2011年4月21日星期四

Bernard Chandran




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Found by Tan Yee Kay

The Fashion Designer "Bernard Chandran"

Bernard Chandran
Dato' Bernard Chandran
Born
February 27, 1968 (1968-02-27) (age 43)
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Nationality
Malaysian
Education
Paris American Academy
Labels
Bernard Chandran
Religion
Hindu
Spouse
Datin Mary Lourdes Chandran

Dato' Bernard Chandran (born 27 February, 1968) is a Malaysian fashion designer. His talents have earned him many faithful clients among Malaysia's elite most notably the Royal families of Malaysia and Brunei as well as two former Miss Universe. Due to this, Chandran used to be known as Malaysia's "Prince Of Fashion", but is now being hailed as Malaysia's "King Of Fashion".
Bernard Chandran is also a Malaysian television personality. He's known as the chief designer of the reality television show Project Runway Malaysia, since its debut on 8TV on 3 August 2007.
He is also a brand ambassador for the Tiffani By Izen service apartments (to be completed in 2009), developed by Ireka Land Sdn Bhd.
Chandran was a guest judge on Britain's Next Top Model, Cycle 6, Episode 12. The top three models were given the chance to model for Chandran's fashion show during the London Fashion Week.


Early Years
Bernard Chandran was born to Mr. P Ramachandran and Mrs Chow Yook Lin.Bernard Chandran is of both Indian and Chinese parentage (commonly referred to as Chindian in Malaysia). He grew up in an average Malaysian family. His father wanted him to become an accountant and he almost followed this advice, before briefly considering being a tobacconist, "It's a good career!".
At aged 16, he had already decided he wanted to be a fashion designer and it was just a case of convincing his father. He initially studied fashion in a local fashion college known as International Fashion Training Centre (IFTC) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
During his time at the college, he was known for his shyness backstage around the undressed models during his initial fashion shows at the local college. Given three months after graduation to prove himself, he arranged his debut solo show, taking the first steps on the road to becoming Malaysia's top designer. Bernard's father was won over and helped fund his son's further studies, with Bernard soon winning a place at the prestigious Paris Fashion School in Paris, France.
In 1991, he decided to join the 'Open European Contest for Look of the Year 2000'. Chandran won and broke the record of being the first non-European to win the coveted title. "The contest was gruelling," grinned Bernard. "I am so happy to be the first non-white winner as it proves that Asians are as good as anyone else". For his pains, Chandran received a camera, 19 000 francs, and more important publicity and contacts which opened doors.
Lolita Lempicka offered him a job on the spot, which was flattering but he felt it was still too early. "I want to be completely well-versed in my craft before joining a top house because their expectations are high and by then you are not allowed room to make mistakes." quipped Chandran.
Chandran is only too aware how important this was in starting his career, "Everyone must go to a fashion school to understand the basics of fashion. Not only to learn design, but the history of fashion too".

 

Fashion Business

 In the Industry

After honing his skills overseas in Paris, he returned to Malaysia to set-up his maiden shop in KL Plaza in 1993. The first 'Bernard Chandran' couture house was a small rented shop with a handful of staff in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. From there, he built up his client base amongst the who's who of Kuala Lumpur, ranging from the rich to royalty. He has now expanded his shop in KL Plaza to take up 4 shop lots and is nearly 300 square meters in area. He was voted Designer of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2003.

Chandran has also started introducing Europe to his couture with a boutique at swanky Knightsbridge, London.
His creations are drawn from Chinese, Malay, Indian and other eastern cultures. He regularly does shows around the world, although he does tailor his overseas ranges to be more daring than his range for Malaysia. Bernard believes in the importance of creativity, confidence and vision. "I believe in myself. If my heart feels right then I will go with what it says"
"My inspiration comes from my customers...how they move, how they talk, their attitudes, their lifestyles. When I first meet a new customer, I make her understand that I am here to make you look good," Chandran's favourite designers are Valentino "For his femininity and finishing", and Galliano "He has a great spirit".
Chandran himself has appeared on the covers of numerous Malaysian magazines, such as Malaysia Tatler, Shape Malaysia, Female, Men's Health and Parenthood.. His wife, Datin Mary Lourdes Chandran has shared spotlight with him on few covers too.

 

Celebrities in Bernard Chandran

Estelle notably wore a striking azure blue dress by the designer with exaggerated pointing hips to perform at the 2008 MTV European Music Awards. She also chose to wear two (one on stage in a duet with Kanye West and one for the red carpet) of his distinctive pieces to the 51st Grammy awards, where she went on to win her first Grammy.
Lady Gaga has also been spotted in designs from Chandran's Collections. She even wore a Chandran piece for her interview with Jay Leno
English electropop musician, Little Boots wore a Chandran dress for her interview with Metro.co.uk.
Rihanna wore a hat from Chandran's Autumn Winter 09 Collection for her famous topless, bondage-style shoot with Vogue Italia.
Musical goddess, Tori Amos chose to wear a stunning red gown from Chandran for the cover of her 2009 holiday album, "Midwinter Graces". The dress is from Bernard Chandran’s Autumn Winter 09 collection.  Chandran had also designed all the 15 gowns for her current concert.

