Cambodia & Flash Interview: Sok Markly, wedding dressmaker
- Partenaire Presse
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
In a four-square-meter boutique on the first floor of O'Russey market, Sok Markly, 34 years old, a couturière de mariage, sits in front of her sewing machine making sparkling dresses for brides in Phnom Penh.
The wedding season in Cambodia is already well underway and the young Cambodian woman is very busy, but while continuing to put the finishing touch on a midnight blue dress in the Khmer style, she agrees to talk about her profession.
How did you become a wedding dressmaker?
After finishing my secondary studies in 2007, I studied sewing in order to work and support my family. When I finished in 2008, my mother gave me this clothing shop on the first floor of O’Russey market.
I started making some wedding dresses to sell and, over time, my clients became more and more numerous to order wedding clothes....
How much do you earn making wedding dresses?
Making dresses will not make my family rich, but it can allow us to make a living. I charge between 60 and 120 dollars per wedding dress, but if clients bring their own fabric, I can make the dress for only 35 dollars.
What are your working hours?
Every day, I get up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for the whole family, then I go to the market at 7 a.m. to open my clothing shop and start sewing or hemming the dresses of my clients.
I have lunch at noon in my shop with my elder sister and my mother, then I continue working until 5 p.m. Sometimes, I hire other seamstresses to help me when I get too many orders....
How long does it take to make a wedding dress?
I can make one or two wedding dresses per week, depending on the style of dress the client orders. The dresses take longer when clients come to look at the album and see four or five different styles and decide to mix them. Some ask me to mix Western and traditional Khmer styles to create something new.
I order most of the fabrics and beads from India, China, Thailand, and Vietnam, but the silks, which I prefer, are produced in Cambodia....
How are tastes in wedding dresses evolving?
The new generation tends to order dresses in a more Western and European style, with more ornaments like rhinestones. Only the older generation prefers the traditional Khmer style, which is softer and more subtle.
For me, the role of the seamstress is not to have a preference for style. It is the client who is the boss and it is she who asks us to make the dress. The best style is therefore the one the client wants....
Are you very busy during the wedding season?
The wedding season in Cambodia starts once the Buddhist Lent ends, that is from October to May. Before, people could not get married during the rainy season because their wedding could be ruined by the rain, but today, the inhabitants of Phnom Penh marry all year round.
The wedding season remains however the time when I am very busy, especially in April.
Khouth Sophak Chakrya with our partner The Phnom Penh Post