WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF

Malaysian fashion designer extraordinaire, Melinda Looi, talks us through her enchanting costumes for Dream Forest Langkawi, a sensory spectacle all set to light up this year’s PRESTIGE KL Ball.

- COLIN GOMEZ

Melinda Looi sees things differently than most. That much is evident when you look at some of the creations she’s put out in a glittering career spanning over two decades. It’s even more evident if you get the chance to catch her in person, as we had the opportunity to interview her at her sprawling atelier-residence in Bukit Damansara.

Renowned for her avant-garde style and eye for the unconventional, it was due, in part, to these qualities that PRESTIGE invited Melinda to work in collaboration with Dream Forest Langkawi for the showcase performance of the PRESTIGE KL Ball 2024. The whimsy and wonder that they respectively bring makes this partnership a match made in heaven.

SETTING THE STAGE

The theme for this year’s ball is ‘Fantasia’, after all, and so what could be more apt a spectacle than the magical world of the Dream Forest Langkawi unfolding right here on a KL stage? Conceptualised and developed by the peerless Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina, Dream Forest Langkawi is a spellbinding experience that brings the mythical tales of Langkawi Island to life onstage, whisking spectators away to a realm where the lines between dreams and reality are blurred. An immensely talented cast, comprising Suhaili Micheline as Garuda, Azmie Zanal Abdden as Mat Teja, Fiza Thomas as Mambang Sari, and Emma Tosh as the Princess of China, is headed by Nikki Palikat, who takes on the lead role of Sang Gedembai.

A play of such fantastical proportions needs costumes to match. To craft the garments that truly suspend disbelief is a tall order indeed, and so it follows then that only the best will do. This is where Melinda Looi comes into the picture.