 

Collections

Chandran's Ready-to-wear collections.
  • Autumn / Winter 2011-12
  • Spring / Summer 2010
  • Autumn / Winter 2010
  • Spring / Summer 2010
  • Autumn / Winter 2009
  • Spring / Summer 2009
  • Autumn / Winter 2008
  • Spring / Summer 2008
  • Autumn / Winter 2007
  • Spring / Summer 2007
  • Autumn / Winter 2006 - 2007
Chandran comes up with a special collection every year called the Petang Raya Collection (An Evening Of Celebration) to cater to the local Malaysian market for the festive season of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
  • Petang Raya 2010 / 2011
  • Petang Raya 2009 / 2010
  • Petang Raya 2008 / 2009
  • Petang Raya 2007 / 2008
  • Petang Raya 2006 / 2007

 

Family

He is happily married to one of his former models, Datin Mary Lourdes Chandran (A Malaysian of ethnic Indian origin). She is a former International model and was one of the most successful Malaysian models in the 1980's. Together they have five children.
Datuk Chandran is intensely proud of his Indian ancestry and heritage. His home has many portraits of him and his family regaled in extravagant historical Indian garbs.
Chandran is firm about not spoiling his kids. That means no branded clothes or flippant purchases, so they would learn the value of money. He starts his mornings by offering puja (prayers), together with the family. It’s a daily discipline that he wants his children to embrace, so they will grow up with a strong set of values and a sense of duty. Chandran wants his children to be grounded in faith. 


Awards
  • He became the first Malaysian to win the 'Open European Contest for Look of the Year 2000' in 1991.
  • He was voted Designer of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2003.
  • He received his honorific, Datuk, in 2006 when he was awarded the Seri Indera Mahkota Pahang (SIMP) by the Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar, the Sultan of Pahang, Malaysia.
  • Chandran was awarded Malaysian International Fashion Alliance's [MIFA] Special Achievement Award 2009.




Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Chandran
Found by Rachel Wong Sook Leng

2011年4月12日星期二

The Fashion Designer "Melinda Looi"







Melinda Looi (born as Looi Lai Yee in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is an award-winning fashion designer famous for her signature avant-garde and vintage style. She has won numerous accolades; she won the title Designer of the Year three times, twice at the Malaysian International Fashion Awards Malaysian International Fashion Week and latest in 2009 at Mercedes Benz Stylo Fashion Awards .

She has three distinct brands to her name, which are: Melinda Looi Couture, Melinda Looi Prêt-à-Porter and MELL, which are sold in Malaysia, and selected boutiques in Europe, Australia and the Middle East. Her latest addition is a sub-line called MELL BASICS consisting of must-have basics made from certified Organic Cotton.

Besides working on her own fashion labels, Melinda is also involved in numerous and very diverse collaborations reaching from charities and eco-friendly events to art projects as well as collaborations with brands such as L'Oréal , Levi's, Swatch,…and many more.


Education and Early Years
 


Melinda Looi was born into a family where her mother was an illustrious tailor. She had no plans to venture into fashion as she wanted to become an artist. However, her parents were against it as it was too risky and thus decided upon the next best thing, fashion.

She studied at the La Salle Institute of Design in Kuala Lumpur before winning the title of Malaysia Young Designer Award in 1995. The prize was a scholarship to study at the La Salle School of Fashion in Montreal, Canada. In 1998, Melinda returned to Malaysia and worked for her parents’ business for a year before venturing out on her own.

Within the short span of her ten years of creating unique story-telling 'art pieces', the designer's prêt-a-porter wear and couture line have won an international clientele from the U.S.A, Middle East, South Africa, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Her clients range from socialites to the working professionals, and royalty to celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears and Mena Suvari.

Her passion for culture, theatrics and costume culture is reflected in her designs - the gothic tradition of 'avant-garde' is her signature, and eclectic vintage is her handwriting. The designer has confessed her love for chiffon, which she finds sexy and classy, as predominantly used in most of her creations.

Melinda’s favourite designer is Jean Paul Gaultier for his ever changing bold and adventurous style that dares to be different. One of her dreams is to establish a museum in Malaysia dedicated to the Malaysian fashion industry and the history of fashion.

Fashion Business

Mellooi Creation was formed in the year 2000 to take the designer’s creations to greater horizons while also strengthening the brands. Today, a private limited status has been formulated and Mellooi Creation Sdn. Bhd. was created to further develop business opportunities for Melinda Looi Couture, Melinda Looi Prêt-a-Porter, and MELL in local and international markets.
Being part of the multi-racial and multicultural country that is Malaysia (Malaysia’s population consists of 62% Malays, 24% Chinese and 8% Indians, with other minorities and indigenous peoples) she has consistently drawn inspiration from this rich cultural diversity. Lately, she has been participating in the Islamic Fashion Festivals  in Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, venturing into a new and booming market, with her creations that were traditional yet modern. 

Brands

Melinda Looi Couture
Melinda Looi Couture is the designer’s top of the line collection under the brand. It is made to measure exclusive clothes with the usage of the finest quality materials such as French laces and silk-chiffons. The line is also extended to sophisticated bridal gowns with rich fabrics and luxurious details. The Melinda Looi Couture Showroom is located in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur where the couture collections can be found and the designer herself welcomes local and international clientele.

Melinda Looi Prêt-à-Porter
Melinda Looi Prêt-à-Porter is her collection of ready-to-wear evening dresses in a series of cocktail dresses, tops, bottoms and accessories. The collection has garnered wide popularity among socialites, celebrities, office ladies, modern housewives and those seeking for young, trendy and stylish apparels. Since 2009 this line also offers ready-to-wear bridal gowns.

Awards


Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melinda_Looi

Found by Rachel Wong Sook Leng