‘THE SHOW’ — A Fashion Fusion Showcase was recently held at the Taylor’s University campus, where the audience was amazed by innovative creations that challenged traditional fashion norms.
An intersection of art, fashion, sustainability, and technology
Taylor’s University, in academic collaboration with Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week (KLFW), recently hosted ‘THE SHOW’ — A Fashion Fusion Showcase, an experimentation and intersection of art, fashion, sustainability, and technology.
The impressive showcase was carried out by Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology (Honours) degree students throughout four semesters.
A total of 39 innovative creations that challenged traditional fashion norms wowed the audience of fashion enthusiasts, industry professionals, members of the media, and the general public.
The models strutted down an open-air runway during the event, which was held on the campus grounds at Taylor’s Lakeside in front of a large audience. It was a relief that the drizzling rain ceased for the duration of the show that evening.
Additionally, there were interdisciplinary collaborations under the Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management through captivating performances, canapé-style dishes, and edible art sculpture exhibition built entirely out of chocolate, icing, and food materials.
“Through vivid styling that transcends cultures and geographical boundaries, ‘THE SHOW’ proved to be a transformative experience for all who attended,” said Maria Sandra Wijaya, Programme Director of Taylor’s Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology.
According to her, the Fashion Design Technology students harnessed their unique ability to integrate cutting-edge technology into their designs with an artistic vision. These ingenious designs emphasised the fusion of fashion and technology, pushing the envelope of creativity and craftsmanship to redefine the future of the industry.
Four fashion collection concepts were unveiled: Organic Geometry that fuses materials and colours to form shapes and structures of garments; Unconventional Fashion using mixed media art to create texture and depth; Layered Fashion that layers every part of the textile; and Genderless Morphe which transforms into conversible designs.
Leading up to ‘THE SHOW’, students from the Bachelor of Interactive Spatial Design (Honours) were given the opportunity to collaborate with Fashion Design Technology students and industry partner Mitoworld by Virtualtech Frontier to create Malaysia’s first Metaverse Fashion Show called Mayamode.
Taylor’s University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Professor Dr Pradeep Nair, said that the Fashion Design Technology degree offered by Taylor’s Design School is designed differently than other fashion programmes.
“’THE SHOW’ is a prime example of how we incorporate high-end technologies like body scanners and an impact-based approach into our fashion technology degree to graduate world-class designers aligned to the triple bottom line concept of sustaining people, planet, and prosperity.”
“Our students have been truly privileged to develop their flair and creativity to tackle complex problems in the fashion sphere alongside some of the best in the fashion industry such as Andrew Tan, the founder of KLFW,” he added.
Prior to ‘THE SHOW’, the press was invited to a Show and Tell Press Segment at Mayamode, Malaysia’s first co-working fashion studio, where the nation’s first 3D Fashion Pod was unveiled.
The 3D body scanning technology aids precision body scanning and digital measurements, increases production speed, eliminates physical samples, lowers sample making cost, and reduces material waste — powering a more sustainable fashion production process.
This was made possible through the partnership with Puspamara Sdn Bhd, a leading garment manufacturing company since the 1970s that aims at meeting evolving fashion processes following extensive product development research.
“We are now moving forward as the leader in digitised garment development using the said Ibrahim Aiman Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi, Director of Puspamara Sdn Bhd.
The integration of the 3D Fashion Pod and the CLO 3D technology, a CAD tool will further complement the top-notch facilities at Mayamode, empowering virtual fashion and made-to-measure clothing.
Apart from empowering education institutions to infuse technology in the education sphere, the 3D Fashion Pod will also complement the National Size Malaysia Campaign.
Led by Ts Dr Norsaadah Zakaria, Research Fellow at The Design School, and with the interest of the Department of Standards Malaysia under the purview of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the campaign aims to analyse and collect Malaysians body data measurements to develop the first national standard sizing system that will benefit Malaysian consumers and the garment industry.
“We are ecstatic to join forces with these talented students to bring Mayamode into existence. This extraordinary metaverse showcases top notch facilities and technology together with an exclusive retail pop-up for Taylor’s fashion label, Mayamode, one which also includes an impressive display of past projects crafted by Taylor’s Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology students. Collaborating with these visionary individuals, we are charting the course for the future of fashion, embracing innovation, and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in the digital realm,” said Jason Low, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Virtualtech Frontier, creators of Mitoworld.
