For fashion designer Lee Khoon Hooi, some of his proudest moments, aside from seeing his clothes being worn by actresses during premieres and fashion awards, are looking at graduation photos of his clients' daughters in his kebaya, under their graduation robes.
"You see," he tells me over coffee one morning, "young people are finding new appreciation for traditional clothes. And on the day that culminates their study and hard work, they choose to wear a kebaya, not a designer dress.
"There's immense pride there, and that's a good thing."
Born and bred in Parit Buntar, Perak, Khoon Hooi is known for his occasion wear. Back in 1999, he started with a corner in Lot 10 — it was the coolest spot in town then — when he ventured into fashion design.
"I would sell three pieces one week, and another three the next," he says, recalling his early days.
More than 20 years later, he is one of the country's most consistent designers, in terms of collections and designs.
For many years, Khoon Hooi has rolled out a line of cheongsam for Chinese New Year and kebaya (plus the occasional baju kurung) for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
"As I went on designing dresses, I saw that there was a huge gap in designer traditional wear. I wanted to show to customers just how versatile and beautiful traditional wear can be, so I started my festive collections for this purpose."
FASHIONABLE BRIDGE
He bridges the traditional with the modern so customers don't see these clothes as outdated.
"A cheongsam, for example, is fitted and quite frankly, hard to wear daily," he says. "So I tweak the cutting and silhouette, and add exaggerated sleeves or pleated cape. It looks modern. But at the core of it, it's still a cheongsam," he says.
He says Malays are more appreciative of their traditional wear, partly because baju kurung and kebaya are more wearable daily. "The fabric, cut and ease of movement help Malay women adopt the baju kurung in their daily wear with ease."
Kebaya is something that's close to his heart. His late grandmother stitched her own kebaya by hand and as a child, Khoon Hooi looked at her skills with amazement.
"I am very fond of the kebaya because of both its beauty and the sentimental value it has in my life story," he says.
NEW APPRECIATION
He says as the modern, social media-driven world puts Western clothing on a pedestal, there is a need to educate the younger generation on the variety of traditional clothing that Malaysia, with its heterogeneous racial composition, has.
"With baju kurung, there are more variations. Our fashion heritage is very, very rich and there are endless possibilities of exploring them," he says.
"I think fashion designers can play their part in educating the public, by designing something attractive and beautiful that can change customer perception of what they view as traditional wear."
For him, the bi-annual traditional wear collection that he rolls out serves as both an experiment and an educational platform.
"If I modernise the cut of the cheongsam, I retain the traditional brocade fabric. If I change the fabric to be softer, for instance, then the motif has to be traditional.
"Whichever way I do it, tradition has to be the unifying thread of the pieces."
Every year, his company does a buka puasa do with young influencers and someone older who is well-known to share knowledge about the history and possibilities of the kebaya.
"Last Ramadan, we had singer Fauziah Latiff with us. It was like bridging the old and the new."
FOCUS ON EDUCATION
To appreciate our fashion heritage, Khoon Hooi says education is important. "There should be some emphasis on arts and history.
"In fashion courses, students should learn the art of cheongsam making, saree draping and cutting baju kurung and kebaya. It is only through such an exposure that the younger generation can be familiar with our heritage."
But things are definitely not looking bleak, he says. He has opened pre-orders for Chinese New Year 2023, which will be celebrated in January and they are coming in fast.
"Thirty years ago, only mothers wore cheongsam. Their grown-up daughters were not receptive. But these days, even young people are looking forward to their Chinese New Year cheongsam and that's something to be happy about.
"I hope eventually, more people will come to appreciate more of our traditional wear, not just as what they saw their mothers or grandmothers wore, but for the fashion possibilities and styles it offers," he says.
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