Changing The Game

In this age of digitisation, consumers are calling the shots of what they want and how they want it. Here, how fashion insiders are evolving with this shifting landscape.

With social media influencers, celebrities and reality TV stars all playing a major part in determining what’s in or out, fashion trends have taken a major turn. A single endorsement by Chiara Ferragni could inspire millions of women to spend a cool USD2,000 on a pair of shoes, while in Malaysia, the likes of Scha Alyahya and Neelofa have influenced millions of fans to adopt their irreverent yet elegant personal styles (think the former’s high/low-cool and the latter’s leather turbans). In light of the changes, designers have had to change tack to deal with a new, more foreign fashion landscape, ruled by the very people they dictated fashion trends to in the past.

This global phenomenon has trickled down to Malaysia as well. We live in a globalised world, after all, and the Internet revolution has allowed for trends to sweep the world in minutes. How then are our homegrown designers dealing with this new terrain?

A DIFFERENT BEAT

Having been in the business for 19 years, the Khoon Hooi brand is firmly established in the country and overseas. Eschewing fashion weeks, the 47-year-old designer marches to the beat of his own drum, holding his own shows and selecting his own venues.

Nevertheless, he has observed a major change in the way local fashion designers are viewed. “The younger generation is more accepting of homegrown brands. In the past five years, local designers have been emerging—a demand sparked by the realisation of Malaysian talent.” With the younger generation in mind, the designer has even engineered a coup of sorts, enlisting Ally Mukhriz, granddaughter of prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to be the face of his Raya collection.