High society ladies, tycoons and donors arrived at the inaugural Songket Ball decked in songket, Malaysia’s glorious fabric once reserved for the Malay sultans, their court and nobility.

Those who did not have time to commission a songket gown made do with songket shawls that shimmered enticingly and regally.

The Songket Ball at Shangrila KL was graced by the presence of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah.

Under the aegis of the Queen, songket is finding a new lease of life as couturiers are encouraged to use this material in their designs.

Seven leading Malaysian designers — Tangoo, Melinda Looi, Rizalman Ibrahim, Radzuan Radziwill, Tom Abang Saufi, Pink Jambu and Jovian — showed dazzling outfits embellished with songket.

Moses Law and Eric Yeong of Tangoo said they were very excited as this new-age songket was lightweight and flexible, resulting in a more contemporary look and feel.

Guests were entertained by Stephen Hughes, M. Nasir, Faizal Tahir and Ida Mariana.

Models and dancers clad in songket moved elegantly to traditional Malay music and songs.

In between each act was a grandmother reminiscing and encouraging her granddaughter to continue this dying art in tune with the gala’s theme of “Keeping Heritage Alive”.

The moving force is Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah, founded in 2007 by the Queen to preserve Malaysia’s cultural heritage while improving the livelihoods of weavers, artisans and craftsmen by paying them fair rates.

Previously, they tended to be exploited by middlemen and wholesalers who buy at rock-bottom prices and shamelessly passed off these precious songket as their own.

Tuanku Nur Zahirah, in her speech, said: “The foundation aims to make songket more accessible to Malaysians before taking it to a global level.

“When the foundation was established two years ago, we were faced with the daunting task of changing the mindset of weavers used to conventional weaving techniques. It took the foundation a year to develop this new generation, lightweight songket which is contemporary while maintaining its traditional elements.

“Our weavers benefit from our pay-and-train scheme using new techniques and we hope to empower this underprivileged community, many of whom are single mothers. The foundation hopes to create a new generation of weavers who will take this artform seriously and as a business,” she added.

The foundation’s weaving centre at Chendering, Terengganu, teaches the complete process from the preparation of yarns to marketing the final products.

The foundation has 60 weavers in Terengganu and Sarawak who are given financial assistance to upgrade their home infrastructure and are paid monthly for songket produced.