Since September 2023 I have been working with Dido Michielsen on the history, development and use of the white (European style lace) kebaya. The Kebaya was nominated as Unesco intangible heritage. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to research an interessant type of kebaya, the white one that was a typical type of dress in the former Dutch East Indies. It is never specifically researched in much depth. The white kebaya is in the sarong&kebaya duo a bit of an after thought, and we think it should be spotlighted.
In our researchproject ‘The meaning of the White Kebaya | De betekenis van de witte kebaya’ we gathered information from literature sources, photographs, actual kebaya’s and through interviews with wearers, current and those of the past, stories told by their children and grandchildren. On 7 September 2023 during the Tong Tong Fair we launch our project ‘The meaning of the White Kebaya’.
From 3 till 12 October 2024 a small exhibition with event will be held at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in Den Haag (NL). On the KB website a report on the day & exhibition was made, read here ‘De witte kebaya in de KB‘. For Modemuze I wrote a blog highlighting our findings ‘De witte Kebaya‘.
The Kebaya became the Unesco intangible heritage from Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand on 4 December 2024. I have written two articles for online publication on the kebaya and how it is currently represented in Dutch collections.
You can read them in Dutch here:
Blog for Modemuze ‘De kebaya als Unesco erfgoed van Zuidoost-Azië‘
Wereldverhaal for Wereldmuseum ‘Kebaya – een blouse met een bijzondere geschiedenis‘
