CAMERAderie: Jovian Mandagie x Zalora Raya Collection 2015

The guests for the collection launch event is a usual mix of media, celebrities and fashion industries notables. Among familiar guests were Siti Nurhaliza and Sasha Saidin (and her ethereal braids). There are select personal styles that I like (loving to see people go all-out with a bevvy of textures, prints and embellishments - wonder if they are all from Jovian?) I was not physically there but from the looks of it the performance prior to the show was something different (an artistic performance with Luna Maya's appearance) and the setting is a dark undertone as I've mentioned in the previous post. The venue (DPAC) was, needless to say, a perfect place to showcase all the theatrics...

Jovian Mandagie's Art Deco for Zalora

It's a Raya fashion show galore for the past two months and I have been struggling to follow an astounding list of designer collabs with notable e-tailers in Malaysia. But Jovian Mandagie's printastic, design-laden collection for Zalora's Eid 2015 is one of the shows that I managed to pay attention to. Well, who would miss the celebrated Indonesian-born designer's collection launch with all the public relations fanfare that surrounded the event?

CAMERAderie: Zalora Fashion Festival event

The international online retailer collaboration with four Malaysian designers showcased collections for Raya 2015 recently at Pullman Bangsar's Grand Ballroom. The attendees were a healthy mix of prominent names of local fashion industry, the aficionados and of course, the much loved celebs. Looking at the scale of the almost award show-like celebrity attendance list (from Siti Saleha to Sharifah Sakinah to Sasha Saidin to Cristina Suzanne Stockstill and some prominent royal figures), Zalora has definitely put much investment in the marketing and thus, event/brand awareness. My guts tell me it's going to be an exceptionally well-received collection!

Zalora Fashion Festival - Raya Collection

Zalora once again releases their much anticipated Raya collection with four emerging Malaysian designers. It's good to know that collaborations with giant online fashion retailers like Zalora shed much needed light on the creatives - meaning more exposure, a chance to be a household name (like Rizalman and Jovian) and of course, improving revenues. Personally I love doing some research online prior to making a purchase, thus this platform suits demographics like me, who love to ponder and compare before deciding to click that 'buy' button. The launch of the collection was held recently at Pullman Hotel Bangsar, where hundreds of guest (including celebs) were present to witness to collection firsthand.

Introducing: Chiyo

KL Fashion Week 2014 organised a pop-up store at Parkamaya, Fahrenheit 88 and as I was perusing the clothing on display and genuinely admired the über-cute and quirky designs, that look like something that come from a Japanese/Thai/South Korean designer for an untrained eye, when a girl appeared. It was a serendipitous occurrence as I wasn't expecting anyone so kind to walk me through the collection. Turned out that I was speaking to Chiyo designer herself, Isabel Lam. The label Chiyo is her brainchild (the name came from Isabel's Chinese name 'Chi Yoi', and as she's heavily influenced by Japanese fashion, she decided to make it Chiyo which means 'thousands of generations/ everlasting' in Japanese).

Rizalman for Zalora 2014

Notable Malaysian fashion designer Rizalman has collaborated with Zalora once again to produce a collection for Raya 2014. I wasn't personally there to see the presentation, but a dear friend of mine represented and took some photos for DF. It's good to have a friend who's willing to take an afternoon off to attend such events. Timing is always an issue as typically such presentations are carried out during standard working hours. Shame on me for not allocating more time working during those lunch hours. Now my claimed hours are not easy to come by. Such is the peril of a civil servant...

A plethora of Zalora

To say that I have seen no credible Malaysian online shops around is an overstatement but the truth is, apart from the mushrooming blogshops, there is still a lack of efficient and fuss-free local e-tailers. Yes, you may speedily contort - what about the likes of Fashion Valet, Chic Yamada or even Leftblock. I do agree these online boutiques are quite on par with big overseas counterparts, but to my defense these sites' focus is mainly on womenswear, hence leaving guys with relativer fewer options. 


My brethren do not have to worry as the gentlemen's plea is heard by the emergence of Zalora, a British online company (in the UK the site is named Zalando). This website caters to both ladies and men, in equal manner. The brands that they offer are a delightful mix of both international, commercial labels and and our own up-and-coming designers, namely Bernard Chandran's Area 27, Gallo by Thian, Pestle and Mortar....Needless to say the list is quite exhaustive. Nevertheless I think they might need more labels in the future to cater to fashion-hungry Malaysians.


Price-wise most of the items on sale are in the middle range category, and comparatively not exorbitantly priced, depending on which labels you are looking for, of course. A T-shirt from say, Pestle and Mortar ranges from RM30 to RM50 (i.e. their standard pricing) and shoes from Zang Toi fall in the RM100 - RM 300 range, which is quite reasonable to me. On the other hand an asymmetrical dress by Area 27 will set you back at RM1440.


When I mentioned fuss-free, I feel that this website can be a benchmark for other e-tailers out there in a sense that they offer a range of efficient-sounding services namely three-hour delivery, cash on delivery, 30 days return an free shipping nationwide - a feature very vital for today's burgeoning on-line shopping culture.


My favorite items from the site are Area 27's Durian printed t-shirt, Gallo by Thian's Neon Star in Sheer Smart Blouse with Star Print and the Kampung grey singlet by Pestle and Mortar...

Dear Dunia Fashyon readers,to help you make a decision at a much reduced price, I'm pleased to offer you guys this limited-time unique voucher code: ZLFOZ_HFZ1iL


The voucher code comes with following conditions:
- It is valid only from 1st to 31st March 2012.
- It offers RM30 off with a minimum purchase of RM100
- Please remember to key in your voucher code at the checkout page for it to count.

Happy shopping!