BFM Life, Less fashion more Life

We had a great time at Business FM's fun and games session, with Shelah hosting. She's hilarious! It's my first time catching her show live. There were pop quizzes, and we (especially Helmi) were quite startstruck to meet the main presenters in person (Kam Raslam, Sharaad Kuttan, Ezra Zaid etc). I got to meet new friends, but of course had to come home quite early to recharge myself (forcing the extroversion is not an easy feat, my friend)...

The mighty medic and Brooke Roberts

Lately I've been rushing towards assignment deadlines (taking a Diplomain Family Medicine) and manning three programmes at the clinic, whilst trying my best not to practice the well-spread 'conveyor belt' medicine. On top of that, I have the audacity of joining a seemingly fast-track program for the elusive FRACGP (click here if you're keen to know what that stands for) - it's a program by MIGHTY MEDIC, hence the title, which is another pathway towards specialty in primary care besides the conventional Malaysian Masters program.

57 Years of...

The entries on DF seemingly turn into a government website these days isn't it? But don't get me wrong, it's so heart-warming feeling reading/listening to anecdotes on Malaysian unity. And watching Digi Merdeka ad does the same thing (clever play of multi-ethnic terms on 'brother' pulls the right nationalistic string in me). And I've been trying to feel a little bit more Malaysian by spending the Malaysian Day with a 5km fun run yesterday and had a short-but-sweet outing with Jaspreet a few days back. That included eating paneer thosai (my virginal experience), and discovering Tommy le Baker (didn't have any room in the tummy for more bread though). Looking forward to doing a 'heritage' trail of my own to discover the off-the-beaten tracks of Kuala Lumpur next time...

Give more colours

If you read my post on my on all things colourful (or too colourful, sometimes), you could understand my apprehension on overly kaleidoscopic hues. Sometimes I do feel confident to wear gaudy colours, but sometimes I feel tired of coordinating and I want only all black wrapping my body. I envy those very disciplined fashion personae with monochromatic/all-white affinity - Ivana Carpio from Love Aesthetics, for example, is so restrained in her selection, that she owns nothing but blanc blanc blanc.  

That's the Spirit!

Sleepy fisherman town of Kuala Kurau, Perak

I just got back home yesterday from Perak and my travel was filled with photos of Syawal celebration. The obligatory food porn, familiar faces and typical typography abound in this post naturally. What ever it is, I came back with a full stomach and a pleasant memory. Until next Aidilfitri!  

Syawal in Melaka

Eid Mubarak is now in its full-blown open-house visiting, face-stuffing, and sometimes smile-faking mode as I'm writing this quick post. It's already third of Syawal and I just got back from my dad's hometown in the sleepy and clean town of Alor Gajah in Malacca. Raya this year is slightly different as my uncle decided to organise a small 'kenduri' to pay homage to the family members who passed on, combined with a mini open house, naturally.

Weekend update

The National Mosque nearing dusk

It's the final week of Ramadan and we have seen a lot thus far. A lot - in a sense that sadness is in the air. Everything's happening around the world, from Gaza bombing to MH17 alleged missile strike. It's quite scary to think that some of the fallen aircraft victims updated their status on social media moments before the tragedy, which had me reflecting on my posts on DF. Will my blog entries become significant after my passing?

Melancholy aside, I'm still going to use this blog as my route for escapism. As for last week, I've been hanging out with a group of friends, including the ones who came to visit from Kelantan. We had iftar together at Serai in Paradigm Mall. My beef noodle was bland - this reminds me to pick a better menu next time. Not forgetting there's the odd self portrait photos of me, that seem to become lesser as time goes by...

Beo Menswear

I hope that I'm using Dunia Fashyon as a platform to introduce new local designers, starting with Chiyo. As Syawal is just around the corner, I think it's the perfect time to talk about what will men wear this Eid Mubarak...

You probably have read/heard about Beo Menswear being bashed on Twitter or Instagram by now. But truth be told, I kinda like the ballsy attempt.

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.

Hi. I'm back! (And I just came back from Bangkok)

The sunny Thailand (photo taken at IMPACT Exhibition Centre)

Four months since I've penned down something in Dunia Fashyon. FOUR MONTHS! What was I thinking? The truth is, it takes much more than stringing sentences together to produce an appealing blog. And I feel that the energy required for maintaining DF has taken its toll on me.
Or maybe I'm just the biggest procrastinator in the world - whenever there's an urge to post something for the blog, that will be exactly the time where an evil voice speaks to me, pulling me away from my keyboard.

In a paltry attempt to revive Dunia Fashyon (and hopefully my online presence), I present to you my recent travel to Bangkok, Thailand. And for the time being, I'll keep it short and simple for anyone who are still following DF (thanks so much for the supportive comments from my previous post - never did I know that I have 'real' readers all this while).

2014: Not the same again

I've been stuck in a blogging rut for the past month or so apologies for the lack of any substantial posts (but I still Instagram relentlessly though). There were personal issues that surfaced which somewhat hinder the motivation to blog. I've moved back from Melaka by the way, so it's a yay for more meaningful, city life-centric entries I guess. It's also more beneficial, career-wise, if I got transferred back to KL too.

