Young Designers Arena, Malaysian International Fashion Week 2011

Last night was my first attendance at a Malaysian International Fashion Week show. As everyone knows by now, the venue this year is at the newly opened Zebra Square along the busy Jalan Kampung Pandan stretch, not exactly my ideal location as I almost always get stuck in traffic congestion around the Kampung Pandan roundabout. I try to avoid going there as much as I can.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to pass up any opportunity to attend a show no matter what the weather and traffic conditions were. I would be there come hail, thunderstorm, floods, haze, anything! I’m no fashionista by any stretch of the imagination but I am interested in fashion and the latest trends.

I wasn’t sure that the venue was ready for guests as the car park area wasn’t paved and it was kind of hard walking through mud and pebbles in heels. I could feel bits of mud splashing on to my heels and ankles as I made my way to the main entrance. I was supposed to collect my ticket from their hospitality/reception desk but I couldn’t find it and after asking 2 people where it was located, came upon an unmanned and cordoned off booth which passed as the hospitality desk.

After collecting my ticket from one of the PR ladies, I waited in the corridor outside The Great Room together with hundreds of other guests. It was sweltering there and I was thinking how nice it’d be if there was an air-con waiting area. I had a makeup meltdown.

Anyway, there were 10 designers who showcased their latest designs last night and they were:-

Syarikim
Jye Couture
Zarrief
John Paris
Alex Yap
Andy Yap
Andy Salleh (Indonesia)
Dieu Anh Dao (Vietnam)
Sane Of Molly Shoreditch (Thailand)
Wanderlust (Philippines)

While I liked most of the designs, I must make special mention of the Filipino designer, Wanderlust whose designers came out all in a group and stood there while they walked down the catwalk one by one. That was really good because it enabled me to take close-up pics of the models’ faces. I wanted to observe the makeup as the models are all made up by MAC Cosmetics and here they are:-

I liked the hats and accessories on Wanderlust’s models. That set her apart from the rest of the other designers and made her attire the most memorable for me. A big “YAY” to her for the way her models stood still allowing for photo opportunities.