SASHAYING down the runway in a resplendent bridal dress, Nur Amirah Haziqah Azmi, 19, looked classy and positively radiant. She was modelling the ‘Serendipity Collection’ at Kolej Vokasional ERT Setapak’s (KVERTS) Fashion Show 2019 in Forest Valley Hall, Cheras, recently.
The fashion show was a culmination of everything learned in DDC 3013 ― a fashion show course which is compulsory for Diploma in Fashion Design students at KVERTS.
The students learned to organise and manage a fashion show of international standard.
The team comprising 29 students took around five weeks to prepare the fashion show from start to finish.
Speaking at the event, KVERTS lecturer Amizah Amir said the students would be assessed throughout the course and major event.
It would be based on their ability to work independently and cooperate with others.
They must be able to communicate effectively; identify, analyse and solve problems; execute critical tasks within a specific period; and, lead and maintain respect for each other.
“For a bunch of teenagers who have never organised a fashion event of such scale, I would say bravo, well done!
“Personally, from an event organiser’s point of view, I’d say there’s always room for improvement though,” said Amizah.
For the students organising the event, seeing the audience’s reaction to their designs and collections gave them a sense of achievement and a feeling that all of their hard work had paid off.
“We wanted the audience to feel a sudden sense of delight and happiness,” said Nur Hanani Izzati Zainurin, 19, from Puchong, Selangor.
“These were the same senses we felt when designing and sewing the evening dresses. While we were preparing the gowns, we reminisced the time when we were little girls, fantasising and doodling our dream gowns,” she added.
NurHanani, who was the floor manager, said that staging a fashion show was challenging as they had never done something like this before.
“Being the leader, I felt it was all the more challenging because of the great responsibility in making sure everything goes smoothly.”
Sharifah Zulaikha Syed Shahrin, 19, from Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, concurred, saying: “As the head of the promotion team, I learned a lot of new things such as how to think creatively in creating promotional items to attract people to come to our show.”
Sharifah Zulaikha, who aspires to continue her family business and become a successful businesswoman in the fashion industry, looks up to designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Rizman Ruzaini and Alia Bastamam, among others.
A fashion show of this magnitude would surely require big funds, and that responsibility fell on Fatin Nadiah Wahab.
As the person in charge of finance, she attributed the success of the event to teamwork.
“The fashion show was a great event that was attended by many people. The team was not that big, but there was very good teamwork and the teachers had given a lot of great pointers for this show,” said Fatin.
“This is the first time I am holding this post. It is indeed a heavy responsibility as there was a lot of money involved, but I learned a lot from my teacher on how to handle the finances.
“Thankfully, the show went well even though there were some technical problems.” she added.
Local actor and singer Naim Daniel, a crowd favourite, entertained the audience with a rendition of his latest single Sumpah.
The show was also attended by KVERTS director Nor ‘Aidah Johari, well-known fashion designer Bon Zainal, industry professionals, KVERTS lecturers as well as parents and friends of students.
“I am very proud of the effort the students have put into the show. This is the result of the hard work that lecturers at Kolej Vokasional ERT Setapak have put in towards producing students with competence needed by the industry,” said Nor ‘Aidah.
“This group of students are the most well-mannered and charming I have taught. It is this quality, I think, that has enabled them to generate the most ticket sales,” said Amizah.
“On the other hand, their strength is also their weakness. Decisions need to be made in an instant, or within two to three hours.
“They need to grasp the understanding that in planning and managing an event, everything is interconnected. It is like a big jigsaw puzzle and if one piece goes missing or becomes damaged, then the overall picture won’t be pretty at all,” she said.
“Soon there will be a post-mortem and that’s where mistakes will be addressed and good effort will be praised. This will then be followed by a full report of the event. So the event is not the final destination, but a significant experience in their journey towards success.”