Malaysian Designers Debut "wan & Mary" At International Thai Silk Fashion Week

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysian designers Hazzerwan Hazlee and Maryam Musa, founders of the “Wan & Mary” showcased their collection of modern contemporary Thai Silk at the 3rd International Thai Silk Fashion Week here. The collection “La' Betta", inspired by “Siamese Fighting Fish” or known as “Ikan Laga” in Malaysia, symbolises beauty and freedom. The duo created a total of 26 pieces of Thai silk outfits with a mixture of inspirations based on Malaysian traditional costumes such as Kebaya. Maryam said the duo took about three weeks to create and tailored the outfits. “It is “Wan & Mary” debut at an international fashion show. It is also the biggest collection we ever created, thus far,” she told Bernama after the fashion show. Meanwhile, Hazzerwan said the collection, from a variety of shapes, and vibrant colours as well as mixed media textures using Thai Silk and silk tulle to create the demi-couture look. “Wan & Mary used Thai silk for our Baju Kurung or traditional costume. However, at the show, we also presented a selection of modern contemporary Thai silk outfits. “Many may think Thai silk is only for a traditional costume. We hope the show will encourage the younger generation to wear Thai silk with contemporary design,” he said. Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Jojie Samuel and his wife Datin Catherina Cherian Samuel were present at the fashion show on Saturday. Also present was Malaysian icon professor and international shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo. The 3rd International Thai Silk Fashion Week was organised by Thailand’s Prime Minister's Office, in collaboration with the Association of Thai Culture and Promotions in honour of the anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother's 90th birthday this year. This year, more than 1000 metres of Thai silk fabrics have been delivered to 60 participating countries including Malaysia to create a collection of traditional and contemporary outfits made using Thai silk to be showcased at the fashion show. Jojie thanked the Malaysian designers for their effort to put their creativity, inspiration and innovation into designing the outfit using Thai Silk. “The combination of Thai silk and the mixture of Malaysian traditional costumes represents the exclusivity of our cultural relations between Malaysia and Thailand,” he said. -- BERNAMA