• The Mandarin term “卡峇雅” is the transliteration of the Malay term kebaya. It can also be written as “卡巴亚” and “可峇雅”.
• The kebaya is worn by Malay and Nyonya women. It may be worn as everyday wear or – more typically nowadays – as festive wear for special occasions.
• The kebaya is usually made of light fabric. Tailoring traditionally took about two months.
• There are several theories regarding the origins of the kebaya:

1. One belief is that the kebaya spread from the Arab world to Southeast Asia in the 15th century.
2. Another belief is that a precursor of the kebaya spread from China to Java in Indonesia between the 13th and 16th centuries. As the original garment was worn by women of the aristocracy, it was adopted by local women as formal wear during the Dutch colonial period.

In the third exhibition area, we can see that the cheongsam interacted with the diverse cultures in the tropics and flourished after arriving in Southeast Asia. Examples include the use of batik material, its fusion with the sarong kebaya, and the combination of a formal cheongsam with a small Western-style jacket. (Lianhe Zaobao, 4/6/2021)

In designing the flight stewardesses’ uniforms for Singapore Airlines in 1968, Parisian fashion designer Pierre Balmain adopted the elegant sarong kebaya made with traditional batik fabric. This attire accentuates the cultural identity of the “Singapore Girl”.