SINGAPORE: Local kebaya businesses are reporting stronger demand a year after the traditional dress was added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, with sales rising by as much as 35 per cent.
This boom has been fuelled by renewed attention on the Peranakan garment, as well as government-led promotional efforts through online markets and pop-up stores.
But even as interest grows, practitioners warn that the craft behind the kebaya faces mounting challenges – from dwindling fabric suppliers to a younger generation less inclined towards traditional wear.
At Little Nyonya Batik, located at The Adelphi mall near City Hall MRT Station, sales have grown by more than a third over the past year.
The UNESCO recognition has helped spotlight the kebaya, while initiatives by the National Heritage Board have led to the outfit being showcased in neighbourhoods, malls, museums and tourist attractions.
Local media, such as the Chinese historical drama Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story, has also played a role in drawing new customers.
The show – a spin-off of the 2008 hit The Little Nyonya – is set in the 1950s to 1970s, and centres around an extended Peranakan Chinese family in Singapore. It was ranked the top show on Netflix Singapore earlier this year.
Store owner Della Ong said one of their bestsellers involves designs similar to the ones in the show.
Little Nonya Batik shop owner Della Ong (in purple kebaya) helping customers.
“It makes the younger generation more inspired to wear a kebaya and sarong. Then we also noticed our customers need more kebaya for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, National Day, and even for company events,” she noted.
However, she added that challenges remain, with the number of kebaya artisans and material producers shrinking rapidly.
Suppliers of quality fabric for the kebaya overseas are dwindling, with more customers opting for modern fast fashion over the traditional dress.
She also noted fewer younger practitioners are willing to take over from an older generation.
“Not many factories (produce quality kebaya material) now, so we have to search all the small shops in Indonesia, like in Jakarta, Bandung - and only one shop is doing that,” she added.
“Roughly, in my hometown (of Java, Indonesia) itself, like last time, we had 10 factories doing the material, but now maybe only two.”
At Arab Street, 85-year-old heritage business Toko Aljunied – which has seen a 25 per cent increase in sales over the past year – is grappling with a different challenge: Finding a successor.
Ms Zahra Aljunied said the shop, which was opened by her grandfather, is now being run by the third generation, but no one in the family has expressed interest in taking over after them.
“There are some shops, family businesses along this Arab Street, for example, that closed down because the next generation wouldn't want to even take up the business,” she added.
The shop specialises in traditional kebayas with intricate embroidery, which poses a challenge in attracting young customers who may not want to don such colourful outfits, she noted.
Further down the street, Kebaya at Ratianah has been more successful in securing a next-generation successor.
The owner’s daughter, Ms Putri Nadirah, said she believes education and exposure from a young age is key in keeping the heritage dress alive for future generations.
“The kebaya itself is quite prominent in my culture, so the early exposure did help to encourage my love towards it,” she added.
“I grew up seeing my mother, my grandmother and all the beautiful ladies donning the kebaya, and that created such a special memory, as well as like intimacy in terms of remembering the strong ladies who wore it.”
Ms Putri noted, however, that the growing presence of fast fashion kebayas, which are often cheaper and produced with alternative materials, may erode the authenticity of the traditional silhouette.
“A different kind of fabric … might not be suitable for our weather, then, in the end, creates a certain idea that it might be uncomfortable to wear the kebaya itself,” she added.
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This boom has been fuelled by renewed attention on the Peranakan garment, as well as government-led promotional efforts through online markets and pop-up stores.
But even as interest grows, practitioners warn that the craft behind the kebaya faces mounting challenges – from dwindling fabric suppliers to a younger generation less inclined towards traditional wear.
HERITAGE PUSH
At Little Nyonya Batik, located at The Adelphi mall near City Hall MRT Station, sales have grown by more than a third over the past year.
The UNESCO recognition has helped spotlight the kebaya, while initiatives by the National Heritage Board have led to the outfit being showcased in neighbourhoods, malls, museums and tourist attractions.
Local media, such as the Chinese historical drama Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story, has also played a role in drawing new customers.
The show – a spin-off of the 2008 hit The Little Nyonya – is set in the 1950s to 1970s, and centres around an extended Peranakan Chinese family in Singapore. It was ranked the top show on Netflix Singapore earlier this year.
Store owner Della Ong said one of their bestsellers involves designs similar to the ones in the show.
Little Nonya Batik shop owner Della Ong (in purple kebaya) helping customers.
“It makes the younger generation more inspired to wear a kebaya and sarong. Then we also noticed our customers need more kebaya for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, National Day, and even for company events,” she noted.
However, she added that challenges remain, with the number of kebaya artisans and material producers shrinking rapidly.
Suppliers of quality fabric for the kebaya overseas are dwindling, with more customers opting for modern fast fashion over the traditional dress.
She also noted fewer younger practitioners are willing to take over from an older generation.
“Not many factories (produce quality kebaya material) now, so we have to search all the small shops in Indonesia, like in Jakarta, Bandung - and only one shop is doing that,” she added.
“Roughly, in my hometown (of Java, Indonesia) itself, like last time, we had 10 factories doing the material, but now maybe only two.”
SUCCESSION ISSUES
At Arab Street, 85-year-old heritage business Toko Aljunied – which has seen a 25 per cent increase in sales over the past year – is grappling with a different challenge: Finding a successor.
Ms Zahra Aljunied said the shop, which was opened by her grandfather, is now being run by the third generation, but no one in the family has expressed interest in taking over after them.
“There are some shops, family businesses along this Arab Street, for example, that closed down because the next generation wouldn't want to even take up the business,” she added.
The shop specialises in traditional kebayas with intricate embroidery, which poses a challenge in attracting young customers who may not want to don such colourful outfits, she noted.
Further down the street, Kebaya at Ratianah has been more successful in securing a next-generation successor.
The owner’s daughter, Ms Putri Nadirah, said she believes education and exposure from a young age is key in keeping the heritage dress alive for future generations.
“The kebaya itself is quite prominent in my culture, so the early exposure did help to encourage my love towards it,” she added.
“I grew up seeing my mother, my grandmother and all the beautiful ladies donning the kebaya, and that created such a special memory, as well as like intimacy in terms of remembering the strong ladies who wore it.”
Ms Putri noted, however, that the growing presence of fast fashion kebayas, which are often cheaper and produced with alternative materials, may erode the authenticity of the traditional silhouette.
“A different kind of fabric … might not be suitable for our weather, then, in the end, creates a certain idea that it might be uncomfortable to wear the kebaya itself,” she added.
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