The Silk Worm Festival Fashion Show: An Innovation by Kikuo Morimoto
Citation: Koss, Emily. “The Silk Worm Festival Fashion Show: An Innovation by Kikuo Morimoto.” The Jugaad Project, 7 Jan. 2020, thejugaadproject.pub/the-silk-worm-festival-fashion-show-an-innovation-by-kikuo-morimoto [date of access]
Wearing lustrous Khmer ikats twisted, draped and tied into garments far from traditional, models walk the runway showcasing the textiles created by the Institute of Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT). Held every year in the month of March in Siem Reap, Cambodia, this fashion show is the main event of IKTT’s annual Silk Worm Festival; a weekend-long celebration honoring the life of the silk worm. It is an opportunity for the artisans to celebrate their work and captures the innovation of tradition at IKTT.
Image 1. IKTT artisans dressed for Silk Worm Festival fashion show hold portrait of founder Kikuo Morimoto. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
Image 2. Artisan ties banana fibers around weft threads to create ikat pattern. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
IKTT was founded in 1995 by Japanese textile artist and peace activist, Kikuo Morimoto (1947-2017). In 1994, Morimoto had been asked by UNESCO to lead a survey on the state of the Cambodian weaving industry. He found that it was near extinct, especially the art of traditional Khmer ikat. Ikat was a skill passed from grandmother, to mother to daughter. After years of war and unrest this chain had been broken and the natural resources depleted. Morimoto wished to save this dying art but more importantly he wished to help the Cambodian people reconnect with their country and find peace. He believed this would be possible by continuing and carrying forward the tradition of Khmer ikat.
To create their ikats, IKTT raises golden silk worms, a strain native to Cambodia. In order to obtain the most detailed and clear images in their ikats, they need long, fine strands of silk. They must boil the cocoons before the moths eat their way through and compromise the continuous strand of silk the cocoon is made of. However, killing animals, even the small silk worm, goes against the ideals of their Buddhist faith. This has made it extremely important in Khmer culture to honor the silk worm and give it thanks for giving its life to the silk textiles.
Image 3. Skeins of golden silk hang in IKTT's weaving center. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
At IKTT they believe that the life of the silk worm, natural dye materials and the artisan is tangible in the textiles they make. IKTT follows the process of their ancestors; raising their own golden silk, hand spinning the threads, tying ikat designs with banana fibers, growing their own natural dyes and weaving by hand. They feel that this is how the highest quality textiles are made. But this is also how new life is brought into the Khmer Ikat. By working with the nature that surrounds them and working by hand they are putting life and soul into their textiles. IKTT holds the Silk Worm Festival annually to pay tribute to the silk worms who provide for their textiles, but it is also a joyous celebration of the life living within the textiles.
Image 4. IKTT's master artisans model their ikats as traditional sampot hol. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
Image 5. Non-traditional dress created from IKTT's ikat. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
The festival begins with the fashion show held on Saturday evening. Locals, expats and tourists come to see IKTT’s work displayed on the runway. The artisans of the textiles; the women who raise the silk worms, who hand tie the ikat, who dye it and who weave it, along with their daughters, are the models of the show. Some models wear the textiles tied as traditional Sampot Hol (ikat hip wrapper). While other models wear the silks styled into innovative fashion looks; sleek empire waist dresses, fitted ball gowns, garments finished with intricately twisted and tied bows. After the fashion show, the festivities continue with a large feast and a night of dancing. The following morning a silkworm ceremony is held. A handful of Buddhist monks come to IKTT. They are given food and monetary offerings for their blessing of silk worms life. Together the monks and the IKTT staff eat a traditional Cambodian breakfast.
Image 6. Daughters of IKTT’s artisans model IKTT silk in innovative styles. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
Image 7. IKTT staff and guests pray with monks at the Silk Worm Ceremony. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
IKTT holds the Silkworm Festival so they can celebrate their lives, their work and the life of the silkworm that makes it all possible. IKTT founder, Morimoto started the festival because he so deeply believed in the spirit of nature, and that the spirit of the natural materials used to make Khmer ikat, like the silk worm, lives within the textile alongside the life and breathe of the weaver, making it the most beautiful textile in the world. Morimoto passed away in 2017, but he instilled the idea of honoring tradition while creating one’s own tradition for today.
Image 8. Offerings of rice and fruit being passed to monks at the Silk Worm Ceremony. Photo by Cheryl Nemazie. Siem Reap, 2019.
About the Photographer: Cheryl Nemazie shoots editorial, documentary, and architecture. Her passion is discovering the myths of indigenous cultures and capturing them through her lens along with the artists that keep them alive. Follow her on Instagram and check out her portfolio.
