Crossroads: A journal of cloth from Cambodia
’ve never met Romyda Keth but I like her already,
Her love for texture, traditions, and handwork is strong,
Her attention to detail and to beauty, constant.
How do I know this?
Well, I’ve seen the clothes she makes, I’ve touched them,
Her fabrics speak to me, they beam me up to another time,
Remind me of lazy days in distant lands sitting at the corner table
On the rooftop of the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in
I’m back riding shotgun on a ferry boat festooned with paper flowers and
Bossa nova belting Boholanos meandering down the Loboc river,
I sneak off once again to a secluded corner of the Ganden monastery, the smell of yak butter in my face, imagining.
Her clothes have history but belong to no one, they are a product of a universal soul, they are both discreet and seductive, powerful yet honest.
A connection to the earth is the defining element in a Romyda Keth design,
A connection to me is how I feel when I look at these photos.
I’ve never met Romyda Keth,
But now, somehow, I feel I have.
* * *
Romyda Keth will be featured in a gala fashion show at the Makati Shangri-La on Nov. 9.
