Edric Ong with one of his textiles
Multi-awarded Malaysian designer of natural dye textiles, fashion and crafts Edric Ong is an architect by training; he has designed several landmarks such as the Sarawak Cultural Village and the Kuching International Airport in Sarawak, East Malaysia. His interest in the heritage of his country has inspired him to write several books like Sarawak Style, Pua-Kumbu-Iban Textiles, and Woven Dreams-Ikat Textiles of Sarawak.
Edric Ong is also a multi-awarded Malaysian designer of natural dye textiles, fashion and crafts; with his associates, he has been pioneering new designs with traditional artists of Sarawak in the area of textiles, basketry, fibers, ceramics, wood and stone.
Edric textiles
Edric has curated many exhibitions in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Korea, Australia, Japan, India, France, Sweden, United Kingdom and USA. He is on the Panel of Experts for UNESCO and a Jury member for the UNESCO Award for Excellence for Handicrafts, as well as being the President of Society Atelier Sarawak, the Arts and Crafts Society of Sarawak in East Malaysia.
Edric is also the Immediate Past President of the ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and Development Association (AHPADA), an organization that administers the UNESCO-AHPADA Craft Seal of Excellence since 2000. Currently he is Senior Vice President of the World Crafts Council Asia Pacific.
Great style
A noted speaker at International conferences, Edric has set up the World Eco-Fiber and Textile (WEFT) Network to further the cause of natural fibers and dyes. He is the Convener of the Biennial WEFT Forum. He has won several awards including the MERCEDES BENZ/STYLO Asian Fashion Award 2016-Global Fashion Influencer; Malaysian Designer of the Year 2009;ASEAN Silk Textile Awards 2009; Aid to Artisans Advocate Award 2006; Penyokong Kraf Negara (National NGO Award); Australia Culture Award; Pegawai Bintang Sarawak; and received World Crafts Council Award of Excellence; Seals of Excellence from UNESCO-AHPADA and the Japanese G-Mark for many of his designs in the arts and crafts.
SHIBORI+LACE Collection 2017
handwoven silk puakumbu
The unique fashion of Edric Ong combines a touch of the ethnic and oriental with the contemporary; his innovating styles make a creative use of hand-woven silks and cottons.
Edric Ong designs his own textiles, which are mostly hand-woven, hand-painted or hand-printed with natural colors derived from roots, bark, leaves and fruit-peels from the rainforests. He draws his inspiration from the diverse ethnic culture of Malaysia and Asia, and is very much in the forefront of promoting the unique Iban ‘Pua Kumbu’ ikat textiles of Sarawak.
These creations have also won the UNESCO and World Crafts Council Award of Excellence, and are now much sought-after by fashionable people internationally. The textiles were also given the prestigious Japanese “G” mark awards by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO).
indigo batik shawl shirt
Edric Ong was awarded the “Global Fashion Designer 2016 at the Asian Fashion Awards and the “Malaysian Designer of the Year 2009” by Mercedes-Benz/Stylo. He continually explores new textile techniques such as direct stamping of Sarawak indigo leaves and squirrel foot ferns onto shibori silk jackets. Edric invents new expressions like ‘shiborikat’(shibori and ikat) and ‘batikat’ (batik and ikat).
Edric Ong at one of his exhibitions
The EO-Edric Ong label is now available in Malaysia (Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, and Langkawi), Singapore, Japan, Korea, India, USA, United Kingdom and Europe.
Follow Edric on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edricong?fref=ts
Check his website on http://www.edricong.com
You can email Edric on edric.ong@gmail.com
