Last week I had the pleasure of attending KLFW (that’s Kuala Lumpur Fashion

Week, for those playing at home). This is the first time I attended my first show. The
shows were vibrant, artistic, interactive, and everything I could have asked for in
attending my first fashion shows. It was good. Like really good. Kuala Lumpur
Fashion Week (KLFW) returns for the tenth year this month after two years of the
pandemic. KLFW was created in 2013 by Andrew Tan to encourage emerging
designers to display their talents and showcase them to the world. KLFW will feature
more than 40 local designers’ ready-to-wear collections on the runway from August
17 to August 21, 2022. KLFW is held at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and attracts more
than 150,000 people. Pavilion KL is unlike any shopping centre you’ve ever seen.
For one, it’s gigantic (250,000 square feet across seven floors), and Fashion Week
takes place in the very centre of it. It’s strategically placed at the lowest floor, so
crowds of onlookers can gather around at every level to watch the performance
taking place below. Genius.
This year’s showcase will feature familiar and new names, such as Farah Khan,
Behati, Alia Bastamam, Kit Woo and many other designers. KLFW Mens wear
showcase featuring 4 distinguished designers: Bon Zainal, Fairuz Ramdan, Joe Chia
and Roslan Wilkinson. My first Fashion Week experience was amazing,
exhausting, exciting, and everything in-between. A lesson I learnt the hard way,
when I arrived at Fashion Week embarrassingly early, they said that a fashion show
never starts on time and It’s normal for a show to start 40-50 minutes after the
scheduled time. The first show at scheduled at 6pm (if I remember that correctly) and
we arrived at the entrance at 5:30. Eventually, at 6:45 the lights went down and the
show started.
Just like any fashion week, I was blown away by the standard of local design talent.
Malaysia’s top designers weren’t afraid to push boundaries – menswear emblazoned
with symbols of the devil, slinkies (yes, the toy) carried down the runway with
colourful ensembles, Space Age headpieces and models waving full-sized flags
during their final walk. Every show brought something different, just like these
models who decided to lay down halfway through. Equally as intriguing as the
designer showcases was the street style. Monochrome co-ord sets, big, Ellery-like
silhouettes with dramatic draping and colourful graphics were embraced by the
blogger army. And refreshingly, there wasn’t a single Gucci logo belt in sight. Covid-
19 has not gone anywhere though. Models, while dressed to the nines, are seen with
face masks on. Spotted Mr. Andrew from Andrew's Model sitting across and Jovian
Mandagie with Lisa Surihani at the end of the show.
Personally, I had a memorable experience there. It puts me in a life that I see on
Devil Wears Prada and Vogue. I never thought I could be in such swanky event. The
people I met are so awesome and the ambience is filled with the energy that you
won't experience anywhere else. Those who unable to attend Fashion Week, I would
suggest Live streaming. Our world is dominated by video. This is when fashion is at
its best and holds the opportunity for creating the largest audience when it is done
efficiently and correctly. Live streaming may be the single most important
technological advancement in fashion marketing.