@Halal September/October 2026 | Page 27

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September-October. 2026 | @ Halal
MODEST FASHION
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Our batik, our advantage

WOVEN FOR TOMORROW: Yani Bakhtiar
What Malaysia has in batik, much of the world does not. Yani Bakhtiar knows that distinction can be more than a point of cultural pride- it can be a competitive advantage.
For the veteran designer, taking Malaysian batik abroad is not simply about putting a collection on a runway. It is about finding a market for something
other countries do not have.
With a fashion career dating back to 1989, Yani has spent decades building a business around Malaysian heritage textiles, particularly batik, transforming them into colourful, contemporary and commercially wearable modest fashion.
Her approach has taken her collections to markets including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and the Netherlands, while the brand also maintains a retail presence in Malaysia.
Yani is now returning to the Malaysia International Halal Showcase( MIHAS) Modest Fashion Week 2026, having participated in the modest fashion platform for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025.
For her, international exposure is valuable because it puts Malaysian batik directly in front of consumers and industry players who may never have encountered the fabric before.
" When visitors visit internationally, they will offer batik because batik is our identity, our culture," she said.
That unfamiliarity can become a commercial advantage. Yani said she
approaches overseas fashion events with a clear business consideration: securing buyers and orders before making the trip.
" The cost is high, the hotel is expensive, the flight is expensive, so I have to pay for it," she said.
Her experience in Russia, where she has brought batik collections to fashion shows, has shown her that international designers can be drawn to Malaysian textiles precisely because they are unavailable in their own markets.
" They don ' t have it. So they buy and order from us," added Yani.
While her collections carry a distinctly Malaysian identity, Yani also studies fashion trends and elements from the markets she visits, incorporating selected influences into her own design approach. Her signature pieces include turbans, loose cardigans and palazzo
silhouettes, creating modest looks that remain stylish and distinctive.
She believes the modest fashion market is far broader than commonly assumed, with consumers across cultures embracing covered, versatile styles.
" The market is so wide. We have to be brave to go out," she said.
For Malaysian designers looking beyond domestic shores, she believes the strongest proposition lies in what cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.
" We have to make sure that our clothes or designs use our fabric. For example, batik, songket
… other people don ' t have these kinds of designs."
For Yani, that is where heritage becomes a business advantage: not simply something to preserve, but something Malaysian designers can take confidently into the world.

An island in every stitch

For KAWI founder Eva Azlin, taking Malaysian batik to the world should not mean leaving its roots behind.
The Langkawi-based brand is built around a simple ambition: to bring the island ' s people, talent and craftsmanship beyond its shores and into international markets.
Now based in Kuala Lumpur, Eva sees the Malaysia International Halal Showcase( MIHAS) Modest Fashion Week 2026 as an opportunity to move that ambition forward, exposing KAWI to international brands, artisans and potential collaborators while learning how global fashion markets operate, as the brand takes part in the modest fashion platform for the first time.
Her approach to batik however is deliberately every day.
" When I first started KAWI, I wanted to modernise Batik Malaysia," Eva said, noting that batik is often associated with traditional and formal wear.
Instead, she wants consumers to see it as something that can be worn regularly. Her
MIHAS collection includes her interpretation of the baju kurung Kedah, designed as a versatile piece for both every day and official wear.
That balance between heritage and modernity extends to KAWI ' s distinctive Asian collar, inspired by the Malay cekak musang, Chinese Mandarin collar and Indian Nehru collar.
Behind the designs is also a wider network of local craftsmanship. Eva views fashion as an ecosystem involving not only designers, but artisans, seamstresses, tailors, dispatchers and other smaller players whose work supports the finished product.
Her experience working with international brands has reinforced her belief that Malaysian craftsmanship has something distinctive to offer. " We are special in our own culture and craftsmanship," she said, pointing to the differences between Malaysian handcrafting traditions and more digitally driven production elsewhere. But for Malaysian fashion to gain a stronger
TRADITION RESTYLED: Eva Azlin international presence, Eva believes collaboration needs to work both ways.
" What I want is for the collaboration to work 50 / 50," she said.
For her, that means Malaysian brands going into international markets while international players also come to Malaysia; creating opportunities that benefit both sides rather than allowing the flow to remain one-directional.
That is the kind of exposure she hopes KAWI can gain through MIHAS, while helping put Malaysian fashion on a wider map.
Eva believes Malaysia already has global recognition for its halal food and beverage industry. The next step, she said, is to build the same recognition for Malaysian modest fashion.
" I want everyone in the world to actually know about Malaysian fashion, halal fashion, halal modest fashion."
For KAWI, the journey from Langkawi to the global market is therefore not simply about selling batik overseas. It is about showing the world what Malaysian craftsmanship, culture and fashion can offer, while ensuring the community behind it moves forward too.