On the third and final night of the Mercedes-Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Festival 2016 (MBSTYLOAFF 2016), we were treated to a colourful showcase by some of Asia’s leading fashion designers themed “Sin-derella” followed by an awards presentation to honour the best in the fashion industry.
“Mercedes-Benz is proud to stand hand-in-hand with STYLO throughout this year’s festival as we continue to support the Malaysian and Asian fashion inudstry, and the creative people who make it all happen.”
– Mark Raine, Vice President of Sales & Marketing Mercedes-Benz Malaysia
The runway saw models strut fashionable wear by designers including:
- House of Chimmi Design (Chimmi Choden, Bhutan)
- ARTINA (Hasianna Lamira Rachel, Indonesia)
- Keith Kee (Malaysia)
- Sumate Classic of Models (Sumate Phunkaew, Thailand)
- Shairose Exclusive Outfits (Shairose, Pakistan)
- Edric Ong (Malaysia)
The Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers Association, one of MBSTYLOAFF 2016’s partners, showcased creative shoe designs and ended their showcase with a bang – the last model came out wearing a shoe table with 17 different show designs on it.
Next up was local shoe designer Nelissa Hilman’s turn to wow the crowd, it was a great display of our local footwear designers capabilities.
“Through STYLO’s partnership with Mercedes-Benz, we hope to encourage and promote more undiscovered Asian fashion talent to the global fashion arena.”
– Datuk Nancy Yeoh, President and CEO of STYLO International
Also on the night’s agenda was the fashion award presentation to the models and designers for their performance and contribution to the Asian fashion industry. Malaysia’s very own Edric Ong receiving the “MBSTYLOAFF Global Fashion Influencer Asia 2016 Award” for his fashion designs which have put Malaysia on the international fashion map.
Keith Kee received the award for “Best Showcase Designer of the Year 2016“. Also awarded were the male and female winners of Model of the Year 2016.
In honour of the recently departed iconic musician, David Bowie, reigning award winner of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz STYLO Designer of the Year, Fairuz Ramdan held a tribute. His fashion showcase came complete with models closely resembling David Bowie’s infamous looks while walking down the runway to his popular hit song “Let’s Dance”.
Although the night was meant to be the climax of the 3-day fashion festival and guests did dress up in their glitzy and glamorous outfits, we have to say the night fell a little short. If you weren’t one of the VIPs who had a front-seat view, getting a glimpse of the fashion runway was near impossible. Guests were pushed to the walls along the sides of the Zouk Mainroom because there really wasn’t anywhere else to go which made it very difficult for viewing.
What was really puzzling was that even though the Zouk Mainroom had TV screens along the side of the room, none of them were hooked up to a live feed of the fashion show. It would have helped immensely if we could actually watch the show from the TV screens, but instead there were re-runs of Zouk promotions. Many guests were even standing on the couches just to get a view of the fashion show! It was especially frustration during the shoe showcase, we could barely see the outfits let alone the models feet.
There were also props along the runway that actually obstructed the view – they could have probably done away with the mounds of Mercedes-Benz steering wheels and rims. We didn’t really get the significance of that.
Though all 3 events had some great fashion looks, we just wish there was a little more thought put into the layout of the venue and that the overall crowd flow was better managed.
Read also:
A Battle of the Sexes Showdown at the Mercedes-Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Festival;
Mercedes-Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Festival 2016 Opens With Eccentric Hair Designs Showcase;
Zouk KL to Turn into Runway for Mercedes Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Festival | March 4 – 6
