• Burmese
Saturday, June 14, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
32 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home In Person Profile

Ethical Fashion Empowering Underprivileged Women

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
August 3, 2018
in Profile
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw (left) finishes a garment. / Supplied

Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw (left) finishes a garment. / Supplied

11.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON – Modern clothing, bags and shoes featuring fabrics in traditional patterns is an up-and-coming fashion trend in Myanmar today, one that has seen an increase in employment opportunities for women too.

One particularly successful company doing just that is Virya Myanmar, a self-sustaining business which provides work benefits and safe working conditions for its female employees. Workers also benefit from high-quality training programs and an environment where young women feel financially and emotionally independent and can improve their interpersonal skills.

Virya Myanmar founder Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw started the business less than two years ago choosing to make causal, smart-casual, formal and special occasion wear using traditional fabrics.

RelatedPosts

Chameleon Crony: How Myanmar’s ‘Baby’ Tycoon Thrived Across Four Eras

Chameleon Crony: How Myanmar’s ‘Baby’ Tycoon Thrived Across Four Eras

June 10, 2025
3.9k
Trump-Musk Alliance Melts Down in Blazing Public Row

Trump-Musk Alliance Melts Down in Blazing Public Row

June 6, 2025
485
ASEAN Corporate Giants Fueling Myanmar Junta’s War Crimes: JFM

ASEAN Corporate Giants Fueling Myanmar Junta’s War Crimes: JFM

May 26, 2025
2.3k
Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw, right, coaching her trainees. / Supplied

She had a desire to open a social business for women and girls from underprivileged backgrounds who could benefit from their passion for designs and fashion.

“Those who understand [the concept of a social enterprise] come to our shop,” said Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw, adding that she gets both domestic and international customers, including buyers from Japan, Korea and Singapore.

However, because Myanmar people are not so familiar with her concept, they often prefer to go to local tailors who charge less or to famous tailors where they can have high quality clothing made. Typically, Myanmar women stick to the view that traditionally woven fabrics are only suitable for traditional styles of longyi and fitted tops. Thus, the dressmaker said, it is hard for them to accept the idea of creating casual dresses using high quality traditional fabrics.

“We have to explain to our customers that we use naturally dyed, quality woven fabrics,” she said. “If our fabrics were of a low quality and we used under-skilled tailors, we would only produce cheap products. We always consider our customer and set fair prices.”

A Virya traditional-modern fusion dress. / Supplied

Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw started sewing at the age of 15, first learning how to sew an old style of women’s shirt from her grandmother. But the idea for this social enterprise didn’t occur to her until 18 years later.

She was awarded a Chevening Scholarship and attended the University of Birmingham from 2011 to 2012 to study international development. Prior to moving into the social enterprise realm, she worked with the UK-funded Department for International Development (DFID) for five years as a governance advisor. Working in the development field ultimately led her to the idea of starting her own social enterprise.

She combines her passion with her social enterprise concept, “so that I can be of direct support to the people who are depending on this income for their survival,” she told The Irrawaddy.

While running the business, Ma Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw, now 36, shares her knowledge by providing free training sessions to talented young women. She coaches and mentors them, and now who were once her trainees back when Virya began in Oct. 2016 are now employees at her shop.

She wants her trainees to gain knowledge and skills in order to fill the gap caused by a lack of skilled labor in the tailoring sector. She wants them to understand both sewing and designs, as she does.

“The designer profession was not popular during my youth and free sewing training was uncommon. I learned from what I saw with a handful of designers,” she recalled. “When those tailors were talented with design patterns, we could make beautiful dresses. When they weren’t, the design and actual dress didn’t match.”

Virya Myanmar, originally called Virya Couture, also supports female weavers by using a fabric supply chain from the women of Sonetu Chin, Rakhine, Mro and Mon ethnic groups while her silk fabrics sourced from Inle-based weaving centers are usually used for formal and wedding dresses.

A Virya traditional-modern fusion dress. / Supplied

She sources the fabrics from those women weavers who are empowered to gain awareness to manage waste in their community as well as sustaining their incomes.

She collaborates with the groups, providing community education including training about the natural dye process and waste management for the women of the local ethnic groups in her supply chain.

“We still cannot completely control the supply chain, but we do our best wherever possible,” she said.

Her products are not yet available on a commercial scale globally, but Virya Myanmar can send individual products abroad if they are ordered, she said.

Some international brands have approached Virya Myanmar about making clothes for them but demanded that the labels name their specific brand, which she did not accept.

“Our locals work hard to create a fine product and if they are not being credited, we don’t want that. When products are labelled ‘Made in Myanmar’ and go to the global market, the prices may go up but the producers still earn little and are kind of neglected,” she said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: BusinessSocial EnterpriseWomen
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co
Burma

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co

by David Aung
February 8, 2024
17.9k

Min Aung Hlaing is an opportunistic businessman in military uniform and his children are more mercenary than the offspring of...

Read moreDetails
KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State
War Against the Junta

KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State

by The Irrawaddy
June 14, 2024
17.1k

The military regime has also lost control of all border trade in neighboring northern Shan State.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray
Analysis

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray

by Hein Htoo Zan
June 4, 2024
14.8k

Arrests, corruption, false receipts—the crisis in the gold and currency markets bears all the hallmarks of the junta’s inability to...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  
Business

Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  

by The Irrawaddy
June 5, 2024
14.3k

Crackdown on border scams and tax fraud is taking heavy toll on gems trade, say merchants.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Begins Forced Conscription of Women in Some Areas, Residents Say
Burma

Myanmar Junta Begins Forced Conscription of Women in Some Areas, Residents Say

by Hein Htoo Zan
May 31, 2024
13.5k

The regime is selecting women from lists of eligible conscripts and building barracks for them in Ayeyarwady; in Bago, women...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Police officers patrol a street in Manila, Philippines, on July 2. / Reuters

Philippines Nabs Cleric Over Bomb Claimed by Islamic State

Zeya Phyo arrives at Yangon's Northern District Court, where he is on trial in the murder case of U Ko Ni, on Thursday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

Prosecutor, Defendant in U Ko Ni Murder Trial Squabble Over Insult

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

1 week ago
2.5k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

3 days ago
961

Most Read

  • Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

    Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sagaing Region Braced for Myanmar Junta Airstrikes After Jet Crash

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.