CAMERAderie: The Faces of Seoul

Travelling is a great way to indulge in local culture and to get to know the locals (from the peeping nature of my camera lenses, that is). It's no longer news that I'm a socially awkward person and sometimes I have to 'force' myself to interact with strangers. If need be I would communicate, (asking for directions, for example) but as last resort I would use my camera as an excuse to converse, or introduce myself and ask permission to take pictures of random people on the street. Such is the creepily voyeuristic personality that I possess haha.

In this case, I have snapped photos of Seoulites throughout my travel. Is it just me or the ladies are incredibly camera shy? Nevertheless it was a good experience, an inevitably awkward one I might add, to photograph a passersby portrait. What do you think of the images? I know they're horrendous as I have zilch knowledge to learn photogs skillz (sorry Filzah I might've let you down, come be my personal photog forevaaa), but if you ask me there's no more room for new cognitive function and skills in my brain other than my medical ones. If I had more free time (which is quite impossible given my current working status) I'd make photographing people's faces with accompanying commentaries a regular addition to Dunia Fashyon, but we'll see...

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...

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!

Cameraderie: KLFW Outfits

I know that this is the inevitable me-me-me outfit post, but it's good to see the KLFW attendees with amazing outfits (loaned/sponsored or bought themselves) with a healthy dose of peacocking. Good to see KLFW is moulding its own style, thanks to local fashion-conscious peeps who try their best to flaunt local designer's latest creations (but there's an abundance of Rick Owens or Raf Simons and those super expensive runway looks too). Looking forward to seeing more versatility in get ups next season...

Cameraderie: Weekend at Floria Putrajaya

The recent weekend my friends and I visited the floral exhibition in Putrajaya. We reached there at dusk, partly because earlier we spent a little too much time at IKEA (I bought another As-Is furniture in the form of Mälm chest drawers in birch - it was pain in the ass trying to dismantle the whole thing into my car), and partly just to escape the searing heat - Kuala Lumpur has been sauna-like this couple of weeks. Anyhow expectedly the exhibition is packed with vendor and exhibitors of all thing floral. Things that I liked: terrariums in fluid-like glass jars, vibrant coloured orchids, and enchanting exhibitions of flower gardens and orchid arrangements that could possibly inspire fashion/interior designers alike. The highlight of the expo for me are the costumes based on fairy-tale characters made from flower (what else?) and the masterpiece section of orchid gardens, presented by international participants under one of the tents.

Cameraderie: Bangkok - Sights and the People

Spending four days and three nights in Bangkok is definitely a short trip and I’d say I can’t get enough of the bustling city. The friendly people (the endless smile and the quintessentially Thai gentle intonation draws me closer to the city), the sights and smell, and of course, the rather different style of outfits Bangkok-ites don are all new experience to me. Not to mention everything seems a little bit cheaper than in KL (one of the highlights is the storewide discount at Uniqlo!), so I guess that’s the biggest plus for travellers on a budget comme moi.

We stayed in a ‘studio suite’ building at the Silom area (famous for its red-light district - which also has given a new perspective on sexuality to me) and needless to say going about the area is convenient with the nearby BTS station (like an LRT in KL). From having morning jog at the ex-royal Lumpini Park which is just a stone’s throw away from our lodging, to hopping on the BTS train to Bangkok’s typical tourist attractions and then shopping, everything was done without a glitch.

CAMERAderie: Aidilfitri in Taiping

It seems like a post on the festivity of Aidilfitri (Eid Mubarak) is in order! I celebrated at both mum's and dad's hometown in Taiping, Perak and Melaka respectively. Surely I had fun, but to be honest growing older means that the joy and enthusiasm to celebrate wanes down quicker every year. I do miss my childhood experience celebrating Hari Raya with my cousins (who are mostly already married nowadays and consequently celebrate Raya at their spouses' places). Anyhow I put on my amateur photographer cap and happily snapped the images, taken on the eve of Syawal around the rustic town of Taiping and on the big day itself...

