LONDON : The Malaysian batik canting with the famous Dame Zandra Rhodes touch will make an appearance at the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Weekend Autumn/Winter 2014 this November.
The collaboration between Karyaneka and renowned fashion designer Zandra Rhodes whose list of clients include the late Diana Princess of Wales, Jackie Onasis, Elizabeth Taylor and Freddie Mercury of the rock group ‘Queen’, was announced on Monday at Rhodes’ salon and studio in London.
Rhodes, who is now based in San Diego, where she will be designing the collection for the November event, hosted the announcement of the collaboration attended by officials from Tourism Malaysia, who is co-sponsoring the KLFW, officials from Karyaneka, renowned shoe designer, Dato Jimmy Choo, and Chairman of the National Visual Art Gallery, Dato’ Mahadzir Lokman.
The collaboration, a first for Karyaneka with an international designer, aims to bring Malaysian products to the international stage and at the same time help woo visitors to the KL Fashion Weekend to be held at the National Visual Art Gallery, as well as bring them to the Year End Sales.
Several pieces of silk batik fabric and batik canting have been sent to Rhodes’ studio in San Diego. Rhodes who fell in love with the Malaysian fabric and designs of Malaysian textiles during her debut at the KL Fashion Weekend last year, said she was excited at the prospects of giving her interpretation to Malaysian textiles.
“I thought Malaysia has some very lovely textiles and I will be designing them with some enhancements. It is so exciting,” said Rhodes who added that the appearance of the combination of the Zandra Rhodes and Karyaneka label will not stop at the KL event but will make a headway for the London Fashion Week next year.
Rhodes also held an exhibition entitled Zandra Rhodes Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles at the National textile Museum of Malaysia and presented her couture collection representing the Great Campaign at the Kuala Lumpur Alta Moda Spring/Summer last year.
It is hoped that this collaboration will help bring Malaysian textiles and Malaysian textile designers to the international stage and open the doors to other products and designs on catwalks in New York, Paris and Milan.
“For Karyaneka, this is a collaboration of brands. We feel that both brands on the same label will give a greater impact for the products that we are marketing. This will also enable us to increase the value of our products for the domestic as well as the foreign markets,” said Mansur Abd Latiff, General Manager,Syarikat Pemasaran Karyaneka Sdn Berhad.
He added that the eventual appearance of Malaysian textiles in Zandra Rhodes collection at the London Fashion Week next year will pave the way as well as give recognition to Malaysian products.
According to Deputy Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Dato Hj Azizan Noordin who was in London for the Islamic Fashion Festival, personalities such as Zandra Rhodes have a huge following everywhere, and their endorsements of Malaysian products will get the attention through social media, such as Facebook, Twitters and Instagram.
He said,” Our collaboration with international designers will not only promote fashion but also our handicrafts as well as help attract visitors to the country.”