Interview: Kel Wen on the meteoric rise of Behati, going viral and cultural appropriation
The king of viral fashion would like a word.
Some designers take years to establish themselves. Some don’t even come close to. And then there’s Kel Wen (@kel__wen) who only took a year to launch his fashion label into prominence.
Founded in 2018, Behati has become an integral part of modern-day pop culture after photos of Kel Wen’s oversized Baju Melayu started making the rounds in cyberspace.
His revisionist Malay traditional costume had invited cheers as well as jeers from netizens but more importantly, it charted a course, an exciting one at that, for Behati.
What prompted you to focus on traditional wear?
Honestly, I never thought I’d focus on designing traditional wear. But I studied more about the culture after the Baju Melayu went viral and I found out that there’s so much I had yet to discover. I was taught to look outward for inspiration instead of focusing on stuff that’s already around me and I think that’s the case for other designers too.
I feel like it shouldn’t be so limited in that way. There aren’t many designers out there who really innovate our traditional wear so I feel like it is my job to create something new.
What do you make of the claims of cultural appropriation that have been made?
A lot of Malaysians have misunderstood the real meaning of cultural appropriation. It’s honestly a social media trend. We live in a multiracial country, as one, so what’s wrong with taking inspiration from each other’s culture when we basically grow up living together?
We are not taking elements from the Japanese culture, you know? People judge me because I’m a Chinese person who’s designing Malay clothes. But come on. I have been wearing traditional clothes for Raya since I was younger. It’s part of my growing up. It’s my life.
It’s safe to say that Behati is now the Internet’s favourite love-to-hate brand. Is all publicity good publicity?
All publicity is good publicity for the brand but not necessarily for the product. All the viral stuff is good for Behati in a sense that everyone knows about Behati. Whether it’s a bad criticism or a good one, it is good for branding.
But there are some cases where it backfires like when I launch a product and it doesn’t sell even though it has gone viral. So it depends.
Behati has also caught the attention of many big-time celebrities. What’s the creative process like?
It is a collaborative effort with the artiste and the stylist because everything is custom-made but I always try to infuse the elements of tradition into all of my pieces.
A lot of stylists in Malaysia tend to send designers designs by international brands and ask them to just tailor them. I personally reject the stylists who send me those kinds of requests. I would never do that. I’d always try to change things up.
On that note, what’s your take on the concept of originality?
As a designer, you have to know what your purpose is. I found my purpose in traditional wear and I always go back to our history, to my own roots. I feel like that is a very clear direction.
Whatever it is that people throw at me, say they want a Victorian dress, I’d inject the elements of Malaysian tradition into it. That’s what makes Behati Behati. As people say, nothing is original anymore but there’s always something new, and mixing cultures is a way to create.
What’s the most memorable fashion-related pop culture moment to you?
It’ll have to be Rihanna wearing that “omelette” dress by Guo Pei to the Met Gala in 2015. That’s the best Met Gala moment in history. It’s traditional, it’s oversized, it’s on brand. I would say that that’s the only viral dress that matters. Nothing can top that at least for now.
Until today, people are still talking about it. You always go back to that dress no matter what she wears to the following Met Galas. It’s that impactful. That’s what I hope to achieve as a designer.
Photography & Words: Nikita Nawawi
Styling: Amelia Tan
