Q&A: Longyi Brothers founder Phil Koo braves the fine line between appreciation and appropriation

Photo: Longyi Brothers
Photo: Longyi Brothers

Seeing a late-night infomercial-style video about the longyi – a long, cylindrical skirt worn by a majority of people in Myanmar – somehow seems both surprising and inevitable. The video is one in a series of commercials advertising the wares of the Bangkok-based clothing brand Longyi Brothers and has recently gone viral in Myanmar as well as the larger longyi-wearing world, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.

As Myanmar approaches nearly a decade of political and economic reforms, it has become increasingly integrated into global trade, tourism, and migration. As more foreigners visit or move to the country and more Myanmar products flow out, it makes sense that Myanmar culture and customs would serve as inspiration for enterprising entrepreneurs. This, however, has not always been well-received by Myanmar people, as one London-based tea company quickly found out when it tried to recommend substituting the traditional ingredients of Burmese tea leaf salad with papaya, balsamic vinegar, and avocado.

By using the distinctly Burmese name and spelling for garment in their branding (it’s called a lungi in South Asia and sarung in Indonesian, for example), manufacturing all their products in Thailand, selling them for nearly US$50 each, and being owned and operated by a German-Canadian man provides another interesting opportunity to discuss the complicated politics of cultural appropriation and questions of who is “allowed” to profit from Myanmar’s culture and customs.

Coconuts recently discussed these issues in an interview with Longyi Brothers founder Phil Koo. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Why do you specifically use the name longyi when this is an article of clothing common to South and Southeast Asia?

The name longyi is obviously a Myanmar word. I use it because that’s where I learned about this garment and where I was introduced to it. That was in 2009. It was my first time in Myanmar, and everyone was wearing longyi. Almost everyone was wearing it, and if there was a Myanmar man not wearing it, it was like, why? Who is this weirdo not wearing longyi? So, I was given a longyi, and I started wearing it. I liked it a lot, and that was the word I became familiar with for this garment.

How have South and Southeast Asians responded to this?

People from Bangladesh love it. I’ve had some Filipino customers told me they call it malong. They weren’t upset or anything. They were happy. They were like, “Oh that’s cool. We also have this, and we call it malong.” My Pakistani friend back home said, “We call it dhothi.”

Where does the “Brothers” part of the name come from?

I called it Longyi Brothers because it kind of just rolls of the tongue. A friend of mine from Germany who was my roommate originally – he was in some of the earlier videos and pictures – said to me, “What are you wearing?” So, I said, “Here. Check this out.” He really liked it, so whenever I came back from Myanmar, I would bring him another one. It’s sort of this idea of sharing and brotherhood. I also wanted to make it masculine, because many Western people would see it and think it’s a very feminine thing, but I wanted to show that it can be for men.

How does your company play with masculinity?

I definitely think a lot about masculinity and things like ethnicity and race a lot as well. A lot of the models I use, you’ll notice are Eurasian (mixed European and Asian ancestry). Part of that is because they’re my friends, and I’m Eurasian as well. I also wanted to make sure to include more dark-skinned Asian models. I tried to use Indian models as well, though they were surprisingly difficult to find in Bangkok.

The Western notion of masculinity has sadly — at least it’s sad in my opinion — been spread throughout the world, and if you aren’t a Western man, you try to live up to this idea, and you can’t. There’s nothing to back you up the way there would be if you were a Caucasian man. If you are an Indian or dark-skinned Asian, or even a light-skinned Asian, you don’t get to see yourself as masculine. That’s why I wanted to make this a very masculine brand.

Desi strut. #dhothi #lungi #desi #sarong #longyi @sakonsharma @vital_vishal

A post shared by Longyi Brothers (@longyibrothers) on

Being that you are someone who thinks a lot about race, as someone who is not from Myanmar, how do you navigate the issue of cultural appropriation, especially as someone who has used their Facebook page to call out other brands for cultural appropriation?

