By LIM MAY LEE alltherage@thestar.com.my THE words “fashion designer” may conjure visions of haute couture, which often appear, well, unwearable to the average consumer. But Andrew Tan, founder and organiser of Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week RTW (which stands for Ready-To-Wear), insists that the Malaysian market is not ready for artsy-fartsy designs that have no place on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Instead, he highly recommends young Malaysian designers focus on ready-to-wear clothes instead. “The fact is, young designers need to eat. They’re up-and-coming and have no existing customer base yet. They have bills to pay. And those bills cannot be paid if they create whatever they want from their imagination,” he said emphatically. “If they do that, people will just go to the chain stores.” Wearability aside, ready-to-wear clothes need to be, well, ready to wear. Tan believes that great designs don’t have to be created upon order, but can also be available whenever a customer needs it.
Ready-to-wear clothes need to be ready for immediate purchase and/or delivery, as opposed to traditional bespoke designer wear.
That’s why he gave KL Fashion Week its strong emphasis on ready-to-wear fashion, characterised by a customer’s ability to buy clothes right off a rack or directly from an online store. The local Malaysian market, Tan feels, is most ready to embrace this sector of the fashion industry, despite many young designers’ aspirations to be the next Karl Lagerfeld. “Get real! It’s not about being famous,” he said, when asked about what young designers should aspire to. “You have to sell.” Related story:
Young designers, listen up! Tan is also passionate about helping Malaysian designers get their collections onto runways, which is why KL Fashion Week joined forces with AirAsia for the AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2015, a competition focusing on ready-to-wear designs. “Our designers, especially the new ones, need a lot of help,” he said. The competition was open to young aspiring designers, from students to those just starting to venture into the business.
Lee’s collection was inspired by the texture of the trees in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. She used a mix of wool and gunny sack material to create the unique textures that ultimately won her a chance to showcase her collection at KL Fashion Week 2016.
The top three winners of the competition will be given opportunities to show their full collections at KL Fashion Week 2016, a huge boost for any young designer. “This was the perfect partnership, because all the young design and fashion students had the opportunity to become designers in their own right,” said Tan. “It makes sense, right? After all, AirAsia’s motto basically means they help people achieve their dreams!” he said. And help it did. Competition winner Lee Bao En, 22, is extremely grateful for the opportunity. “Thanks to AirAsia, I have so many more opportunities to pursue my dream of being a designer,” said Lee, who also won an apprenticeship with renowned Malaysian designer Jovian Mandagie, aside from the full collection she will show at KL Fashion Week 2016. The final year design student at UCSI snagged the top prize with her Cambodian-inspired collection, featuring lots of natural fibre fabric like gunny sacks and wool to create a texture reminiscent of the tree barks at Angkor Wat. During the competition, Lee found it difficult to strike the right balance between
design and wearability. However, Tan, who mentored the participants, gave her the advice she needed to power through.
AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2015 champion, Lee, backstage during the fitting session ahead of the grand finals and runway showcase.
“What he said is true – Malaysians would rather spend on ready-to-wear,” she said, admitting that she too, would prefer to let her imagination run free. “But the industry here is tough and we all have to work very hard to create a name for ourselves. So, it’s not the right time for me to go crazy yet,” she said with a laugh. For now, though, the young designer is looking forward to learning how a fashion house works through her apprenticeship, and also going on a trip to Tokyo, courtesy of AirAsia. “People there are so stylish!” she said. “I feel I will be able to pick up even more inspiration while I’m there.”
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