SOUTH-EAST ASIA’S SILK INDUSTRY IS ENJOYING A RENAISSANCE. ANTHONY MECIR MEETS SOME OF THE PEOPLE SPINNING ITS SUCCESS

ONE-TIME MASTER PAINTER of kimonos, Kikuo Morimoto has a self-assigned mission: to bring back the shattered glory that was once Cambodian silk – and take it spinning into the 21st century.

You could call him a man obsessed. He has built an entire village, at his own expense, about 30km from Siem Reap. It is home to 30 families who live in this sheltered atmosphere of bygone rural times, that he hopes will prove conducive to creativity.

As their livelihood, the women produce silk from the silkworm stage to raw silk which they then weave it into beautiful fabrics – wall hangings, clothes, home accessories – designed by Morimoto and the women themselves.

But Morimoto is only one among a score of expatriates and locals in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, who are working hard to ensure that the silk-weaving past is not lost and the present doesn’t stagnate into a mere slavish copy. The passionate pursuits of Morimoto and his peers have spawned a veritable renaissance of South-East Asian silk.

SMOOTH BEGINNINGS

Silk, of course, has proved a best-seller for centuries. Legend has it that Chinese Princess Xiling was the first person to discover the precious yarn: unwinding silk fibres from a cocoon which had accidentally dropped into her cup of tea 4,448 years ago.

True or not, silk fabrics were certainly emerging from China by the 3rd century BC, heading west toward Europe on the Silk Road across Asia.

South-East Asia featured prominently in the silk trade, and the material quickly became entwined in the region’s culture and fabric of life. Worn or displayed, silk was used over the centuries – and to an extent, still is – in elaborate religious and royal ceremonies, simple village courtship and marriage, and even in death, with images of lanterns and mythical creatures woven into elaborate silk funeral wear to guide the deceased into the after-world.

Today, Laos is arguably South-East Asia’s silk centrepiece, with the largest number of weavers, solid official support, international recognition and traditions very much still intact, along with openness to fresh ideas. Lao women – who still dress in the styles of their grandmothers – can pick up affordable silk at a local market; a cutting-edge New York interior decorator pays US$10,000 for a made-to-order silk hanging.

UPDATING LAO MOTIFS

Carol Cassidy is a celebrated American textile designer living in Laos, following a move to the country’s capital of Vientiane in 1989 to work as a weaving advisor on a UN weaving project. Shortly thereafter, she decided to establish her own textile business to preserve and continue the tradition of hand-weaving of silk in Laos. She creates contemporary fabrics that grace museum walls, and the bodies of the chic and famous around the world.

Cassidy deserves a good deal of the credit for the country’s resurgence in silk. Working out of a French colonial house in Vientiane, her company, Lao Textiles, has significantly developed over the past 18 years from producing imitations of the past such as wall hangings, shawls and Lao skirts (phaa sin) in traditional styles; to creating stunning, bold variations on traditional Laotian themes.

“Now, it’s much more interpretive,” Cassidy explains. “Our master weaver will take a Lao motif and play with it to create something new and different. It’s great to see the innovation, the energy, and the fun they are having with new designs.”

She cites an example. Years ago, Lao Textiles copied an exquisite ceremonial head-cloth from the early 20th century, which included a standard traditional motif of intertwining nagas – the revered temple-guarding deities who assume the form of snakes.

Cassidy explains that recently, one of the weavers altered the rectangular pattern of the snakes into “something totem-like, more abstract and modern – a very different sensibility and a whole new graphic, but one that still pays tribute to the naga”.

A one-time development expert in Africa, Cassidy bridles when she’s described as “the Jim Thompson of Laos”.

In contrast to Thailand, where this legendary American helped to resurrect the moribund silk industry after World War II, the rich, complex and diverse silk weaving of Laos never died. Her contribution, says Cassidy, is to have marshalled its superb indigenous techniques and skills, drawn on a “vast menu of design” and spun these lovely textiles into original works of the highest international standard.

AGAINST THE ODDS

The art of silk weaving did almost suffer extinction in Cambodia when war, the Khmer Rouge and then more war stalked the land for 20 years from the 1970s. The looms were silent, or destroyed, and mothers no longer passed on skills to daughters for a generation. It’s hard to set an exact date when Cambodia’s revival of weaving began because it grew organically, but it’s agreed that around 1990, the art began to be practised again and the past decade has witnessed a revival of the ancient tradition.

