Libresse weaves vulvas into Nyonya kebaya flowers to break Malaysia's V-zone taboo

A Libresse-commissioned survey across seven markets found that in Malaysia 50% of women will never speak about their V-zone, one in three feel sorry for how their vulva looks, and 56% of teens would rather be bullied than talk about periods. As the brand championing V-zone confidence, Libresse wanted Malaysians to talk.

Redesign the Nyonya kebaya's peony and chrysanthemum motifs with the vulva hand-woven into each flower — a beloved icon that celebrates women's bodies.

Working with local kebaya craftswomen, Muma Malaysia wove vulvas into the heart of the two floral motifs unique to the Nyonya kebaya — the peony and chrysanthemum. The pattern covered a limited-edition range of sanitary packaging, and two real V-Kebaya tunics embroidered with the design were worn by influencers to launch the range.

The launch became a national conversation: a statement from the Yadim Muslim Women's Council called the imagery dishonouring to women, the brand withdrew the ads on 17 September 2021, and politicians, celebrities and users rushed to defend it on social media. At the Kancil Awards 2022, Muma's V-Kebaya took the Golden Kancil for best of show plus a silver in brand experience.

Libresse's own research found that Malaysian women lived with an unusually deep silence about their bodies: half said they would never speak about their V-zone, a third felt sorry for how their vulva looks and most teens would rather be bullied than discuss periods. The brand wanted to reopen that conversation through culture rather than clinical education.

Muma Malaysia found its vessel in the Nyonya kebaya, the semi-transparent embroidered blouse that let women in the 1920s defy conservative dress and embrace their femininity. With local kebaya craftswomen, the agency wove the vulva into the heart of the two motifs unique to the garment — the peony and chrysanthemum — and printed the redesigned flowers across a limited-edition range of Libresse packs.

Two real V-Kebaya tunics were embroidered and worn by influencers to launch the range. Within weeks, the campaign drew an incriminating statement from the Yadim Muslim Women's Council, which called the imagery a dishonour to women, and Libresse withdrew the advertising on 17 September 2021 while saying it was listening to every voice.

The withdrawal triggered the opposite of silence: Malaysian politicians, celebrities and thousands of social media users defended the brand, arguing that visual allegories for female anatomy on sanitary products were not offensive but overdue. A year later the industry agreed — the V-Kebaya won the Golden Kancil, best of show at Malaysia's Kancil Awards 2022.

A stigma that is centuries old rarely yields to more facts, so Libresse chose a beloved garment that had once itself challenged ideas of what women could wear.

Putting the vulva inside the flower let women see their own bodies as beautiful heritage instead of something shameful to hide.

Commissioning real kebaya craftswomen gave the provocation authenticity and skill, tying a modern taboo to a living craft tradition.

Even the backlash became fuel: when a religious body attacked the work, the public debate it provoked spread the V-zone conversation far beyond the campaign's own media.

To defuse a taboo, borrow the culture that already made the subject beautiful: when a stigma is centuries old, the way in is not more information but a familiar symbol lovingly reimagined.

Libresse pulled the campaign's advertising in September 2021 but the debate it started did not stop: social media users, celebrities and politicians publicly defended the work, and the limited-edition range and embroidered tunics remained the brand's statement on V-zone pride. In December 2022 the V-Kebaya was named the Golden Kancil winner at the Kancil Awards — Malaysia's top creative honour — confirming that the industry judged the idea on its intent and craft, not on the controversy that forced its early withdrawal.