FESTIVAL FACES OF 1MALAYSIA, ALSO PROMOTES NATIONAL FASHION

FROM HAFIZAH KAMARUDDIN

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Bernama) -- The "Faces of 1Malaysia" cultural and
handicraft festival to be held for the first time in the United States on
Sunday, will not only feature Malaysian cultural dances and musical instruments
to demonstrate racial harmony but also the various traditional woven fabrics.

The festival would demonstrate the diverse traditional woven fabrics as well
as the traditional dresses of the various Malaysian communities which are being
merged to create the exclusive 1Malaysia fashion design.

The richness of the various types of traditional woven fabrics of the
Malaysian communities which consist of the batik, the Pahang Royal songket as
well as the woven fabrics of the Sarawak and Sabah communities are being used to
create the 1Malaysia contemporary fashion design by two Kraftangan Malaysia
designers.

The exclusive contemporary couture designed by Nazari Maarus and Roziah
Yusof, which merged various elements of the traditional dresses of the Malaysian
communities, would be shown to the American people in two segments.

The first segment of the festival would be held on Sunday, named "Symbol of
Friendship between Two Nations" at the Gilbert H Grosvenor Auditorium, National
Geographic Museum, which would be opened by the Prime Minister's wife, Rosmah
Mansor and open to the public.


The second segment on Tuesday night known as the "Faces of 1Malaysia Gala
Night" would be held at the Oriental Ballroom, Mandarin Oriental Hotel which
would be opened by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and would be
attended by special guests including United States (US) politicians.

Meanwhile, Nazari, who has served Kraftangan Malaysia (Malaysian Crafts) for
more than two decades and has been involved in many fashion shows abroad, said
he and Roziah Yusof had produced 36 types of "haute couture, casual wear,
evening wear, wedding gowns and official wear" using various types of local
woven fabrics.

In fact his designs also integrated and adapted the traditional dresses of
the various Malaysian comunities, including the 'baju kurung', 'kebaya', cheong
sum, saree, and various traditional dresses of the ethnic groups in Sabah and
Sarawak, to reflect the spirit of goodwill among the Malaysian communities in
line with the prevailing condition, said Nazari.

He told Bernama that both of them took six months to come up with the
various dresses which had been given the modern touch besides using traditional
accessories of the various communities.

He hoped their designs in using the rich traditional Malaysian textiles
would not only create a new excitement in fashion in the United States, but also
create a demand for Malaysian products to be marketed here.

The Malaysian Festival is being organised by the Ministry of Information
Communication and Culture together with the various agencies under the ministry
including the National Culture and Arts Department (JKKN), Palace of Culture,
Academy of Art Culture and National Heritage and Malaysian Crafts, and also
participated by Tourism Malaysia, Sutra Dance Theatre and Permata Muzik in an
effort to enhance cooperation between Malaysia and the US.

For the minister, Dr Rais Yatim, the efforts was a continuation
of the ministry's initiatives to expand the national culture and arts to the
international community.

"The Malaysian image will be highlighted through the cultural aspects
through the dance, song and musical segments which will be shown to the American
public," Rais said.

-- BERNAMA