For the first time ever, Malaysian textiles will be on display at the London Fashion Week., thanks to a collaborative project with famous British fashion icon, Dame Zandra Lindsey Rhodes, according to media reports. Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (Kraftangan Malaysia) and the British High Commission in Malaysia made the announcement of the collaboration in Kuala Lumpur. Kraftangan Malaysia Design and Research Division senior director, Datuk Mohd Zubair Mohd Zain said the collaborative project named ‘The Malaysian Textile Development Programme London’ was aimed at promoting and creating business opportunities for Malaysian textiles at an international level. “The Malaysian Textile Development Programme London will culminate in a showcase of Zandara Rhodes’s SS16 collection at London Fashion Week which will be held from Sept 18 to 22. “The collection will also feature vibrant and exclusive Malaysian batik and songket, which will be transformed into Zandra imaginative and creative day and evening wear clothing,” he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur. British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Vicki Treadcell was also present at the event. Mohd Zubair said for the first time, Malaysian textiles would be featured at London Fashion Week alongside other popular and established labels such as Paul Smith, Vivien Westwood and Versus.In the programme, Zandra would be designing a clothing collection under her label, Zandra Rhodes, using Malaysian textiles, supplied by Kraftangan Malaysia and produced by Malaysian textiles producers, he said. He said Zandra would also be conducting a mentorship programme for selected local Malaysian textile producers in which they could learn and study the standards and prerequisite of textile production of an international fashion industry. The Zandra Rhodes collection would also be presented at the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Weekend from November 8 to 15 this year in Kuala Lumpur, he said.