Destination Asia: Hong Kong

Overcast Hong Kong sky

It's a rare occasion for me to travel to Asian countries. Not to toot my own horn but as far as globetrotting is concerned I've been to more European countries than Asia (so far Singapore and Vietnam are the only Asian destinations that I've been to). When my sister asked me and the whole family (including my two cousins) (!) about travelling to Hong Kong, I jumped at the opportunity to explore the world-famous city. Being in Hong Kong feels like a trip to a fluctuating time machine. It is a complicated metropolis with a mixed cultural/socio-economical landscape where East meets West, the old is gradually replaced by the new, the poor and the rich walk side by side on the pavement, run down government housing flats sandwiched in between sleek luxury condos and office. To be honest there's not much sight-seeing to be done in Hong Kong - being a small, overly populated island almost every inch of habitable land is occupied with the latest construction site/projects, be it a new MTR (their version of subway) station or another state-of-the-art skyscraper. Thus our trip focused on exploring in and around Kowloon (the mainland) and Hong Kong island, mostly at the periphery of its shores, as that's where most of tourist attractions are...

Isabel Marant pour H&M - where do I stand?

Clément Chabernaud looking mighty fine in this ad. Up-close images of him taken by yours truly here.

The public release for the French designer collaboration with the Swedish clothing giant will only be on the November 14th, but naturally the images have leaked out prematurely (always a good way to build up hype and anticipation). The recent party in Paris is nothing but 'celebrating the collection' with all celebrities and famous models imaginable attending. It felt like a full-on excessiveness of the eighties.

Pale as a ghost

Don't worry, the title does not actually refer to me being pale, but rather the state of washed-outness of my ensemble. But on a more serious note though, speaking about pale the thought of anaemic-looking models is quite disturbing at times. A phenomenon more prevalent amongst European models from my observation, this raises the question of (mal)nutrition and welfare in the modelling industry. From experience I can notice pallidness at a glance on makeup-less persons and rest assured, those lanky girls teetering in high heels and skinny jeans hopping from one show to another cannot be exactly called well-nourished. According to GQ (I know, not the most reliable source for health-related statistics) a staggering twenty percent of anorexics in America consist of men. I haven't seen cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia in Malaysia yet (but it's more likely that the place I'm working at has obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems as the major portions of the illness pie. Then again I don't see enough psychiatry-related patients enough ha ha).  

Being nationalistic?

August is filled with nationalistic pride in the air as Malaysians (and Singaporeans) both celebrate their Independence Day during this month. My childhood celebration of Hari Merdeka (as they call it here in Malaysia) consisted of the ritual gathering in front of the television and anticipating for the Merdeka parade. And I could still remember the odd year when my father decided to brave the impossible human traffic at and around Merdeka square and brought the whole family to see the action live. This allowed me to witness firsthand the colourful uniforms and blasting but pleasing sound of the many marching bands  - which I presume one of the reasons of me opting to join the school brass band during Form Two. As I am one of the biggest band geeks in the world I felt bummed not being able to attend activities which involve bands parading down the historic Merdeka Square anymore especially this year, since life and daily job has taken rein over me.

 There's also the possibility that I missed some exciting, and at times, wacky carnival floats by big-budgeted companies to entertain the crowd, that also means a lost photo op. (But from the looks of it there's nothing really new or innovative about the complexity of float-making though). Sadly to say there is nothing much I could do today as well, as the overly clichéd annual Malaysia Day gigantic gathering is being held across the South China Sea in Sarawak this morning, which means another lost of potentially golden moment in photography...

But rest assured, a bit of nationalistic mood is infused in this outfit post as I  unconsciously stood in front of a Malaysian flag, near Bangsar Village II recently. So, there you go: my sad attempt to proof pride for the country with incorporating a flag at the background in soft focus, juxtaposed with the clashing colours of my outfit...

Fast fashion: are we moving on?

Anna, a survivor of the building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, lost her hand in the accident.

Wong Maye-E/Associated Press for The New York Times

Worries have been escalating over the news of the collapsed clothing factory building in Savar, Bangladesh on April 24. The topic has become increasingly controversial, heated with the fact that more than a thousand of workers were killed and not to mention that major American and European clothing companies have their products manufactured in Rana Plaza (they include Gap, the British low-cost chain Primark and H&M, the company that has the largest volume of production in the country). Not so long after another garment factory disaster ensued in Tream Tbal, Cambodia - this time around involving a collapsed storage area at a footwear factory, killing two people and injured dozens other.

This issue inevitably brings up the question: is this the price to pay for our cheap, mass-produced clothing? What can be done to improve workers safety, especially in a cheap-labor country like Bangladesh?

Munir Uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images for The New York Times

What is luxury?

The fashion world has been always too comfortable with the definition of luxury and the connotation it brings. Soft silk and cashmere, supple lambskin or ostrich, exotic alligator, 24-carat gold or ideal-cut diamond jewelry: these items are luxury in their own terms. It's undeniable that fashion is a business-based sphere and to steer away from overt use, or sometimes, misuse of the L word is somehow too farfetched an expectation - luxury is the pinnacle of fashion and it's understandable why consumers easily fall into the perceived luxury, all thanks to many brands' marketing strategy that succeed in creating that illusion of exclusivity.

The lost tenacity

I always thought that I have the tenacity to produce blog entries frequent enough to make Dunia Fashyon enticing. But it seems it takes more than just compiling pictures and making up sentences to create a credible post. 

But I shall try again, dear readers. Thank you for still clicking the previous posts.

Coming up - Dior Homme A/W 2013 collection review.

words and image by Hafidzudin Zainal

This girl is on fire!

For once, someone posed for my camera! (I didn't exactly ask the subject to pose, or whatever). Or maybe she is generally gazing at the other horde of photographers in front of her? LOL. That being said, I think my DSLR lens is not powerful enough to capture such a detailed outfit from a distance. I'm literally broke now so a new lens has to wait - remember, I splurge on fashion, skimp on food and gadgets!

Words and images and by Hafidzudin Zainal