Founder’s Note
Welcome to another year of Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week!
2019 is a year that is challenging for many businesses – globally, regionally and locally. For fashion players, 2019 will be a year of awakening.
The ones who will succeed will have to come to terms with the fact that --- in the new standard that is taking shape around them, some of the old rules simply don’t work.
Allow me to quote the late World’s fashion Icon, Karl Lagerfeld - “Change is the healthiest way to survive.”
We must think less about survival and more about our strategic agenda. We must self-disrupt our own business models in response to the growing appetite to newness.
The keywords we must focus on are individuality and innovation while understanding that sustainability plays a big part of our global culture.
A strong brand identity will be crucial for domestic and international success as stronger brands will be able to take advantage of their brand strength for expansion using alliances and franchise arrangements.
Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2019 is only possible with the generous support of all our Sponsors & Partners with a special thanks to our Official Venue Partner, Pavilion Bukit Bintang, as they welcome us back for a 7thyear and Tourism Malaysia’s support for Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week throughout the years has enabled us to become the country’s premier Fashion Event. Thank you Dato’ Joyce.
On a side note, I would like to thank Fahrenheit for supporting us with an amazing space for Boost X KLFW Fashion Lab to take place. As a pure e-wallet event, 35 homegrown brands will be at the Fashion Lab from the 16thto 25thof August so please drop in and give them your support.
A Fashion Week is not complete without the support of our Official Hair Salon, MIKO who will be celebrating his 25thYear in the business, L’Oreal Professional as our Official Hair Partner and freshly on board for the first time – Shiseido as our Official Make-Up Partner.
Another exciting segment that’s happening during KLFW 2019 is Fashion Forward Batik Malaysia, an elevated initiative by KLFW to up-scale Malaysian Batik.
I started Fashion Forward Batik Kelantan when I was first approached by YM Tengku(Puan) Temenggong YTM Tunku Dato’ Hajjah Nurhayati to help promote Kelantanese Batik in 2017 and the outcome was so successful that we have scale it up to include Batik from all over the region.
This year, we are working together with the Malaysian batik pioneer, Kraftangan Malaysia provided batik textiles to 2 Kraftangan in-house designers and 4 young designers to design a range of modern and contemporary pieces to be showcased on the 1st Day of the Fashion Week.
I would like to thank Kloth Cares, SURI and United Nation Technology Innovation Labs for lending us their expert advice on sustainability – something that we all have to take to heart.
I must also congratulate all our partners for choosing to work with a multitude of Malaysian Designer in aligning their vision and ours.
With collaborative efforts with Designers and Brands, homegrown designers can reach out to a much wider audience that appreciate their work and creativity leading to stronger brand awareness and of course higher sales opportunities.
The Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week is a platform that does more than just showing the latest collections from many of our Malaysian designers.
It is an incubation and networking hub for our bravest and brightest creative minds to facilitate and further their businesses. Whether selling to consumers or pitching to potential buyers, it is without a doubt that KLFW is also a trade accelerating event. It is an event with many roles and responsibilities.
We can go on and on with regards to the many functions of a fashion company – from design, manufacturing, inventory, new technologies, distribution channel and so forth, but ultimately, what is required for any fashion company or professional for survival and growth is to establish instinctual relationship with the customers and to give consumers exactly what they need and in the way that they need it!
This might sound like a simple task but it is precisely this dialogue that we need to explore as we begin another week of the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week.
Allow me to extend a little longer for my speech as I am truly appreciative of the platform’s achievement alongside our homegrown designers who have been with us throughout the years in the fashion industry.
KLFW has been a game changer for the retail and lifestyle industry since its inception. As the organiser from your fashion capital, I often asked myself - If I am not doing this to promote our designers extensively, who will?
Wherever and whenever I got to know about our designers who have gained their recognition and respect, I always tell them that your mothership, KL Fashion Week is very, very proud of you.
While, deep down, I say to myself - Yes, Andrew! You made the right choice of starting off this platform for Malaysia and we have accomplished the mission of #MalaysiaForTheWorld.
KLFW wouldn’t have made it to the 7th year without the support that I have gotten from every single one of you in this room, especially all the sponsors and partners. Your presence with us today have certainly graced the event.
Once again, thank you for entrusting the platform and devoting your brand to associate with our KL Fashion Week designers; giving them every opportunity to achieve a greater height. - I can assure you that they will shine bright and potentially insert their names on the world’s fashion map.
Last but not the least, I hope that KL Fashion Week has done you proud.
Andrew Tan
Founder
Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week