I knew these questions would arise, and I was concerned, definitely, about how to go about it the right way. I didn’t call it like a “men’s wrap.” The price that I sell them at is higher than in Myanmar and everywhere else, but I can’t make them for less. I don’t have a longyi factory or a family business that I inherited. I am just a guy that was scraping by. I really respect and love Myanmar. I love the different cultures there and the whole region. I wanted this to be something that people of the region can be proud of and say that this is something that is coming from them. I know that I am not from here, but many of the models I have are.

Most of all, after 2009, whenever I come back, the young people are, understandably, very interested in Western pop culture. But coming from the West, I just felt very betrayed by that stuff. Canada felt like it was lacking in culture and long-lasting tradition. Even though my parents, who are German and Chinese, tried to pass on their traditions to me, it didn’t feel like it did in Myanmar when I was visiting there.

The appeal of Western pop culture is very strong, and people want that Justin Bieber look and start to see their local traditions as less than. So, I thought, why not make this beautiful tradition something that can also be seen as mainstream and fit into Western ideas of fashion. There’s a place for this, and it doesn’t need to be given up just because of outside influence. I saw the youth and wanted to tell them, “Don’t look down on your own culture.”

From malong brother in Manila. #malong #sarong #lungi #longyi #izar #sarung

A post shared by Longyi Brothers (@longyibrothers) on

Would you call it cultural appreciation then?

It is cultural appreciation, with respect to its origins, throughout the whole region. I want to use this word because Myanmar people introduced me to it first. I love it. I just love wearing a longyi. I just wanted to make it cool for everyone because it already is cool. And in Myanmar, I really love all the different regional styles. I know people talk about the price, but I’m living in a studio apartment and just scraping by. Even now, I still have cash flow issues, and it’s not like I’m flying around in private jets.

The range of your products is interesting because you have both more traditional styles, one of which you’ve called “Your Grandfather’s Longyi,” as well as patterns that stray from traditional Southeast Asian designs. What was your thinking behind these design choices?

I’ve always been very artistic, very creative, and I’m not the greatest business person. I like to create and see things come to life. The inspiration was from all my experiences, and I would see things and think, “That would look great as a longyi.” There are ones that I sell, like the flower longyi, that I don’t wear when I’m in Myanmar because everyone will stare at me. When I’m there, I will wear more Myanmar styles.

But as for the flowers, especially going back to the masculinity thing, if you look at Japanese clothes, flowers are for men and women. In the West, unfortunately, or maybe it’s just the way things are there, a man is someone who is just supposed to go to the gym, eat, and just be this bro stereotype.

Has Longyi Brothers received any negative backlash from Southeast Asians?

I understand where people are coming from when they are upset about cultural appropriation. Some people say that people shouldn’t be upset and it’s just the free market, but oppressed and colonized places were robbed. Europeans took everything, and then these “geniuses” who “discovered” sushi and yoga are claiming it as theirs.

Before, I used to get upset whenever I saw non-Chinese people wearing Chinese clothes, but now, I think that many people just wear it because they like and appreciate it. It’s a problem for me when they wear it as a costume. When you take something that’s sacred and make it profane, it’s offensive. But people will want to explore other cultures, and unfortunately, they won’t have that sensitivity. Especially white people who are used to being on top, and they don’t have that understanding of what it’s like to be oppressed. So, I get the negativity and protectiveness, even when it’s directed at my company.

But then again, one of the guys in the viral video is mixed Malaysian. He’s Malay and Irish, so he’s from sarong-wearing and kilt-wearing people. People accused him of cultural appropriation and said he shouldn’t be wearing that – well just one person really – because of the way he looks, and he got very upset about that. Which was funny because he still has his first sarong from when he was a teenager. It can get really funny sometimes.

The debate around what constitutes cultural appropriation in fashion is an ongoing discussion. It seems like something that will continue to grow in relevance as social media allows people from often appropriated cultures to speak back to designers, as more and more designers with complex relationships to race and global power dynamics emerge, and as the world becomes more globalized. There seems to be little consensus on what the best practices are for avoiding cultural appropriation, but designers deciding to do their best to respect and honor the peoples and places from which they draw their inspiration seems like a good place to start.

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