PSP En Vogue Celebrates the Malaysian Fashion Scene

<

It was my first time at ICE Gallery, IJM LAND’s Pantai Sentral Park and I was certainly amazed at the out of this world futuristic design of the showroom. This is one showroom that I do not mind just hanging out all day, with a glass house effect and natural lighting and being encircled with greenery. Anyways, I was there to experience a display of fashion and meet with some young designers themselves and their stories of how they worked towards success were truly inspirational. Take a listen yourselves with the video below.

Alfred Hor and Xavier Mah of XALF, IJM LAND Sales and Marketing Manager Grace Foo, fashion icon Zaihani Zain, Fairuz Ramdan of FR BLUE LABEL, Fern Chua of FERN

I also got to see for myself the latest fashion trends created by iconic Malaysian designers Fairuz Ramdan of FAIRUZ RAMDAN BESPOKE, Fern Chua of FERN and Xavier Mah and Alfred Hor of XALF.

Celebrity stylist and fashion icon Zaihani Zain shared her personal views of the industry in her talk ‘Are you FASHION enough?’

Most englightening too was the special talk by celebrity stylist and fashion critic Zaihani Zain who gave a very interactive and practical presentation about the latest fashion trend and made us think a bit about what fashion is all about. It was certainly great to learn directly from someone so knowledgeable of the industry, having not much of a fashion knowledge myself. I really love her trendy look, she managed to match pieces that looked comfortable and versatile, yet made her look modern and classy all at once. I learned that just because we are a certain age, it is not necessary for us to only shop labels targeted at our age, we can still shop at brands for younger customers but it is the way we find the right clothes to express our individual or even signature style that matters the most.

One for the album with former Media Prima fashion advisor and style icon Zaihani Zain!

I feel so encouraged by that and it really inspired me to learn more about fashion and latest trends, which Zaihani advised, we can flip through magazines to see which style we like and make slides with visuals to learn which is suitable for us and what nots. Most importantly, we must have a white top and blue jeans in our wardrobe no matter our age as that is a must have wardrobe staple amongst others. Her words of wisdom also relaxed our minds as we might think looking fashionable means we need to spend a lot all the time. “Even with a small budget you can come up with a beautiful outfit. It is not about how expensive something is, but how well you combine the pieces and how you use accessories to add the final touches to your attire.” she said.

Fern Chua, founder of FERN, amidst her beautiful batik creations

Fashionably called PSP En Vogue, the event really brought together a diverse group of designers and one of them being this very interesting modern batik designs that I was immediately drawn to, created by Ms Fern Chua. Fern Chua was also the winner of Fashion Pitch 2013 by MyCreative Ventures and founder of FERN the new batik, a young and dynamic fashion label that reintroduces the aesthetic elegance of Malay Batik to the open-minded fashion-conscious, and there she was with her SS16 collection The Sound of The Sea. Her batik designs on scarfs, dresses, blouses and vests are one of a kind, all hand painted and they are not the traditional floral motives, in fact, most of them are very abstract art of colours and patterns that bring together a sense of luxury and class. I really love the vest she was wearing with a little black dress in this picture, it could be worn in various ways to liven up one’s attire. I think Ms Fern would also make a great stylist as she immediately spotted the plain black dress I was wearing and could envision me looking more impactful with any of her designer scarfs. Looking at her dresses, I felt I could float on the beach, in serenity with the wind blowing through my hair, yea it was that kind of impression that I received.

Member of the Malaysian Official Designers’ Association and founder of FR BLUE LABEL, Fairuz Ramdan talks about his journey and his career as a designer

Fairuz Ramdan, member of the Malaysian Official Designers’ Association (MODA) and founder of FAIRUZ RAMDAN BESPOKE, used the opportunity to present FR Blue Label to the audience.

A bear embellishes de designs by Fairuz Ramdan and his FR BLUE LABEL collection

On display and for sale were some of his elegant polo shirts for men, all with vibrant colours that will definitely make one stand out from the crowd. We learned from Fairuz how his career in fashion started really early on with his mum being passionate about sewing and how that passion got transferred to him as well while helping her out. How amazing that was, considering there were no girls in his family, all boys, yet how that early start really set him up to become an established designer he is today. To date, Fairuz had showcased his creation in numerous fashion events, namely The Mercedes Benz – Stylo F1 Fashion Grand Prix 2012, Men’s Fashion Runway 2012 Gala Night, BDA Gala Night Fashion Showcase 2012 and was awarded Most Fashionable Muse 2013 Award and the Most Promising Designer of the Industry 2013 Award at The Mercedes Benz – Stylo F1 Fashion Grand Prix 2013. A really impressive list of achievements for this fine young British-born lad.

Displayed at the ICE Gallery were many gorgeous, intricately designed high heels for women. They all have their own signature style and were the babies of XALF Design, a bespoke luxury footwear label which combines classic vintage aesthetics of the past with the bohemian New York style and meticulous craftsmanship, owned by non other than young and hip designers, Xavier Mah and Alfred Hor.

Xavier and Alfred proudly displaying their works of art

Alfred explained that XALF is a class above other shoes due to the handmade details and their love for quality craftsmanship. They have their bridal line showcased as well as The Great Gatsby and Out of Africa. At first I thought that XALF only made high heels but in fact, they do make all types including flats because their brand is all about customisation.

Model and actress Andrea Lee adores the high heels by XALF and its designer Alfred Hor

Customers will get their feet measured and get their chosen design custom made to fit them perfectly. That’s amazing as sometimes our feet can be different sizes for the left and right foot, I know that as I face that kind of issue all the time when buying heels.

The ICE Gallery, IJM LAND’s Centre of Excellence and property gallery at Pantai Sentral Park, set the perfect stage for a fashion and design event like this thanks to its well thought out interior design seamlessly combining dynamically flowing elements in order to create a feeling of organic nature within the two interlocking cubes.

Once finished, KL’s One and Only Urban Forest City Pantai Sentral Park will comprise 13 phases divided into commercial and residential areas that will spread over an area of about 58 acres. The township’s concept of green and sustainable living is expressed through convenient amenities such as Green Connectors & Boulevards that work as meeting hubs for the residents, a Linear Forest Walk that invites to further explore the surrounding forest area, or a pedestrian friendly architecture that reduces an excessive and polluting use of cars. The township’s first two residential phases Inwood & Secoya which are currently under construction are already highly sought after and all those interested should not wait much longer to pay the ICE Gallery a visit.

For more information, visit www.pantaisentralpark.com.