M-IFW 09: M-IFA Gala
Global fashion shakers and makers flocked to the Malaysia-International Fashion Awards (M-IFA) Gala and Awards Presentation night to witness fashion showcases from top local and international designers. Drawing huge cheers from the crowd were the collections of Dato' Farah Khan, YSL, Pucci and Dato' Bernard Chandran, as well as the Malaysian fashion industry's equivalent to the 'Oscars', the M-IFA Awards Presentation. Read on to see who the winners were for M-IFW09!
Throughout the night, the runway shows were interspersed with the awards ceremony that included one of the most coveted prizes, the Most Promising Designer of the Year award. Our post coverage on M-IFW09: mifa's 10 Rising Stars gave you a glimpse of the young designers who were contending for the title. If you didn't tune into our live tweets, be prepared for an unprecedented surprise with the winners choice which will be revealed after a roundup review of the runway shows.
Dato' Farah Khan
The night started out a with a showcase of one of Malaysia's premier designer, Dato' Farah Khan. Her designs definitely supported one of my favourite trends; sequins! Blinged out flirty cocktail dresses were the name of the game and the crowd looked on with uanimous approval (and lust).
Ai Tominaga started out the show with a sequinned tank that beared the statement for the night
Flirty frocks and tops also dominated the Farah Khan showcase.
Pucci
One of the most undeniably recognizable prints in the fashion world, Pucci, took the stage proving that their reputation as a history-making fashion house is well-earned.
Pucci may be a master of prints, but they also excel at designing luxurious dresses that befit a cocktail party.
At the show, one of the models stumbled in her high heels but she made it seem as if it was part of the act by kicking off her heels in a very suave save while continuing to strut!
YSL
The Yves Saint Laurent showcase demonstrated two things; 1) black will always be the colour du jour in fashion and 2) nobody does it quite like the French.
It was sharp tailoring all around as models took to the stage with pants, dresses, tops, and jackets.
The choice of accessories also had us going slightly gaga.
Bernard Chandran
The man of the night was undoubtedly Dato' Bernard Chandran who showcased his Spring/Summer 2010 looks to an adoring crowd. Fresh from showing at the recent London Fashion Week, Chandran set the bar for Malaysian designers with the rave reviews he received at the event.
The collection spanned a wide range of inspirations - oriental inspired outfits with face masks to boot to sheer wispy kaftans that were just effortlessly graceful.
Check out the shoes at work here!
There were also very precise and structured silhouettes that delivered a visual impact for the hungry gazes of the fashion-forward crowd.
Avant garde pieces that were slightly androgynous were also part of the Bernard Chandran
Interesting headgear were also seen on the runways of the Bernard Chandran show.
In between the fashion shows, American crooner, Donnie Ray, took to the stage and belted out hits from the late great Michael Jackson.
The crowd danced along and even host, Andrea Fonseka, got in on the action too!
Winners List
Throughout the event, there was a total of 8 awards given to the best designers and collections of M-IFW09. The winners are as follows:
Best Skin Design for an iPhone: Satheswaran
Best Skin Design for a Blackberry: Tengku Syahmi
Female Model of the Year: Tinie
Male Model of the Year: Ikhwan
Chivas FantastiqueMEN Award: Jonathan Cheng and Voon Lai
Maxis Emerging Talent Award: PU3 (who weren't in attendance because one of them was getting married)
Maxis Innovation Awards for Star Couture: Sharifah Kirana
Most Promising Young Designer: Jonathan Liang and Tengku Syahmie
This was the first time in the 8 year history of Malaysia-International Fashion Week where two young designers were chosen as winners. Both debuted really strong collections so the win was well-deserved. This was a big win for Raffles International College where the two stem from and Gwen, who also studied there went absolutely bonkers with school pride.
The mifa Special Achievement Award which recognizes ongoing contributions to the local fashion scene was awarded to Dato' Bernard Chandran.
Overall, this was a star-studded event that celebrated the best and brightest of the Malaysian fashion scene. It certainly was a night to remember!
Related posts:
M-IFW09: mifa 10 Rising Stars
