Behati Was Here!

Style On The Dot

Nov 30

Malaysia's norm-breaking label Behati was part of Vogue SG's inaugural Next In Vogue "landmark" event. Boy, it was seronok sekali

Designer and founder of Behati, Tan Kel Wen (middle), with models at the Next In Vogue gala

Regular readers of SOTD would know that Malaysia's digital-native, "selebriti-endorsed" label Behati has had a good run these past years. Now, they are crossing the causeway in the south to impress—and entice—Singaporean fashionistas with their brand of kutior (Malay for couture) kampung. Two Saturdays ago, the five-year-old brand was invited by Vogue SG to present a runaway show (sort of) as hiburan malam (evening entertainment) during the magazine's inaugural glamour-event Next In Vogue. The gala concurrently marked the third anniversary of the Singaporean edition of the American title. The magazine describes Next in Vogue as an occasion that spotlights—with considerable hopefulness—"the future of fashion, culture and lifestyle through the lens of innovation in Singapore" and congregates "pivotal figures in both fashion and media". Behati's founder and designer Tan Kel Wen (陳楷文), with his ethnocentric designs, had no problem fitting right in.

Dubbed the 'king of viral fashion', Mr Tan proudly shared on Instagram: "Malaysia represent (sic) at 'NEXT IN VOGUE'" and that the koleksi "celebrates my roots from a multiracial culture, combining Indonesia Batik, Malay songket, Chinese silk and Indian taffeta in drapes of a rose that signifies love and unity." Behati was no doubt at home on our multicultural island, except that Chingay was over. The brand, no doubt, presented a hotchpotch and mashup of delights that Singapore Design Council and the Singapore Tourism Board would love. Vogue SG has been an ardent proponent of Southeast Asian fashion labels and in Behati they found the polymorphic leaning of Tan Kel Wen (he's also a music video director and a singer of his own show soundtrack, among many other creative roles), who can flit between ethnic identities and aesthetics with the ease of a lebah (bee) flying between flowers to seek pollen. Mr Tan does not, however, always produce madu (honey) or the sartorial sweetness that could awaken appetites. Oftentimes, his clothes are far more astringent; they sometimes knock on the door of cultural transgression, but do not go beyond it when opened. Frequently, the clothes are clownish aggrandizement of ethnic staples.

Mr Tan does not, however, always produce madu (honey) or the sartorial sweetness that could awaken appetites. Oftentimes, his clothes are far more astringent; they sometimes knock on the door of cultural transgression, but does not go beyond it when opened

On IG, Mr Tan also let on that the clothes shown were a mix of "pieces from BEHATI's 5 years (sic) journey, an extended journey of the PAHLAWAN finale where monochrome lights red, including recreation looks from my archives and my first dress for Siti Nurhaliza". Malaysia's singing national treasure wore a Behati shirt-frock with massive leg-o'-mutton sleeves in the 2020 music video for her song Siapa Tak Mahu (Who Doesn't Want?), and Behati now reprised it with the puckered seams tenaciously intact. The Pahlawan (warrior) collection, more heroic than historic, was shown at the recent KL Fashion Week to the usual viral enthusiasm. Mr Tan, who could be mistaken as a 功夫徒弟 (gongfu tudi) or kungfu disciple when he took the bow at the end of the presentation before Vogue SG guests, was pleased that, with the show here and the magazine's endorsement, it is now "a full circle journey".

In an interview with Vogue Sg to plug his debut in Singapura, Mr Tan reminisced: "I remembered wanting to express my appreciation for their practices through wearing the Baju Melayu to visit my friends, but I couldn't find one that fit me well and that spoke to me." But his subsequent breach of form that singled out Behati's launch in 2018 was to defy the convention of fit. It was as if he took a bicycle pump to the Malay bajus (traditional dress) and inflated them. While he said nothing that fitted him could be found, he did not later ensure that his customers could find the elusive fit. His is the ketupat-making approach to scaling and proportion. If a square is not possible, turn it into a log. It is, in fact, the anti-fit that sets him apart, that allows him to be the disruption to what is still largely seen as a conservative Malaysian fashion scene, dominated by the glamour of brands such as Rizman Ruzaini.

Backstage photos of some of the looks from the Behati presentation at Next In Vogue

If the Next In Vogue show is a visual précis of Behati, it confirms that Mr Tan likes things big, including the frogging seen on the voluminous opening number, a red mini-qipao that was an assemblage of, first, tulle that encircled the body to give the bulk necessary for the, second, top fabric to take the shape of a carapace when presented on the runway. Behati's massive outfits are ready to be assembled on site, just like flat-packs or knock-down furniture. Mr Tan does not always bring to shows or his clients completed looks. Rather, they come in parts, to be assembled as end product (so that his work can be considered "meticulous"?), revealing perhaps that he is not technically-advantaged. Backstage witnesses marvelled at how disparate pieces could come together to form the gothic monstrosities. After the show, in an IG post on that first dress, Mr Tan wrote: "A new challenge for myself to expand my draping techniques in new silhouettes, seemingly 'protecting' the Qi Pao in the centre to preserve the tradition. To complete the look, we made the biggest Chinese knot button in history." It could perhaps benefit Behati to consider that multiculturalism runs deeper than oversized frog buttons.

Regardless of what was evident, the funnily fantastical fashion was a veritable treat for local Behati fans that include Vogue SG's EIC Desmond Lim (in a tunic dress), who was celebrating his first year at the magazine (it was, as it turned out, a night of anniversaries). Until now, they were mostly only able to see what Behati and Mr Tan shared on social media. Gathered at The Singapore Edition hotel, many who have never witnessed absurd exaggeration in cloth, took in the "fesyen hebat (great fashion)", as one fan told us, with the enthrallment usual palpable at a K-pop concert. Mr Tan told Vogue SG, "I envision the brand to be at the top of every fashion tourist's must-visit list, and hopefully cement ourselves as the poster child for Malaysian fashion." We aren't sure if the "fashion tourist" is a new breed of travellers or unique to the tourism scene in the Malay archipelago. But as with his designing, Tan Kel Wen sure dreams big.

Photos: Behati/Instagram