CAMERAderie: The last bit of Milan

I have safely arrived in Malaysia two days ago and in between dealing with jet lag, post-shopping depression and mustering strength to return back to work, I am trying my best not to slack off from blogging. I know you guys are anticipating for more Paris updates, but examining a collection of images from the entire journey it turned out that there are certain Milan photos, that I think will be interesting for this final CAMERAderie segment of Milan Fashion Week.

I'm borderline stalking Scott Schuman as I bumped into him creepily saw him from afar - not only at almost every show in Milan, naturally, but in the train, on our way to Paris as well. But of course my awkward shyness deterred me from saying hi (although Arman and other individuals have reserved comments about his attitude, I still find images from The Sartorialist inspirational and have been among one of the guides for Dunia Fashyon since the blog's inception)... 

I accidentally papped the Sartorialist at work outside Emporio Armani show. I'm waiting for the image of the man photographed to surface in Schuman's blog so I can feel pathetically in sync with him or something.

Emporio Armani AW13 experience

Even though a classic brand like the Armani empire does not necessarily appeal to us at Dunia Fashyon it is still a privilege to witness the fashion powerhouse's more commercial ready-to-wear line in action. The venue - the official Armani runway I suspect, is spacious and fits multiple levels of seating. In fact, it does feel like a mini indoor stadium at a first glance. The collection (comprising ninety-five looks, no less) seems like classic Emporio Armani, but with a twist - the overall look feels young and current, and it's not just sombre tones of grey dominating the colour palette. In fact, I particularly like the addition of different shades of yellows and blues, and at the accessory forefront, the backpacks are a winner. 

A standing position means less-than-worthy runway images but I did manage to capture Mr Armani and his throng of models at the end of the show. Finally my petit Asian frame serves me well whereby I maneuvered myself in between the European photogs for considerably nice photos of the designer. And, at least a model or two did look at my camera. Okay, now I'm going to print out the images with the models and crop the ones who looked at my camera, and make a bookmark out of it...

The JPO experience - Burberry outlet

image credit: JPO website

It's definitely a bit too late for this entry as I believe most of Johor Bahru folk and even Malaysian Peninsular citizen, who are slaves for luxury labels for less (shamefully I am apparently in that category) have probably heard about the opening of Johor Premium Outlets, purportedly to be the first in South East Asian country (yes, with the Prime Minister visit and all that brouhaha).

For those who might still be wondering, the outlet roughly is like the ones they have in Europe (Bicester Village in England and La Vallee in Paris if I took a lazy analogy). Similarly in concept the place boasts an outdoor shopping experience of discounted off-season items, be it apparel, accessories, luggage or even home furnishings.

I for one had the opportunity to visit the place recently. Travelling by car the location is not very difficult to find - it perches just next to the PLUS highway heading to Kulaijaya. And coming after the Christmas/New Year period definitely had its perk - I did hear about the dreadfully long queue outside Burberry and Armani outlets during the holidays...

The list of shops go quite extensively here, covering both womenswear and menswear. For the gentlemen among the highlights are the tailoring heavyweights including Canali, Armani, Brooks Brothers and Versace (both stores opening soon),  Ermenigeldo Zegna and of course Burberry.

Quite naturally Burberry (the only outlet with two floors)  has this inexplicable aura of attraction with visitors lining up outside, all because of the tight security control at the door, in order to ensure a quality shopping experience I believe. Or otherwise the staff might be overwhelmed by the throng of customers who most likely will peruse instead of doing a 'real' purchase (judging from the customers demographics who will bring along babies and perhaps their niece and nephews as well?) Shoot me all you want but I don't think shopping outlets, or even malls is the place for children small enough they virtually need a stroller to move around in...