a fad, but a livelihood for marginalised women who could otherwise go into poverty.
Rachel Faller, creative director of KeoKjay, said: "Even though a lot of people can get free medication, they can't get jobs and it's very difficult for them to support their families. Additionally, if a woman has HIV, often she is blamed for it even if it's not her fault. And people will make assumptions and call them prostitutes."
While Cambodia is rich in handicrafts and traditional textiles, these items sometimes need a little help to get them to become covetable items.
Ms Marati said: "Either they're super traditional and not particularly attractive to Western audiences or they're completely Western and they've abandoned the tradition entirely. So the focus of this showcase is really to highlight items using traditional patterns and traditional graphic motifs that are very unique to Cambodia but putting a fresh spin on it."
Take the traditional checked scarf, the krama - instantly recognisable as Cambodian.
An organization called Good Krama works with street children to screen print modern motifs on them - a dose of instant cool.
Ms Faller said: "There are so many beautiful crafts here but a lot of times people don't know how to market them properly... I've realised that if we want to make a successful business and not just an another NGO it has to be really fashion forward."
Using modern Cambodia as inspiration is a win-win scenario.
Tourists will always be keen to pick up something unique but wearable back home.
Princess Norodom Soma, a radio talk show host, said: "(Tourists) don't see that Cambodia is a place to shop, but a place to see Angkor Wat. However, in a couple years you're going to see big shopping malls... it's going to take time - this is a rebuilding."
Sustainable, local, eco-friendly and chic - it's fashion fusion with heart.
- CNA/cc
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