CAMERAderie: Zakwan Anuar presentation at KLPAC

To get a cohesive collection going on in a nascent fashion industry like the one that Kuala Lumpur has meant one thing - the attendance of the who's who of KL city to celebrate Zakwan Anuar's talent and creations. The crowd was a mix of notable local fashion publications figures from GLAM, fellow young designers who came to show support, celebrities, socialites and fashion enthusiasts.

Kudos to Zakwan Anuar and his team for putting up a commendable show earlier this month at KLPAC.

CAMERAderie: Bukit Bintang street style

It's good to temporarily veer from European fashion scene and stay on the local grounds for a while. My weekends have been spent either doing nothing at home or lurking in the dark, candidly photographing the 'cool' kids in the Bukit Bintang area...

CAMERAderie: Louis Vuitton A/W 2013

Louis Vuitton men's autumn/winter 2013 show was an event filled with fashion heavyweights and celebrities, naturally. Arriving at the venue, and seeing so many people outside waiting to get inside, I thought that this is the biggest show that I've been to so far (but did not, unfortunately, have the invite!). So I stood outside whilst awaiting for Arman and took photos of the stylish folks outside, including Kanye West, whom I papped after the show. Waiting in the cold could be detrimental but a motivation to be a semi-devoted tabloid paparazzi-like makes it totally worth it!

On another note, after meticulously judging the attendees, I made a conclusion of trends that I suspect will be ubiquitous for seasons to come: prints and color blocking (yes, I'm totally clairvoyant!), chunky footwear and chunky bellies, and of course, Yeezy. 

CAMERAderie: A Parisian Memory

Now, now, I know we're getting all nostalgic from the recent trip to Europe without truly documenting about the remnants of the shows that we went to, but of course what else we can do to curb the urge of reminiscing without feeling a bit sentimental?

After witnessing a record snowfall in Paris, staying in a centrally-located apartment, having high school friends whom are a few years junior as guests and having endless cups of coffee together at the bistrots of Le Marais, out and about in Jardin du Palais Royal pretending making a snowman, and the obligatory touristy photography of Eiffel tower, that all seem considerably nostalgic and a post on its own is decidedly warranted...

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.

CAMERAderie - Milan Fashion Week (Mens Autumn Winter 13/14)

‘CAMERAderie’ is a column on DUNIA FASHYON where we try to encapsulate an event in a concise form of photographs. A collection of photos is compiled together to best sum up the whole occasion that took place, in our own perspective.

CAMERAderie: Oroton Pavilion KL Store Opening

‘CAMERAderie’ is a column on DUNIA FASHYON where we try to encapsulate an event in a concise form of photographs. A collection of photos is compiled together to best sum up the whole occasion that took place, in our own perspective.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the store opening of Oroton flagship store in Pavilion Bukit Bintang. It was a star-studded event but catching the most attention on that night is none other than the ethereal beauty and sensational singer, the one and only Ziana Zain.

CAMERAderie: Urbanscapes 2012

‘CAMERAderie’ is a column on DUNIA FASHYON where we try to encapsulate an event in a concise form of photographs. A collection of photos is compiled together to best sum up the whole occasion that took place, in our own perspective.

Today, CAMERAderie covers the Urbanscapes festival 2012 that took place last weekend. A rainy day meant a muddy ground, with people using all kinds of footwear (and the lack thereof) to facilitate them moving through the field. There are also images of fashion enthusiasts picking the latest trendy bargains, music lovers  congregating to view Yuna, food hawkers selling their munchies, the Kaki Seni girls trying their hardest promoting art participation and simply fest-goers chilling out on the creatively piled up wooden pallets...

CAMERAderie: H&M x Margiela Launch in KL

‘CAMERAderie’ (so cheesy but we can’t help it!) is a column on DUNIA FASHYON where we try to encapsulate an event in a concise form of photographs. A collection of photos is compiled together to best sums up the whole occasion that took place, in our own perspective.

Today, ‘CAMERAderie’ covers the H&M x Maison Martin Margiela launch event that took place at H&M Lot 10 store last Thursday. We were at the scene exactly an hour before the whole event started (first shopping session was at 8 am) and spent the whole sunny afternoon there (with heavy rains in between).