Innholdsfortegnelse for 4/2022 i ASIAN Geographic

In spite of the commonplace nature of textiles, each different material boasts its own unique origins and histories in Asia, both of which date back centuries. Many of the countless forms of apparel these textiles are used to produce are beautiful reflections of Asia’s wondrous heritage and diverse cultures. COTTON HISTORY: Arguably the most ubiquitous and popular textile in the world, cotton was likely being used as a fabric in the 6th millennium BCE, as evidenced by several threads recovered from a copper bead found at a Neolithic burial site in Mehrgarh, southwestern Pakistan. Cotton was subsequently cultivated and woven into cloth during the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilisation, a discovery that was made when Daya Ram Sahni (1879–1939) of the Archaeological Survey of India found fragments of cotton “adher[ed]…

Colour has always played a significant role in cultures across Asia and the world. It has been fundamental in our clothing, our furnishing and has symbolised our identities and showcased traditions. Naturally sourced dyes have been discovered by different cultures for centuries and derived from diverse sources, from plants and animals to spices and minerals. In Asia, turmeric (Curcuma longa) was a popular yellow dye used in Southeast Asia, Indochina and Southern China particularly in the 17th and 19th centuries. The dye takes easily to most textiles as a tint. In Qing dynasty China (1616–1912), more than 10 kinds of naturally sourced dyes were used to dye textiles. Those frequently used were safflower, sappanwood, pagoda tree, amur cork tree, turmeric, indigo, gallnut and the oak tree fruit. In India, and…

Non-governmental organisation HABI, The Philippine Textile Council, has made it its mission to “preserve, promote and enhance Philippine textiles through education, communication, and research”, and is committed to “sustaining weaving communities all over the country”. The organisation encourages visitors to follow its “HABI Trail” and discover for themselves the amazing variety of weaving and dyeing techniques practised by different communities across the archipelago. The weaving culture of the Philippines can be traced back to the 13th century. Like its Southeast Asian neighbours, the country prides itself on its textile traditions and each thread in a handwoven piece has deep spiritual and cultural roots. Most Filipino textiles are defined by the raw materials sourced from the area in which they are made. As such, fabric makers are not just experts in…

From appearing as a symbol of purity and enlightenment in Buddhism to having its roots added to delicious soups in Chinese cuisine, the lotus is evidently an incredibly versatile plant. While its myriad uses have been well documented across history, one lesser-known application involves using it to make an exquisite fabric – lotus silk. The best-known and most commonly used silk is derived from silkworms, which spin their cocoons with silk threads that are subsequently harvested to create various products. But while the process of harvesting silk from silkworms is often expedited via mechanical means, each strand of lotus silk must be extracted by hand, as machines that can execute the delicate task are not commonplace. As such, owing to the intricate, labour-intensive process through which it is manufactured, lotus…

Weavers, weaving at break of day,Why do you weave a garment so gay?Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild,We weave the robes of a new-born child. Weavers, weaving at fall of night,Why do you weave a garment so bright?Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green,We weave the marriage-veils of a queen. Weavers, weaving solemn and still,What do you weave in the moonlight chill?White as a feather and white as a cloud,We weave a dead man’s funeral shroud. SAROJINI NAIDU (1879–1949) was an Indian political activist, poet, and orator who was known for promoting Indian independence and women’s rights. Known as the “Nightingale of India”, Naidu was the second female president of the Indian National Congress, and the first female governor in India following the country’s independence. National…

COTTON East SARI Taking the form of a long, unstitched length of fabric, the sari is commonly worn draped over the shoulder and tucked at the waist. It is traditionally worn by women in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal GHO The traditional dress for men in Bhutan, the gho consists of a knee-length robe tied at the waist with a kera (a cloth belt). During special or important occasions, the gho is worn with a silk scarf known as a kabney. The wearer’s social status determines the colour of their kabney. For example, laypeople wear white scarves, while the Druk Gyalpo (king) and Je Khenpo (chief abbot) don saffron scarves KEBAYA The kebaya consists of a blouse and sarong (a long tube of fabric wrapped around the waist),…

