About

The workshop is adapted from a programme previously presented at the National Museum of Singapore as part of the Singapore Heritage Festival 2025.

Led by Oniatta Effendi, the session begins with a guided talk that traces the kebaya’s evolution across Southeast Asia, situating it within histories of trade, craftsmanship, and women’s lived experiences. Visual reference and material samples are used to highlight how traditional techniques and aesthetic principles inform design decisions.

Participants then engage in a hands-on styling exercise using model size kebaya silhouettes with batik cloth. Through guided prompts, they explore proportion, layering, symbolism, and refinement – principals drawn from the Malay worldview that function as design logic rather than ornament. This tactile engagement allows participants to experience how craft knowledge actively shapes form and meaning.

The workshop concludes with reflection and discussion, connecting embodied experience to broader conversations on craft, design, and cultural continuity.