“We have almost all young people weaving now,” says Lim Muy Theam, art-design director of Artisans d’Angkor, a highly successful Siem Reap-based craft s enterprise employing more than 350 weavers.

“Young people are open – they want to try, to test and create by themselves,” he says. “They reproduce what they used to see and appreciate it, but to each item they bring their own sensitivity, so in the end, they can say, ‘this is mine’.”

Echoing others in the region, Lim Muy Theam, who studied art in France, says the goals are to preserve the tradition of Cambodian weaving, foster appreciation for the dense, rich texture of its silk and reach an international market with new designs, without sacrificing cultural uniqueness. He believes Cambodians have already achieved the production quality that existed pre-war.

However, back to the passionate Morimoto, who doesn’t quite agree. The founder of the Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT) says he has attained only 70 to 80% of his Utopian vision: equalling Cambodia’s great silks by recreating the natural and social environment from which they once sprang.

The idyllic village he set up five years ago houses 150 inhabitants, all of them his paid employees. The 59-year-old perfectionist, who learnt art in his native Kyoto, has undertaken reforestation and planted species yielding natural dyes which he says can never be replicated by chemistry. The natural dye for the silk comes from the nests of Lac insects. He plants guava trees to attract the insects out of their nests so he can extract the dye.

“We are not a factory here,” he says, as we watch weavers at work in airy, clean spaces under their traditional, stilt-elevated houses.

There are novices in their mid-teens alongside those who protected the once endangered art in their 70s – three generations weaving together under one roof, with a fourth – babies happily swinging in loom-side hammocks – on its way.

Morimoto insists that his quest is not just to recapture the past, which in any case was never static, but to evolve a new Cambodian weaving tradition based on a sense of beauty and the human spirit. “Our products are made by humans, not by machines. There is a great difference,” he says of his fabrics that can take up to a year from concept to completion. “Natural materials and technique are important, but the most important thing is heart.”

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Thailand has concurrently been able to maintain the same kind of family-based cottage industry of Laos and Cambodia, thanks to flag-bearers like Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, whose SUPPORT (Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques) Foundation has done much to revive weaving at the village level and thereby put more income into the hands of impoverished rural women.

In particular, Her Majesty is responsible for resurrecting Mudmee silk – an almost-forgotten weaving craft , indigenous to Thailand’s north-east (see Weaving A Royal Yarn, opposite). Mudmee, which literally translates to “tied threads”, is an intricate tie-and-dye process which produces brilliant colours and unique pieces, totally individual to the weaver. Th rough the decades, Her Majesty has been very careful to wear Mudmee at official functions in Thailand and abroad to help raise its profile. Furthermore, Thais have also developed very sophisticated marketing skills to further promote their products on both the local and international markets.

Although not yet in the same league as its three neighbours, in recent years, Vietnam has likewise been adept at showcasing its finest weaving, which comes not from the majority Vietnamese but the many ethnic minorities. And it’s spawned several talented designers – Vietnamese and foreign – who use local silk to create exciting fashions and accessories.

Good examples include the trendy Khai Silk and Song, where French designer Valerie Gregori McKenzie creates stylish clothing from natural fabrics including silk, which are distributed both in Asia and the West.

The question is however, will this silken renaissance endure, or will it shrivel with accelerating modernisation? The number of village weavers will probably decline. The methods of production may change, but the silk masters of the revival seem prepared to fight for what is timeless and unique in this art, refusing to bend to the whims of the international marketplace.

“I feel that when someone comes to Cambodia, they want to bring back something special, a product with a cultural meaning. People feel touched by such a product,” says Lim Muy Theam. “If this company becomes globalised, I’ll do something else.”

WEAVING A ROYAL YARN

RODERICK EIME VISITS THE VILLAGES IN THAILAND WHERE HER MAJESTY QUEEN REGENT SIRIKIT HAS HELPED TO PRESERVE THE ANCIENT ART OF TRADITIONAL THAI SILK WEAVING

In north-east Thailand, away from the bustle of nearby Surin, lies the tiny village of Ban Tha Sawang. It is one of several villages around the region that specialises in the ancient and royal art of silk weaving, but Ban Tha Sawang holds special favour with the royal court.

