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Langkawi Helps malaysia Fashion Show in London
If luck is on our side, we may soon see our batik on the racks of Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. Representatives from the two fine stores are expected to attend a batik fashion show by Jendela Batik at The Dorchester in London next week. Co-owned by Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, wife of the Prime Minister, the batik boutique will feature 30 batik outfits in contemporary fashion.
Deliberately done with a fresh and modern feel, the elegant creations were created to tease the fashion tastebuds of 150 invited guests, including fashion historian Colin McDowell, Daily Telegraph fashion editor Hillary Alexander, socialite Tamara Beckwith and the eccentric British style icon Isabella Blow who has a fine eye for fashion. The latter has been credited for the rise of then fledgling designers like Alexander McQueen and Arkadius. Judging from a recent preview at its boutique in Kuala Lumpur and some shots taken at The Andaman, Langkawi, the creations do have that international appeal in design and cut, with a truly Malaysian touch in the prints and colours. Check out a 20s-style cocktail dress in tone-on-tone purple with ribbon and ruffle details. This comes with a matching cape of silk and chiffon sprinkled with hand- drawn star motifs to depict the midnight mood. Apparently, the cape was an inspiration by Endon who fell in love with a similar piece from the Orient she purchased at an antique boutique in Los Angeles.
For elegant evenings, there is a lime green coat-dress made interesting with asymmetrical buttons and adjustable ribbon-tie cuffs. It can be worn on its own or over a batik striped yellow dress with a hemline of different lengths.
The women-who- lunch set will love a yellow and brown three - piece silk number comprising a top detailed with a chiffon scarf near the bustline, a high- waisted skirt and three-quarter jacket.
What will definitely look stunning on the red carpet is a blazing orange halter dress with criss-cross detailing at the waist, to flash a bit of flesh. What's unique about the range is that most do not bear a striking batik pattern. While there are minor touches of the traditional awan larat and pucuk rebung patterns, expect to see more interesting prints such as the masculine pin-stripe and those that look like paint splashes.
Established batik craftsman Khalid Samsudin, winner of the inaugural Piala Seri Endon-Batik Design Competition, Masrina Abdullah and Malaysian Institute of Art graduate Jasmine Wong Khai Chian, designed the collection. Wong says it took her two months to design 15 dresses. "A lot of thought and work went into producing each one of them. For instance, I would first design a dress and when it is completed, I would think of the colour and where to place the prints," says the textile and fashion design graduate who was top in her class. Which explains why most of her designs are coloured tone-on-tone, with prints drawn at just the right places.
"This is what makes batik beautiful. We can decide on whatever colour we want, solid tones or gradual shades and the patterns can be drawn at just about anywhere. It's fine art, really," notes the 24-year-old. She adds that because the patterns are hand-drawn, there is guaranteed exclusivity as no single stroke is the same.
Dodi Mohammad, former publicist for shoemaker extraordinaire Datuk Jimmy Choo, who has lived in London for six years, observes that most Londoners know what batik is although they may not have seen it. "I think they'll be blown away by Jendela Batik. To make it big in London, apart from having good designs, you need to feed the fashion pack with a little story. And, I think the story of batik - when it was born, how it is made and so forth - will charm them," says Dodi, who's now handling PR work for the boutique.
"That's one of the reasons why we chose The Andaman on the mystical island of Langkawi for the fashion shoot.
We thank Malaysia Airlines for making the trip possible. Endon as a personal platform for promoting Malaysian batik, says Faisol Abdullah, of Jendela Batik. The boutique set they will also be a major sponsor for the upcoming London affair," up three years ago. While being a premier retail outlet with its own design team, it is one of several in the country that provide opportunities for established as well as rising new talents to showcase their work," Faisol notes.
The event in London is part of the boutique's branding exercise and London was chosen because of its familiarity to Malaysians. After all, Choo, Justin Oh and most recently, Bernard Chandran are all making waves in the fashion capital. The spring/summer 2004 collection entitled "Art to Wear" will feature four themes - Nature, Contemporary, Black & White and Asli. The latter is the most expensive line. In this range, classic evening dresses are adorned with exquisite batik artwork.
The collection focuses on the intricacy of the hand-painted resist technique in particular, with all the fine detailing and delicate craftmanship involved in the process. The outfits in fabrics like Thai silk, silk chiffon, crepe de chine, silk satin and organza will be tagged between $450 (RM3,105) and $600.
Twenty per cent of the sales will be donated to CancerBACUP, a charity dedicated to providing information and support to the estimated two million people living with cancer in Britain.
Langkawi 25/04/2004
