KUALA Lumpur Fashion Weekend (KLFWend) celebrated pink-haired Dame Zandra Rhodes at its Fashion Runway event at KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC), yesterday.

This fashion forward event which takes place from November 15 to 22 showcases Rhodes’ exclusive collection, created for Kraftangan, made from Malaysian hand-painted silk, which was showcased at London Fashion Week, last September.

The theme for this year’s event revolves around creating focuses on our local heritage-based textile like batik, songket and limar, which is featured through the works of our local designers namely Malaysia’s renowned batik connoisseur, Fatimah Chik as well as Ruzz Gahara, Layar Sutra by Betty Banafe, Kraftangan, and Karyaneka.

Dame Zandra Rhodes celebrating her love for batik at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Weekend 2015.
KLFWend is organised in conjunction with the 1Malaysia Year-End Sale 2015 (1MYES), in support of the Malaysian government’s initiative to promote the country as a vibrant Duty Free shopping destination.

It is also aimed to attract new luxury and lifestyle brands to the country and make Malaysia a leading retail distribution hub within the region under the Tourism NKEA Entry Point Project #1: Malaysia, Duty Free Destination (EPP#1: Duty Free Malaysia).

Apart from retail fashion, KLFWend also features designer presentations categorized as the Kuala Lumpur Alta Moda presentations.

KL Alta Moda, which means ‘high fashion’ in Italian, aims to present a platform for the interaction between the couturiers or leading fashion designers and labels, as well as the higher echelon of the Malaysian society.

A fashion competition will also be held to identify new fashion talents who possess the potential to become innovative fashion industry players of the future, called The New Generation Fashion Awards.

Aside from Rhodes, other international designers showcasing their collection include Amato from Dubai and Australia’s Ae’lkemi.