Inside a shelter, a dozen Thai girls are chatting while busily engaged in intricate weaving with fine gold and silver threads. More industry is taking place in adjoining rooms, where looms and nimble fingers delicately work shiny Chan Soma silk strands together to make brocade with that signature sheen of true Thai silk that changes colour, depending on how the light strikes it.

Royal silk, or Pha Yok Thong, is reserved for monarchs and heads-of-state, and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s Promotion of the Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques (SUPPORT) Foundation is striving to preserve this unique traditional weaving process. Thanks to the Queen’s personal funds, Ban Tha Sawang’s villagers have the facilities to produce the world-renowned silk.

As well as establishing colleges and workshops throughout the country, the royal family helps to maintain the ancient craft by ordering and wearing materials for themselves and visiting dignitaries. Queen Sirikit is a grand champion of Pha Yok Thong, often wearing the fabric to state functions. And at the 2003 APEC conference, world leaders were given shirts and shawls fashioned especially from their special fabric for the occasion by the resident royal artisan and teacher, Ajarn Weeratham, and his team of 100 Ban Tha Sawang villagers from their special fabric. Ajarn also presented an incredibly intricate piece to Her Majesty as thanks for her birthday and an identical replica hangs in the village’s studio.

An enormous neighbouring building houses the hand-built loom. This complicated machine is made to a traditional design dating back centuries. It is an unwieldy device that requires four simultaneous operators working non-stop to produce perhaps two centimetres of fine silken yarn per day. The more complex designs, Ajarn says, require some 50 days to produce a single metre of cloth. That equates to 1,600 hours of combined labour time. The cost: 40,000 baht (US$1,500) per metre.

Royal endeavours for a royal material, and one that shows no sign of decreasing in popularity.

SILK SOURCES

THAILAND
Jim Thompson: Thailand’s premiere silk enterprise founded by the man who revived the post-war industry. 9 Surawong Road, Bangkok, tel +66 (0)2632-8100, www.jimthompson.com; Bangsai Arts and Crafts Village: The heart of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s effort to revive Thai silk and other crafts through her SUPPORT foundation. Bangsai, Ayutthaya, tel +66 (0)3 536-6666, www.bangsaiarts.com; Studio Naenna: The outlet for one of Thailand’s top textile experts, Patricia Cheesman. 138/8 Soi Changkhian, Huay Kaew Road, Chiang Mai, tel +66 (0)53 226042, www.studio-naenna.com

CAMBODIA
Ambre by Romyda Keth: A chic boutique displaying the fashion wear of the country’s internationally known designer. 37 Street 178, tel +855 (0)23 217935, Phnom Penh; Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles: Weaving and shop on the premises. Road to Tonlé Sap Lake, Siem Reap, tel +855 (0) 63 964437, http://iktt.esprit-libre.org; Artisans d’Angkor: Offers tours of artisans at work and a wide range of quality locally produced items for sale in both their onsite boutique and shops at Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Hong Kong and Changi Airports. Stung Thmey Street, tel +855 (0)63 983330, www..artisansdangkor.com

LAOS
Ock Pop Tok Gallery and Shop: Interesting innovations and high quality weaving using Lao silks, in Luang Prabang. 73/5 Ban Vat Nong, tel +856 (0)71 253219 and 73/1 Ban Xieng Mouane, tel +856 (0)71 254406, www.ockpoptok.com; Lao Textiles: Where Carol Cassidy creates some of the country’s finest contemporary silks. Setthathirat Road, Ban Mixay, Vientiane, tel +856 (0)21 212-1123, www.laotextiles.com; Phaeng Mai Gallery: Quality silks from an award-winning family of Lao weavers. 110 Nongbouathong Tai, Vientiane, tel +856 (0)21 243121, www.silk-phaengmai.laopdr.com

VIETNAM
Khai Silk: Ho Chi Minh outlet offering a wide range of silk products, with a second branch in Hanoi. 107 Dong Khoi Street, tel +84 (0)8 829-1146, www.khaisilkcorp.com; Song: Upscale fashions from internationally known French designer Valerie Gregori McKenzie. Also in Hanoi. 76D Le Thanh Ton Street, tel +84 (0)8 824-6986, and 41 Kong Khoi Street, tel +84 (0)8 824-6986 in Ho Chi Minh, www.asiasongdesign.com; Craft Link: Not-for-profit enterprise with superb products from minority groups. 43 Van Mieu, tel +84 (0)4 843-7710, www.craftlink.com.vn