Fabric and Fabric

Design
Southeast Asia
 Brief history
• Southeast Asia is recognized for its legendary aesthetic in traditional woven
textiles.
• Clothing forms worn in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia are quite
similar and were influenced by India and China through trade and religious
teachings.
 Indonesia
• Batik is what Indonesia is famed for. It is a generic wax-resist dyeing
technique used on textile. It comes from two Javanese words:
a. Amba – to write
b. Titik – dot or point
• In an Indonesian tradition, when the batik artisan executes intricate pattern,
the design is not only fixed to the cloth but the meaning of the design is
engraved more deeply in the soul of the artisan.
• Particular designs have been traditionally associated with traditional festivals,
religious ceremonies and a person’s rank could also be determined by the
pattern of the batik he or she wears.
• Categories of Batik designs
 Geometric motifs (earlier designs)
 Free form designs (based on stylized patterns, famous of this is the Nitik)
• Kawung - a very old design consisting of intersecting circles known in Java
since the thirteenth century.
• Ceplok is a genral name for a series of geometric designs based on squares,
rhombs, circles, stars, etc.
• Parang suggests ‘rugged rock’, ‘knife pattern’ or ‘broken blade’. This design
consists of slanting rows of thick knife-like segments running in parallel
diagonal bands.
 Malaysia
• Malaysian batik is perhaps the most well known in the world.
• Luxurious textiles known as songket:
• can be found on the east coast of Malaysia (Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.
• most popular motifs are leaves and flowers.
• Malaysian batik is also famous for geometrical designs, such as spirals.
• Batik depicting humans or animals are forbidden in Islam, with a butterfly
theme as an exception.
• Songket
• Butterfly batik
 Cambodia
• Intricate Cambodian ikats are world-renowned.
• It comes from the Malay word ‘mengikat’, meaning to tie or to bind. It is a
method of creating patterns by dying hanks of thread tied with fiber resists.
• It is used interchangeably to the technique and the textile.
• Ikats vary widely and are often symbols of social status, power and prestige.
• Ikat
• Sampot Hol, is a typical traditional textile and is of two kinds, namely:
 wrapping skirt that uses a technique called chong kiet
 twill weave
• Sampot, also known as sarong, which is deeply rooted in Cambodia, is their
national garment.
• Three important silk textiles in Cambodia
 ikat silks (chong kiet in Khmer) or the hol (dyeing patterns on silk before weaving,
learned by women in ancient times)
 twill-patterned silks
 weft ikat textiles (patterns are made by tying natural and synthetic fibers on the weft
threads and then dyeing)
• Ikat silks
• Twill-patterned silks
• Weft ikat textiles
• Sampot Phamuong are many different variations of traditional Khmer
textiles. They are single colored and twill-woven. There are 52 colors used
and the most valued silk is the Cambodian yellow, known for its fine quality.
• Cotton textiles have also played significant role in Cambodian culture.
Krama, the traditional cotton check scarves are worn almost universally by
Cambodians.
• THE END