Cambodia

Veata Chea of the Kingdom of Cambodia


Veata Chea was born November 9th, 1991 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She first emerged into the world of fashion design at the age of sixteen when she released her first, self-promoted line in the capital. This first line did not rake in much attention and for two years Veata would exist under the radar. Her popularity did not arrive till she won an international contest when she was eigtheen that landed her an internship in South Korea. Her most famous clothesline to date, Canson Winter, flooded the streets of Southeast Asia among fanatic youth raving over both her unqiue designs that could be worn by the everyday student and her central model, Yong Soo. As of the end of February 2011, around the same time her internship came to an end, Meraviglie Productions brought her to the States to work for them.

Personal Life
New to America and adulthood, Veata is a mess of paranoia, bewilderment, and curiosity. This is the time of her life where she must learn to be independent knowing there is no safety net to catch her if she fails. While most would jump at the chance to have such independence she shies away from such a thing and struggles greatly with the concept. Due to her upbringing the female is unused to not having somebody make her decisions and tell her what to do. For this one will find that Veata is prone to seeking out the opinions of all her friends prior to any decisions or actions. Her need for constant reassurance can actually be quite annoying.

At the very least it takes her two weeks to readjust to anything new be it object or human. Once she is accustomed though it is easier to find Veata as opposed to seeing only the proper Khmer woman she attempts to be. That girl that slowly emerges little-by-little over a two-week period is one who enjoys watching dramas and singing while dancing around in her loft when she thinks no one is looking. She’s the type of girl to speak impulsively around those she is comfortable with and apologize incessantly once everything registers even if an apology is unnecessary. Despite how easily riled or embarrassed Veata can become she is usually the easiest person to draw a smile from.

While left to her own devices the Khmer would prefer to spend her evenings quietly at home with a beer or a sketchbook nearby but her inability to say no usually leaves this a wistful dream. Instead Veata is likely to be seen attending various events or going out on the town because her response to any invitation or request is always a hesitant yes to serve as a ‘no’. There was even an incident where she was roped into seeing a man because she doesn’t know how to turn anything down. That is not to say she is a complete pushover though she mostly is; Veata does draw the line at some point and while this point is sometimes obscure it usually has to do with a violation of her morals or even remotely sexual touching.

From a young girl that prefers to not draw attention it is no wonder to find that she’d rather be the shoulder to cry on than the one needing comfort. She takes pleasure in being a confidant and dolling out honest advice while expecting nothing in return due to her nature. Veata will listen to all troubles with a good-natured smile but don’t be surprised or insulted if she does so while working on something else. Her hands must be constantly working at something. One benefit of this though is that she always finishes her work on time thus leaving her with a lax schedule.

When Veata isn’t working, napping, or spending time with coworkers and friends chances are that she’s out taking a walk or indulging herself in hobbies and guilty pleasures. For all her bluster about enjoying alone time if she gets too much of it she’ll either end up going crazy or depressed. She actually loves to be surrounded by people so chances are she’ll be exploring public places like parks or cafes, spending her time in a bookstore, or, oddly enough, enjoying a zoo. The more comfortable she becomes with America the more likely she is to be willing to try new places and things with new friends.

Despite being an honest woman who goes out of her way to please those around her Veata actually has quite the temper and violent streak; it just doesn’t show very well in front of most people with a few notable exceptions. Playing along with her tendency to hid any unpleasant feelings until she’s alone her anger doesn’t manifest itself until she’s in a room she can tear into. It doesn’t exactly help either that she’s taken kickboxing classes for self-defense either. Fortunately Veata is very relaxed with standards and expectations of other sand strict with only herself though overly so.

Perhaps the most unusual of her traits though is her romanticism. Veata would never admit it out loud but her daydreams are really not so different from Western fairytales. She is head-over-heels in love with the hope of true love for herself; she wants somebody to wrap herself up in, somebody with gentle hands and soft kisses that she can start a family with. Now, the romantic in her isn’t so unusual as it is her reaction to this bit of her that is. Veata is overly harsh on herself so she’ll often end up making snide remarks and insults targeted at her unrealistic wishes, often putting herself in a slump or unnecessary pain.

