Thisappear in Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar is one of those local underground fashion movements (other than Seethrough Concept Store) that seems to muster courage and tenacity in pushing towards something more than commercial success and recycled ideas, and it was my great pleasure to finally visit the store last weekend. I know I am embarrassingly late to be physically present at their shop after all the good hype emanating from their Facebook and Instagram. But rest assured, I have been meaning to do so, and the fact that they're having a flash sale on internationally acclaimed labels not physically available anywhere else in Malaysia is the turning point that pushed me to finally have a look at what's in store at Thisappear.
It's somewhat condescending to introduce to you about the team behind Thisappear as it's quite a well known fact that the prolific designers Joe Chia and Justin Chew are the power duo who have been pushing Malaysian fashion scene forward (and Joe Chia seems unstoppable with his collection being stocked all around the globe), and they are among the few who really veer away from custom made bridal and festivity clothing scene (which is understandably the cash cow of KL fashion scene). Justin told me they're really trying hard to introduce newness in their store by changing the display/layout twice a year, apart from housing their own labels and discovering new labels to experiment with. Hence the brief sale of past seasons of cult labels like Rick Owens, Damir Doma, Thamanyah, Yang Li, Gareth Pugh, and... gasp, Craig Green that took over till 2nd of June was intended to test the waters of unpredictable KL fashion scene.
Somewhat their spirit is akin to other progressive concept stores around the world like the famed Collette in Paris. Despite the gloomy economy I foresee a breadth of eager KL-ites who would rejoice from the fact that labels that previously are only available online and overseas are now in our shores. What brands they will bring in will be decided according their sales, and from the looks of it, more Craig Green pieces were sold (praying hard for the extension of my Craig Green wardrobe). The volunteer shop assistant Kingston did mention unofficially that they're considering to bring in the esteemed Japanese cult label Yohji Yamamoto as well. Now, that is the kind of story that I wanted to hear for sooo long!
It's somewhat condescending to introduce to you about the team behind Thisappear as it's quite a well known fact that the prolific designers Joe Chia and Justin Chew are the power duo who have been pushing Malaysian fashion scene forward (and Joe Chia seems unstoppable with his collection being stocked all around the globe), and they are among the few who really veer away from custom made bridal and festivity clothing scene (which is understandably the cash cow of KL fashion scene). Justin told me they're really trying hard to introduce newness in their store by changing the display/layout twice a year, apart from housing their own labels and discovering new labels to experiment with. Hence the brief sale of past seasons of cult labels like Rick Owens, Damir Doma, Thamanyah, Yang Li, Gareth Pugh, and... gasp, Craig Green that took over till 2nd of June was intended to test the waters of unpredictable KL fashion scene.
Somewhat their spirit is akin to other progressive concept stores around the world like the famed Collette in Paris. Despite the gloomy economy I foresee a breadth of eager KL-ites who would rejoice from the fact that labels that previously are only available online and overseas are now in our shores. What brands they will bring in will be decided according their sales, and from the looks of it, more Craig Green pieces were sold (praying hard for the extension of my Craig Green wardrobe). The volunteer shop assistant Kingston did mention unofficially that they're considering to bring in the esteemed Japanese cult label Yohji Yamamoto as well. Now, that is the kind of story that I wanted to hear for sooo long!
On sale items - this is the Rick Owens rack
Accessories galore at much reduced price
Gareth Pugh small leather things
Rick Owens famed Geo Baskets
Pristine past-season Yang Li. I tried the voluminous women's see through pale blue shirt. Wishful thinking!
Test shot for Kingston ;)
Joe Chia and Justin Chew
Previous Justin Chew x Danny Lim collab
Words and images by Hafidzudin Zainal
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