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Stars of Malaysian Couture
Local designers Edric Ong, Sharifah Kirana, and Orson Liyu delivered a commendable performance last Tuesday at the KL Fashion Week"s Gala Night held at the Shangri-la Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
A deep, throbbing tribal beat and the brassy tinkle of bells preceded the entrance of Sarawakian Ong"s Jungle Jingle collection. The collection was complemented by pendulous wooden accessories, artificial foliage, and woven rattan worn both as millinery and back-to-front obi.
The collection"s main features were his signature pua kumbu and hand-printed textiles functioning as shawls, sarongs and seductive tie-tops. and strong, traditional prints on rough-weave cotton tunics and trousers. All were presented in muted colours derived from natural sources - blues, olives, salmon pinks, earthy laterite and black.
Ethnic and adventurous as the designs were, the lush, green and heady jungles of Borneo have never looked more chic.
No less impressive was Sharifah"s effortlessly elegant collection that followed. Sure, the bell and butterfly sleeves might catch a snag on the high-street fashion circuit, but they looked good languidly flowing down the clinically white runway.
Her collection featured softly watered and boldly tie-dyed silk, crepe and chiffon, draped and layered in delectable colours - lightest lichen-green, baby petal-pinks, fuchsia, purple, chocolate, latté and mocha.
Noteworthy features were keyhole details whose apertures afforded glimpses of décolletage or torsos; vibrant hand-painted silk kimono tops, which Sharifah herself wore that night; highly flattering babydoll-esque cinched bodices; and, adding a touch of urban combat, chocolate calf-length silk cargo pants.
Having been visually saturated with motion and colour, it was up to Liyu to restore calm with his Blue collection.
Intended to convey “raw, sexual magnetism†and exhibit the “power of the modern womanâ€, his collection seemed more virginal (being completely rendered in white might have had a hand in that) but powerful nonetheless. Goddess-like even, with the models sporting braids of dark hair encircling their crowns. One got the impression that Liyu dressed them in manner of pedestal-dwelling fairytale princesses, having first raided a sequin and Swarovski crystal shop.
Slim and statuesque, they glided down the catwalk, sweeping trains of silk, satin and chiffon trailing below very low cut backs or tantalisingly strapped and laced.
Could the Blue theme have come from the marine-like embellishments on the 12 gowns? There was scalloped chiffon aplenty, either dangling in strips, reminiscent of jellyfish tentacles, or in encircling layers like a frill of cuttlefish fins, as well as the sea anemone-like grace of ostrich feather trims.
It was a promising start for KLFW, now in its third incarnation and going from strength to strength. Now it is up to fashion fans to pick up the tempting sartorial gems proffered.
Malaysia 09/05/2005
