28-Jun-09
Adding a royal touch
INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL
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| Two of Tengku Marina’s designs using songket |
Tengku Marina Ibrahim adds her touch to songket, writes INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL
IT’S a busy morning for Tengku Marina Ibrahim of Pink Jambu, a homegrown fashion label that has successfully made its way to Japan, Europe and some South East Asian countries. The designer’s cosy showroom in Bangsar is looking rather bare save for some distinctively lovely tops and materials of various hues and shades in chiffon and silk, as well as a scattering of cushions and framed pictures, which have yet to be transported to her new showroom in Solaris Dutamas.
“We’re in the midst of moving,” she explains.
“Here, let me give you an invitation to our launch,” she adds, whipping out a card from her bag.
The soft-spoken Tengku Marina, 44, daughter of the late Tengku Ariff, Bendahara of Pahang, is one of the designers invited to showcase their designs in the upcoming Songket Ball.
Her idea, to combine songket with batik, appealed to the organisers who immediately asked her to get onboard. “All the pieces that I’ve designed is a combination of batik, our design, with whatever is available. But on one of the pieces we actually gave them the design for the motif,” says the talented mother of three who has a background in 3D design, interior design and furniture from the UK Kingston Polytechnic, now Kingston University. “They’re all evening dresses. I have one where the top is silk, and the bottom, songket. I try to combine but I leave the songket as it is.”
Songket, adds Tengku Marina, is such a precious fabric that there is no way she will even attempt to “defile” it.
“It’s very intricate and special and the labour involved in this three-metre piece of fabric is amazing. I’m trying to see if I can retain the cloth as it is rather than to start cutting it up.”
With 17 years of print design experience, Tengku Marina welcomes the advent of the new-style songket, initiated by the Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah.
“They’re using more flexible materials like organza and linen whereas before, songket was rather formal.”
But, she’s quick to add, despite its lightness, songket remains very special. “It’s so costly and beautiful and when you know the process behind it, it becomes very precious. You don’t want to suddenly create something that’s too casual with it.”
She is keen to explore this royal material for future collections but only if there’s a demand. “Whatever it is, in business we have to see the end cost. If there’s an order and somebody wants it, no problem. But to do stocks of songket… well, the cost of production is rather high…”
Tengku Marina established Pink Jambu in 1992. She also has an interior design company. The label also features a range of household items such as tableware, curtains, cushion covers and ceramics.
Why the name Pink Jambu?
Tengku Marina smiles, remarking that it’s a question that’s been thrown at her many times. “Well, the name was coined firstly to represent the company’s corporate colour, pink. Not just any pink, but fuchsia, a more garang shade. Jambu (rose apple), on the other hand, is a word that Malay men often use to describe a pretty girl,” she explains. “I wanted my designs to look that way – very jambu!”
She started in 1989, designing corporate offices but she was keen to create textiles. Batik wasn’t the medium of choice initially. She recalls: “We just wanted to express our designs in prints and the easiest way to show prints was by using batik because you can get your product within a week. With printing, you’d have to print at least 300m to 500m to get just one print. And you don’t know whether it’d work or whether people would be receptive to it. It was all experimental.”
But it was an experiment that proved to be fruitful. The demand was there and 18 years later, over 20,000 designs have been produced. Pink Jambu’s designs are varied and feature some of the most interesting shades and hues. The prints include floral prints, abstracts and geometric designs, done on various types of material like silk, chiffon and, of late, cotton too.
The demure Aries, who loves hiking and learning about different plants, admits that she’s inspired by nature.
“But I never try to depict nature so literally. It’s all to do with experience, the feeling for that moment and the strokes that I try to create. When something inspires me, it doesn’t necessarily have to be plants. It could be movement, people or colours... anywhere.”
Pink Jambu is at A4-UG-05, 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, KL.
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