ARE YOU INCLUDED?

The fashion industry is one of the prominent platforms in promoting diversity but are the local players doing enough?

- Syazil Abd Rahim

The conversation surrounding inclusiveness in fashion has on again reached fever pitch. Fashion has the potential to de-stigmatise and celebrate all races and cultures by including them in the narrative of diversity. However, while the global fashion industry is becoming more inclusive than ever, the local scene appears to struggle in following suit.

Take, for example, Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week (KLFW): the objective of the prestigious festival is to provide a major platform for homegrown designers to put forth and showcase their creative works to the public – both locally and internationally. In essence, it is a melting pot of designers from different backgrounds and styles. However, besides the Malays and Chinese, it seems quite rare to spot designers of other races taking centre stage for the past few years. With claims such as “the one and only Malaysia fashion week that treasures Malaysian ready-to-wear labels”, it appears to have not been able to wholly showcase the diversity of this country.