via Malay Mail, 23 April 2023: The Nyonya kebaya industry in Malaysia is in decline due to the retirement of embroiderers and a lack of interest from younger generations. There are only a few authentic embroiderers left in Malaysia who can customize and sew kebayas.
Growing up in Penang in the 1950s and 1960s, Lily Yew said there were kebaya makers everywhere.
“By 1980, there were just a handful,” the 75-year-old Nyonya kebaya entrepreneur told Malay Mail.
Many embroiderers have retired and kebayas sold today are mostly embroidered by Indonesians, she said.
“Indonesian mass production is the affordable trend now but it’s very sad that locals do not want to carry on the tradition.
“I can count on one hand the authentic sulam embroiderers left in Malaysia,” she said, adding that she learnt the technique herself to teach her embroiderers.
Kebaya expert Cedric Tan, 58, agrees that the making of kebayas is a dying art among Malaysians, saying that it was a craft learnt by women.
