While Zebra Square, the venue of the Malaysian International Fashion Week (MIFW) may leave much to be desired as it’s still very unfinished, the show that started the week out definitely did not disappoint. It surprised me to be able to witness an actual Fashion Week show that was inspired by a gothic theme! The Young Designers Arena (YODA) would announce the names of their student designers Hazzerwan, Daniel Arif, Afiq Mohamed, Mohd Nizam, Tan Phaik Imm, Kok Leong Vee, Voon Sue Ying, Teo Chun Keat, Wong Sek Li, and Shannar, as well as the titles of their pseudo-collections (because they were only able to showcase at most 3 of their best work) and I would react silently in my seat whenever I would hear something that sounded very unique, as many were just called along the lines of “gothic architecture” or “romantic goth”. The collection that caught my attention most was called “egyptian goth”, which I thought was a very innovative concept! In the end, the designer for this collection, in his all-black ensemble and almost-impossible sky-high black patent boots, won as the new face/representative of his fashion school. Congratulations to him! That black babydoll “egyptian goth” dress that he made - I covet!

Other fashion schools came to show off their best student representatives moments after the awarding and some sort of peculiar variety show - to say that it was an extremely casual first day for the MIFW is quite an understatement, imho. Designers from MIA, PJCAD, TAR College, Limkokwing and Raffles International College presented their colorful-to-compensate-for-all-the-black-earlier work and my personal pick would be the collection that made use of jewel tones, turbans and a lot of nice velvety fabric. Plus points for the designer since he walked down the runway with a completely matching ensemble.

Next up: Glory of Kebaya, Autumn in KL and *THE* Bernard Chandran!