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The Unique Beauty of ASEAN Countries
The traditional clothing of ASEAN embodies the unique aesthetic of each member state. Its identity is simultaneously timeless and constantly changing.Prof. Park Hee Jeong Division of Design, School of Art, Baekseok Culture University

The kebaya, an item of traditional Indonesian clothing

The first thing that comes to mind for most people when thinking of Viet Nam is white pho noodles. Another image is of women wearing white áo dài. The Vietnamese word áo dài is a compound of áo (“clothing”) and dài (“long”). As its name suggests, the áo dài is made up of a long dress and trousers. The notion of “seas of white áo dài”on the streets of Viet Nam is rooted in the custom of unmarried women wearing white áo dài and married women wearing áo dài in bold colors.

The Indonesian kebaya is a women’s blouse made with a soft, lightweight fabric. One interesting feature is that it’s fastened only with a brooch instead of buttons or a zipper. The kebaya, which was born from court attire of the Majapahit Kingdom of eastern Java, is often worn along with clothing dyed in traditional methods, such as sarong, batik, and songket. In its early years, the kebaya was regarded as sacred clothing and therefore only permitted for members of the royal family. During Dutch colonial rule of Indonesia, European women popularized the kebaya by adopting it as formalwear. It is also during this time that the kebaya became much fancier through the use of embroidered silk.

As in Viet Nam and Indonesia, the traditional clothing of Thailand underwent significant change throughout its history. In the early 11th century, when Lopburi was incorporated into the Khmer Empire, knee-length skirts similar to the women’s sampot and men’s sarong of Cambodia were popular due to Khmer influence. In the 14th through 18th centuries, during the rule of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the chut Thai as we know it today was created based on multiple international influences. Worn for important occasions such as weddings, the chut Thai is a long dress that reveals one shoulder and is connected to a sabai, a long sash that covers the other shoulder. The chut Thai is best paired with elaborate jewelry due to the figure-hugging drape of its fabric.

The staple item of traditional Lao clothing is a tube skirt known as the sinh. Usually made from silk or cotton, the sinh is worn, like the chut Thai, for important occasions. In Myanmar, men and women wear a longyi, a long, wraparound, cloth skirt. The length and material protect the wearer from the sun’s rays while ensuring good ventilation in Myanmar’s hot and humid climate.