KUALA LUMPUR, 19 OCTOBER 2022: Continuing the fashion saga that started from a mission to increase public support for local products and elevate the profiling of talented young designers, Malaysian Bumiputra Designer Association (MBDA) is organising a series of events during this whole month such as forum (panel discussions), products emporiums and fashion showcases/runaways.
The month-long campaign saw an engaging line up of speakers who participated in this year’s forum that discussed the various topics related to the fashion industry, both in the local and global spectrum. Throughout the day on 13th October, there were four separate forums that were moderated by TV host and producer, Raj Aria.
The first panel discussion of the day titled ‘Fashion in Malaysia’ reviewed the current and future trends of the fashion industry in the country. The speakers of the session were the founder of the Malaysian Bumiputera Designer Association (MBDA), Bon Zainal Harun, who is also the founder and designer of Bon Fashion Legacy Sdn Bhd, and was joined by senior lecturer of fashion at UiTM Shah Alam, Faizal Hamid, who is also a renowned curator, writer and speaker within the fashion industry.
“We want to highlight how the Malaysian fashion industry has improved over the years – creating premium quality products that could even compete with international brands. By supporting local brands, Malaysians and tourists could contribute in revitalising the local fashion industry, both directly and indirectly,” said Bon Zainal.
Following that, founder of STYLOP.com, Emdad and CEO of NanoTextile, Dr Thomas Ong Poh Shing discussed ‘Technology & Fashion’, exploring the possibilities of advanced technologies further elevating the fashion industry by creating more innovative and groundbreaking products that were sustainable for the environment, had functional purpose and were more durable – thus reducing the fashion waste produced by “fast fashion” practices in the fashion industry and rapidly-changing consumer demands. The two speakers also mentioned how brick and mortar-centric businesses, such as those involved in fashion, were able to survive the pandemic by leveraging on the online marketplace.
“Creating high end products requires high end technology, because we can’t simply produce fabric or textile by hand alone. With the constant evolution of technology and its capabilities, it can allow us to better cater to the growing demand of physical and online customers, some of whom are extremely savvy in ethical fashion principles and values,” Thomas Ong commented during the panel discussion.
For the topic of ‘Digitalisation in Fashion (NFT & Metaverse)’, former managing director of Warner Music Malaysia, Darren Choy and the Director of Pokanime Planet as well as an experienced NFT builder, Kevin Poi talked about how NFTs have changed the scene for both fashion industry players and its customers.
To end the day, the final two speakers namely Amir Kadir and Leslie Variyan dived into the topic of ‘Business in Fashion’, where they shared their success stories with each other and the attending audience. Amir Kadir is a renowned fashion designer both locally and internationally with experience producing designs for some of Hollywood celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez and even Paris Hilton. Meanwhile, Leslie Variyan prides himself of being the creative director of a modest wear fashion brand, VARIANTE which set the Malaysian Ready to Wear scene on fire upon its label’s launch resulting in its rapid rise in demand with consumers.
MY Gaya Month is a campaign that was curated by MBDA, in support of KPDHEP’s Kempen Beli Barangan Malaysia, to promote Malaysian-made products through fashion and is taking place for one whole month from 6th October until 10th November, 2022 at Fahrenheit88.
To learn more about MY Gaya Month, the designers and collections, you can click here or visit www.mbdamalaysia.com/my-gaya-month.
