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Returning to kebaya as Indonesia's fashion icon
Kebaya lovers therefore founded the community to preserve the icon and to restore women’s interest in its daily wear.
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Staying cool: Models present modern kebaya styles by designers from the Indonesian Fashion Designers and Fashion Entrepreneurs Association (APPMI). (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
K
ebaya traditional long-sleeved blouses have long been a national dress icon. “Speaking of the kebaya, people promptly relate it to Javanese and Sundanese areas,” Indonesian writer and archeologist Edi Sedyawati told a kebaya seminar recently.
Despite its close association with Javanese and Sundanese traditional attire, the kebaya is widely worn on a daily basis in several Indonesian regions such as West Sumatra, Bali and Ambon.
“A long and loose kebaya with a head scarf is the common dress of Muslim women in West Sumatra and also the Malay people,” said Lila Imelda Sari, the owner of kebaya store Lemari Lila. In Bali, the kebaya with its typical cut and waist-cloth is also commonly found in Hindu rituals and ceremonies.
The kebaya has fallen out of favor among many women. A lot of women prefer to wear modern clothes for their daily activities, leaving the kebaya for formal or special events. Many of them claim that wearing a kebaya is impractical and incompatible with the spirit of youth.
To raise its popularity, the Kebaya Women’s Community has held several programs to encourage more women to dress in the kebaya. One of the events was the declaration of 1,000 kebaya-wearing women organized in Jakarta some time ago, with a discussion on the kebaya presented by Edi and designer Musa Widyatmoko.
Read also: Cultural movement seeks Indonesian women to wear, preserve kebaya
Both Edi and Musa reminded the audience that the kebaya was once Indonesian women’s daily dress in various regions.
“With loose cuts and using comfortable fabrics, the kebaya is suitable for work and neat enough to receive guests,” they said.
The wardrobe collections of Indonesian mothers or grandmothers always included the kebaya for daily needs, mostly made from comfortable material with simple motifs or even plain designs. This is something that is missing nowadays, leaving young people with no example to imitate, who end up seeing the kebaya, despite its modern touch, as only for formal occasions.
Kebaya lovers therefore founded the community to preserve the icon and to restore women’s interest in its daily wear.
“The kebaya isn’t just limited to the annual celebration of the heroine Kartini’s day and occasional wedding parties,” said Kristin Samah, a community member. She referred to Indian women, who wear traditional saris every day, as an example. The key is the choice of fabrics and models because a kebaya meant for daily use should certainly be comfortable and practical for various casual activities.
Many non-members are preserving the kebaya for daily wear. Lila of Lemari Lila in Yogyakarta said her store was famous for its classical kebaya collection for daily use. She said that originally she had wished to promote Indonesian traditional fabrics in their modern manifestations.
Read also: Peranakan culture: Major influence on batik, fashion
“At first we offered a variety of products in traditional fabrics like gowns and culottes,” added Lila.
However, it was the kebaya that later became the most sought-after product, especially the Mbok Jum kebaya, a name inspired by the daily kebaya mostly worn by Javanese women in the past.
Made from cotton with a flower motif, it has a kutubaru (vertical chest band) pattern and stagen (waist sash). Lila described this design as user-friendly for young women without losing its classical touch. She has also modified the kebaya of Sumatra.
As a collector and lover of classical kebaya herself, she has often hunted for old kebaya in Yogya’s Beringharjo Market and found such classical pieces of bygone times.
“I cherish the memories of my mother and grandmother in their daily kebaya,” recalled Lila. She makes modifications by choosing fabrics that are not too transparent but produce less heat.
“Women used to wear inner cloths so that a thin kebaya was all right,” said Lila, who makes loose cuts for easy movement.
Besides exploring kutubaru kebaya for her Mbok Jum products, Lila also creates Kartini and long kebaya models, with modifications to enable buyers to match them with other garments in their daily wear. Lemari Lila also has an Instagram account for promotion and idea-sharing with her customers. Some of them combine Mbok Jum with jeans, even shorts and sneakers. Others make long kebaya their outerwear.
In Lila’s view, buyers’ ages affect their matching courage. Teenagers, senior high school or college students tend to wear kebaya for formal occasions like weddings and exhibitions. Customers aged 25 and above are bolder in combining the kebaya with other clothing for work or hanging out.
“When the models suits them and they get some inspiration for a mix-and-match I can see that Indonesian women are not reluctant to include the kebaya in their daily wardrobes,” she said.