For all that she is worth this is a girl with a love for life. She may be slower than most to enjoy the pleasures of it but once she’s up to speed one wouldn’t be able to find a more content girl willing to work with her hand in life. She understands and appreciates the worth of her loved ones and will do anything to make them happy. She’ll take random trips to pet shops or a friend’s home just because. Like any other human Veata has her slumps and days she doesn’t want to get up but no one could accuse this female of not trying her best.

Career
Upon first entering the world of fashion design at the age of sixteen in Cambodia her work was viewed with a skeptical eye. More traditional critics in the country praised her use of old values in that she utilized clothes that did not reveal excessive amounts of skin but frowned upon her “bold” colors and non-traditional prints. Others felt that she wasn’t bold enough and the following next two years in her career were focused on developing her styling of clothes design. In this time frame Veata was always met with a mixture of praise, disapproval, and advice by Khmer critics.

The first year of her work is characterized by the values and beliefs of the Cambodian people. She strictly designed only dresses and outfits that used long skirts. Her favored colors were cool blues with gold motif prints of light lavenders for her dresses. On a more creative level Veata also released sketches of Aspara outfits that strayed from the stereotypical design through less accessories and more fairy tale-like images. From the works of her first year her most widely-praised design is a lavender evening gown sequined with silver beads to create a vineyard of flowers falling from the torso to the right side of the dress. Veata nicknamed this work Cinderella’s Flower.

Her second year of work explored a mixture of Western and Eastern. At this stage Veata allowed for variation in the range of clothes she used from shorter skirts to the occasional jeans but never anything that cut off at the thighs. Her designs began to take on more consideration as well to settings and occasions. The designs in this year began to take on originality of her tastes, setting her apart from other designers in Cambodia and drawing some attention. Veata’s most popular work within this time-frame is Steampunk Schoolgirl: a twist of the traditional Khmer school uniform and a style known as Steampunk.

In was the third year into her career that Veata attracted large time attention. Alongside her more casual, normal fashion designs were unique, wild, and bold designs that stepped right out of the books and movies. With a small series known as Alice in Winterland, a series inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, she won an internationally sponsored contest that introduced her designs beyond the borders of Cambodia where critics met her with more praise than disapproval. From there she was offered an internship at a company that designed outfits targeted at teenagers in Asia.

Currently Veata has come to America on various scholarships and sponsorships to further her studying in the fashion world and work alongside the Hollywood professionals.

Upon first entering the world of fashion design at the age of sixteen in Cambodia her work was viewed with a skeptical eye. More traditional critics in the country praised her use of old values in that she utilized clothes that did not reveal excessive amounts of skin but frowned upon her “bold” colors and non-traditional prints. Others felt that she wasn’t bold enough and the following next two years in her career were focused on developing her styling of clothes design. In this time frame Veata was always met with a mixture of praise, disapproval, and advice by Khmer critics.

The first year of her work is characterized by the values and beliefs of the Cambodian people. She strictly designed only dresses and outfits that used long skirts. Her favored colors were cool blues with gold motif prints of light lavenders for her dresses. On a more creative level Veata also released sketches of Aspara outfits that strayed from the stereotypical design through less accessories and more fairy tale-like images. From the works of her first year her most widely-praised design is a lavender evening gown sequined with silver beads to create a vineyard of flowers falling from the torso to the right side of the dress. Veata nicknamed this work Cinderella’s Flower.

Her second year of work explored a mixture of Western and Eastern. At this stage Veata allowed for variation in the range of clothes she used from shorter skirts to the occasional jeans but never anything that cut off at the thighs. Her designs began to take on more consideration as well to settings and occasions. The designs in this year began to take on originality of her tastes, setting her apart from other designers in Cambodia and drawing some attention. Veata’s most popular work within this time-frame is Steampunk Schoolgirl: a twist of the traditional Khmer school uniform and a style known as Steampunk.

