The Fashion Houses & Boutiques in Kuala Lumpur Issue
ORBISFASHION HOUSES & BOUTIQUES IN KUALA LUMPUR 8 shops in the atlas.Illustration
Fashion Houses & Boutiques in Kuala Lumpur
8 stores · curated ORBIS register
ANAABU makes relaxed clothing with Malaysian heritage references, selling through its Kuala Lumpur shop on Jalan Sin Chew Kee. Batik Boutique works with Malaysian artisans on batik clothing and gifts through a social enterprise established by Amy Blair. I Love Snackfood brings fashion together with homeware and playful objects, offering another kind of independent shop within Kuala Lumpur.
An independent Malaysian fashion label and Kuala Lumpur shop built around relaxed, heritage-informed silhouettes. Founded in 2010; its Bukit Bintang store is on Jalan Sin Chew Kee.
Best for Independent Malaysian fashion label and Kuala Lumpur shop built around relaxed
ANAABU is an independent Malaysian fashion label. Its company, ANAABU Studio Sdn Bhd, was officially registered in 2010. Founder Ana Abu, a former civil engineer, began by selling vintage clothing online. In January 2015 the label shifted from curation to producing its own collections. The garments are built around comfort and versatility, with restrained silhouettes and grounded colour. The brand states that it does not follow seasonal trends. Culture and everyday life serve as reference points that are abstracted into form and proportion rather than copied. Collections are produced in controlled quantities. Attention goes to pattern-making and construction so that pieces can be worn repeatedly and kept. The same thinking extends to the shops, where much of the furniture is upcycled or repurposed. The label's physical stores are called Kedai Fizikal. They occupy old shophouses on Jalan Sin Chew Kee in Kuala Lumpur and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in Johor Bahru, each kept close to its original structure with minimal refurbishment. The Kuala Lumpur shop is at 13 Jalan Sin Chew Kee in Bukit Bintang. Current lines include Mono, Essence and Isi-Isi. The range covers tops and outerwear as well as dresses, and it is cut for men and women, with a children's selection alongside.
Batik Boutique traces to 2009, when founder Amy Blair partnered with Ana, a single mother, to turn wax-resist batik cloth into wearable gifts, later formalizing as a Kuala Lumpur social enterprise by 2013-14. The label now works with more than 400 artisans from marginalized communities across Malaysia, providing fair wages and skills training in batik.
Best for Fair-trade batik apparel and corporate gifts made with Malaysian artisans
Batik Boutique began as a friendship rather than a business plan. In 2009, founder Amy Blair met Ana, a single mother in Kuala Lumpur who could sew but needed steady income; together they started turning batik cloth into small gifts, which Amy gave to family and friends before realizing there was a viable enterprise in it.
The operation moved online in 2012 and was formally incorporated as a Malaysian social enterprise around 2013-14, headquartered at The Row on Jalan Doraisamy in Chow Kit, with further boutiques opened in Putrajaya, Mont Kiara, and Desaru Coast. The company frames its work explicitly around fair wages and skills training rather than charity, paying artisans for output through the traditional wax-resist batik process.
The network has since grown to more than 400 artisans drawn from marginalized communities across Malaysia, and the label states it has produced over a million products since its early years of operation. Alongside retail and e-commerce, it runs corporate and bulk-order lines and batik workshops, extending the original Amy-and-Ana model into a wider artisan supply chain.
KANOE is a Kuala Lumpur batik wear brand established in 2016 that turns textiles from across the Indo-Malaya region, made with local batik artisans, into modern everyday clothing and accessories. Most pieces are one-off prints. Its boutique occupies units F101 and F102 on the first floor of REXKL at 80 Jalan Sultan, with a Penang stockist at ChinaHouse.
Best for Handcrafted batik clothing and accessories with one-off prints, at RexKL
KANOE is a Kuala Lumpur batik wear brand established in 2016 under the tagline Child of the Tropics. It works with batik textiles gathered from across the Indo-Malaya region and with local batik artisans. The cloth is then cut into modern everyday clothing, from kimonos in straight and curved sleeve versions and wrap tops to shift dresses and batik pants. A KANOEMEN line covers open-collar and samfu shirts for men. KANOE Kids dresses girls and boys. Accessories run from scrunchies and headbands to quilted pouches and bucket hats. Most pieces are one-off prints, so a design in a given cloth is rarely repeated and the shop advises quick decisions. The brand's boutique occupies units F101 and F102 on the first floor of REXKL at 80 Jalan Sultan in the city centre. KANOE describes the building as its home. A stockist for batik accessories trades at ChinaHouse in George Town, Penang. KANOE also takes corporate and wholesale orders and gift preorders. Everything sells through its own online shop, where handmade batik pieces are listed separately from the traditional prints.
Batik artist Emilia Tan runs myBatik as a working studio and gallery in Kuala Lumpur, teaching hand-painted, wax-resist batik to corporate groups, schools, and tour visitors. The studio also runs outreach programs bringing batik painting to refugees, children with HIV or dyslexia, and Down Syndrome artists.
Best for Hand-painted batik workshops with community outreach programs
Jalan Geroda 2/1, Larkin, Johor Bahru (also Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam)
Songket Dunia sells songket and Malay formalwear through its own online shop and outlets. The catalogue is organised by garment rather than by designer, running through sampin songket, kurung songket, kain songket, kurta. Baju Melayu is split between the Teluk Belanga and Cekak Musang collars, with separate nikah and bride ranges for weddings. Handmade premium songket sits alongside ready-to-wear pieces, and orders ship to Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.
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