t e r b u a i

 From the moment she laid her eyes on the stunning wonderland of Sumba, Phangsanny was completely encaptured and enchanted by its beauteous magic. It were the majesty of the endless hills, its jewel-blue streams, the grandeur of its mountains and its gorgeous nature as a whole that convinced her that it all seemed as if mother nature's brilliance was poured into that island. Aside from that, its unique cultures and remarkable people of Sumba also became one of the first stepping stones of the birth of Phangsanny's deluxe line Terbuai. This Prêt-à-Porter fashion line focuses on handwoven Sumbanese cloth (originally named "tenun ikat"). These cloths are specially made by the skilled hands of the local Sumbanese people, taking several months (sometimes even up to a year) until its ending magical touch was added. In a single production procedure, only 4 "liran"s are made in order to assemble a high-quality result. Meanwhile, 4 "liran"s can be used to construct only 2 cloth pieces, thus making Terbuai's products very special and limited. Since the whole process of production is ancestral and handmade, yarns are sometimes still spun traditionally by the local people. The smaller and more intricate the motives are, the longer the production takes, same goes with the number of colors used. To make a single color come out beautifully, the handwoven cloths need to be dipped several times as this will ensure a great result. The name "tenun ikat" derived from the way the motives are ought to be tied up using leaves to ensure a waterproof skin once the cloth is dipped inside the natural dye. These exclusive items are NOT displayed here in our online store. please contact our team if you are interested. 

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Phangsanny aims to introduce and bring "tenun ikat" closer to a wide range of people  by producing more affordable versions in rayon cotton, textured polyester and cotton twill. One of the reasons that inspire the notion to produce prints is due to the original "tenun ikat" cloth's elusive heritage, meaning that it isn't made possible for further modification and mass production, restrictively the age-old ones. Aside from that, the thickness of the cloth pieces results in the difficulty to produce them into a variety of designs. To help preserve the original cloths and support their respective creators, printed motives are produced in a LIMITED AMOUNT. Some of Terbuai's dresses have printed motives from antique 'tenun ikat's which even have aged up to more than 50 years old.