In was the third year into her career that Veata attracted large time attention. Alongside her more casual, normal fashion designs were unique, wild, and bold designs that stepped right out of the books and movies. With a small series known as Alice in Winterland, a series inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, she won an internationally sponsored contest that introduced her designs beyond the borders of Cambodia where critics met her with more praise than disapproval. From there she was offered an internship at a company that designed outfits targeted at teenagers in Asia.

Currently Veata has come to America on various scholarships and sponsorships to further her studying in the fashion world and work alongside the Hollywood professionals.

Youth
Born and raised in Cambodia’s capital, Veata is the only child to her father, Sothear. Her birth mother was killed when she was four-years-old while traveling through the countryside to visit one of her aunts in another nation. On the way the woman stepped unknowingly on one of numerous landmines leftover from America’s war with Vietnam and the genocide years, dying instantly and leaving behind her toddler and husband. Acceptance came easily to Veata as she grew older due to her lack of memories of the woman and Sothear due to the fact that such violent deaths were common at the time in Cambodia.

As is usual of Khmer culture she grew up rather free for the first five years of her life. Allowed to roam and romp where she pleased under the watchful eyes of numerous relatives she was constantly spoiled with treats, toys, clothes, animals, and hugs when time and money allowed it. Sothear had left Cambodia one year after the Khmer Rouge and came back at the age of twenty-three with inherited money from his foster family; enough money to live as a rich man in the city and provide Veata with an easier life than most.

Even as she grew older the cycle of spoiling and cuddling by the Chea household continued but in balance to this Veata was given small jobs and responsibilities starting at the age of five. Normally a child at that age was placed in charge of younger siblings but as an only child Veata was given small chores and pets to care for instead. Alongside this her father’s sister had her helping out in small ways at her clothing store and bakery. Spoiled as she was her family ensured that she would be a hard worker yet.

At this age Veata was enrolled into a French school as well. There she spent her mornings and afternoons learning what she could and her evenings running back and forth between the bakery, clothing store, and her father’s protective hug. While she enjoyed her school learning she fell in love with the work of a seamstress and constantly coerced Sothear to let her play in the small shop. The little girl was forever slipping in and out of the textiles to be used as sarongs and demanding to see the processes at work that made such pretty dresses.

For Veata fashion design didn’t become serious till she was ten-years-old. By this time her life had changed drastically and not necessarily for the better compared to her toddler days. She had transferred to an international school where an older Thai student and Vietnamese student constantly fought over and with her from day one. In classes she became snippy and a little violent due to the two of them. Her free time was spent either running from them or fending them off.

Adding onto her school troubles were home troubles as well. The behavioral freedom Veata had been allowed as a very young child was practically non-existent at this point. Her aunt constantly scolded her for “stomping around like a thirsty elephant”, being far too loud, and far too bold. A proper Khmer woman walked silently, smiled without showing her teeth, was courted privately, and seen but not heard. Of this ideal the only criteria Veata fit was shyness but even that didn’t last very long. Her aunt worried of the future of her niece.

In truth Veata found that constant lectures of her aunt harder than dealing with the Thai and Vietnamese students. To appease the woman she truly strived to be the ideal till it became an old and familiar mask to her. This was something she had learned from watching the recently married women in her life: girls that had grown up like shy mice turned into crowing roosters just days after they married. Some, not all but it was enough for Veata. Only when alone would she let go but till she was married she was determined to try her best to be the ideal Khmer female.

Even with her mulish determination she still struggled and this was the time where the first baby steps of her career cropped up. More and more often the young Veata began to withdraw into the clothing shop where she would spend hours paying careful attention to the seamstress at work or imitating what she could of the woman privately. As this type of work was actually one of the few ways a woman could earn her own living Sothear and his sister encouraged this. Soon enough the student was all but living in the shop, her safe haven from the overbearing aunt and possessive schoolmates.

Fast forward six years later and life was good again for the female. In school she had finally branched out past the possessiveness of her Thai and Vietnamese schoolmates to land on good terms with a French student and became exceptionally close to a Chinese student and Japanese student whom always protected her. Her aunt was finally satisfied by her behavior and Sothear...well, he had always loved her. Looking in terms of her career she was a good enough seamstress to earn some income and in a year’s time Veata would begin her career. Most importantly, as a person she was begin to flourish again.