Sisters Dr Nyo Nyo Thein and Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein.

FROM 8:30 am to 4 pm Dr Nyo Nyo Thein is devoted to her patient’s needs, but from 4 pm on she concentrates on the needs of her younger rock-singer sister, Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein.

The Thein family has produced two remarkable daughters, one a medical doctor and the recipient of the highest high-school matriculation exam scores in the whole country in 1991 and the other a famous singer.

But even more remarkable is the love and devotion the sisters share for each other without a shred of sibling rivalry or jealousy.

Dr Nyo Nyo Thein is not jealous of her sister’s fame, nor is Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein jealous of her older sister’s academic achievements.

“I have to be at hospital from 8:30 am to 4 pm on weekdays. When I finish work at the hospital, I come back home. That is time for my sister. I go along with her wherever she needs to go; to recordings or anything else that is concerned with her career,” Dr Nyo Nyo Thein, in her early thirties, says.

She dotes on her younger sister, from designing her on-stage and photo-shoot costumes to answering her calls and making appointments for her.

“Except for some night-time shows, I always accompany my sister on her live performances. I manage her calls and appointments for her when she is too busy to reply to them too,” she explains.

Concern that her sister present herself as best as possible has led her into fashion design.

“Phyu Phyu and I worked hard on our education but we didn’t know much about fashion or cosmetics. When Phyu Phyu was going to release her debut album, she needed to pose for the album cover and TV ads. So, together we visited all the markets and searched for a dress. We couldn’t find anything suitable because she was neither an adult nor still a child so finally we bought some fabric and took it to a tailor. I drew the design and the tailor made it. Since then, I have been coming up with costumes for her performances,” she says.

“I like music. However, I never thought that I would become a designer for my sister,” she says. Nevertheless, she has come to play a large role in the development of her younger sister’s image.

“I don’t want Phyu Phyu’s style to be the same as her audience’s so I choose distinct designs. I love bright colours.

“I asked Phyu Phyu before we made the first dress, ‘Do you dare wear my creation?’” Dr Nyo Nyo Thein says.

Phyu Phyu did dare and she has since come to be known for dramatic style as much as for her songs, courtesy of her sister’s design savvy.

But with a quiet manner, Dr Nyo Nyo Thein explains she does not plan giving up her day job to become a full-time designer for her sister.

She loves working in the medical profession, she says, and is currently finishing her specialisation as a general surgeon.

“I like the life of a doctor very much. I enjoy saving patients.”
Nor is she tempted to borrow the clothes she designs for her sister to wear to work.

“Simple fashion is enough for my work,” she says. “The designs I create for my sister are suited to her profession.”