4th Malaysia International Fashion Week kicks off

KUALA LUMPUR: The fourth annual Malaysia International Fashion Week 2007 (M-IFW ‘07) — this year’s premier platform for promoting Malaysia’s fashion talents to the world — took off at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.

Organised by the Malaysian International Fashion Alliance (Mifa), M-IFW ‘07 which will be running until Sunday will showcase creations from various renowned designers in Malaysia on runway shows, cocktail events, gala evenings as well as the prestigious Malaysian International Fashion Awards.

The four-day event launched yesterday by Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai will also host the revamped mifa8 competition, mifa8 Fashion Forward.

“I believe this fashion week will be a new trade for tourism and will encourage designers to grow to a higher standard. Fashion is not just about beautiful outfits, but at the same time, it is a good marketing platform in promoting Kuala Lumpur as a fashion platform,” said Lim.

“With M-IFW ‘07 being the sole fashion week in Malaysia this year, we have the ideal opportunity to really take our core mission — which is to promote Malaysian fashion designers to the world and to bring the world to our homegrown talent — to the next level as we continue to consolidate Kuala Lumpur’s standing as a major Asia-Pacific capital with a constant flow of innovative fashion leadership and inspiration,” said Mifa CEO Syeba Yip.

Drawing some of the best designers in the region, M-IFW aims to give these designers a platform to showcase their collections to buyers, media and industry heads from around the world.

“Fashion is not just about styles and designs; it is an expression of culture. While models walk down the runway, each of us will be able to see a part of ourselves in these models as what they wear indirectly speaks to us individually,” said Mifa chairman Heah Sieu Lay.

Among the other highlights of M-IFW ‘07 are KL Six — a showcase of the work of Malaysia’s renowned fashion designers presented by The Edge and theSun, a fashion showcase by Carven Ong, an Islamic Fashion Festival and various other runway shows.

By The EDGE MALAYSIA