SONGKET A handwoven fabric distinguished by its shimmering gold and silver threads, songket hails from several Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. The textile is said to have originated in the Srivijaya Empire, which existed around the 7th to 13th century CE. Songket has always been considered a luxury garment due to its labour-intensive manufacturing process, and as such, was traditionally only worn by royal families. Today, it is now worn during special occasions such as traditional ceremonies, religious festivals and weddings, where it is a customary fabric for the outfits of Balinese brides and grooms. In 2021, songket was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. PIÑA This traditional Filipino fabric stems from a rather unexpected source – the fibres of the…

ILOCOS NORTE, LUZON (ILOCANO PEOPLE) Ilocano weavers practise certain specialised weaving techniques. From binakul weaving to pinilian weaving, Tagudin, Santiago, and Paoay weavers are highly adept at their craft. BONTOC, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE (BONTOC PEOPLE) In Bontoc, pallasan belts with long frills and delicate floral designs often on a white background are done using the suksok or inlaid weft technique. These traditional woven garments, including the ceremonial loincloth for men, are worn for local festivals, such as the Lang-ay held in April. AKLAN, WESTERN VISAYAS (AKLANON PEOPLE) In Aklan, fibres from the stem of the abaca and the leaves of the piña, or the native red pineapple of the Bisaya variety, are commonly used. ILOILO, WESTERN VISAYAS (HILIGAYNON PEOPLE) Textile weaving here is a tradition using a pedal-frame loom. Hiligaynon weavers…

Asia has contributed a myriad of iconic individuals to the fashion scene who have made their names known around the world through their influential styles and idiosyncratic creations. Here are some of Asia’s most prominent and accomplished masterminds of design. Jason Wu Clinching the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award only two years after launching his debut fashion collection in 2006, Taiwan-born Jason Wu has continued to make a name for himself in the fashion industry via his elegant creations that radiate a sense of modern femininity. His designs have been worn by some of the most prominent women in the world, including Reese Witherspoon, Liu Wen, and former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. Vera Wang Born to Chinese parents, US-born Vera Wang became the youngest editor…

ITALY By the middle of the first millennium CE, Italian silk production began to achieve previously unthinkable heights. The Venetians and Florentines traded extensively in the fabric, through it was the silk produced in Como and Meldola that were best loved. The best Italian silks are known for their satiny look and feel, as well as for their elegance. INDIA The silk arts are thought to have passed into India by way of Kashmir, from the ancient Buddhist Saka kingdom of Khotan. Several Indian towns and cities were early silk centres, but Varanasi (or Benares, as it was once called) eventually emerged as the most important. Varanasi silk is hand loomed by skilled weavers, and the gold and silver brocade silk they produced is well-known throughout India and the world…

BATIK One of the most popular and well-known Asian dyeing methods, batik is a resist dyeing technique that involves different methods (such as wax or mechanical means) to prevent dye from reaching all areas of a textile, which creates various images and designs. Batik hails from Indonesia, and is practised in various Southeast and South Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. Stunning batik designs are made from hot wax and meticulously drawn by hand with a canting, a pen-like tool used to apply the wax to the fabric. There are numerous variations of batik patterns, with one such pattern being truntum. Legend has it that this batik pattern was created by an Indonesian queen who was deeply saddened by her husband’s infidelity. To cope with her…

Baft-hawa, or woven air. Skin of the Moon. A cloth so fluid that a 100-metre-long length of it could be pulled through the centre of a ring. These are just some of the names and characteristics attributed to Dhaka muslin, an ancient premium fabric known for its incredibly light and fine nature. Flowy, elegant, and strikingly translucent, this fabric was highly coveted centuries ago. But why did it suddenly become almost extinct? Weaving a Legend Dhaka muslin was created with phuti karpas, a variant of cotton that grew along the banks of the Meghna River, one of the three major rivers in Bangladesh that form the Ganges Delta. Although the strands of this variant of cotton were short and prone to fraying – a far cry from the typical cotton…

Put simply, fast fashion is a process of design, manufacture and marketing with the sole intention to produce clothing at a rapid pace and at mass volumes to keep up with trends and market demand. Driven by mass media, especially social media, consumer need to keep up with the latest fashion trends has created an industry synonymous with overconsumption. The implications are grave – for our planet, for workers, and for our wallets. Fast Fashion: A Timeline The first fast-fashion business model was pioneered in the 1990s by the founder of the parent company of Zara, Inditex. Zara had diverged from the traditional seasonal cycle of production to weeklong “micro-seasons” throughout the year. Retailers also realised that if they took their manufacturing process overseas to countries with considerably more relaxed…