When i saw T. Syahmi at an event last week, we spoke about his latest photoshoot project.
I told him how arresting i thought the pictures were, and how it is hands down my absolute favourite Malaysian photoshoot for 2015.
Behold…
Damnnn… Were the first words that came out of my mouth when I saw Tengku Syahmi’s latest Tsyahmi BETTA lookbook for the bespoke collection.
THE PHOTOS ARE SO GORGEOUS! Every image is perfection and tell a very mystifying story.
To help us better understand the concept, Tengku Syahmi has kindly given us an in-depth explanation behind his latest collection. Tsyahmi’s BETTA 2015 collection was inspired by the elegant motions of a fighting fish.*now we know why it’s named betta* It is built upon the idea of having two strong female personas that look almost similar to each other, but are actually polar opposites.
Styled and art directed by Colin Sim, models Tengku Chanela Jamidah and Lynn L. are portrayed as twins in his bespoke tailored power suits, with male model Kahoe to lend a masculine presence. For the girls, one was in white and the other in black, posing as oriental twins at their sleekest – similar to when two fighting fishes are in a dwell – beautiful and strong! According to Tengku Syahmi, he chose to work with both Tengku Chanela Jamidah and Lynn L. to represent the elegant and strong ‘Tsyahmi women’, as they are both pack leaders in their own respective fields and fits the brand’s image.
I am in awe of this local fashion house, whose pieces are created for powerful women. I thought the message came across very well in the photos.
During the process of creating the collection, who were the type of people you envision wearing these pieces?
Strong and independent women! I also aspire to aid any woman out there to be one, with the help of our BETTA pieces! We celebrate individuality!
Pleats and layers seem to play a big part in this collection. Are these details added based on your observation of current trends?
Yes and no. Most of the details came from the beautiful motions of a fighting fish, so it isn’t really based on any specific trends. In a dwell between two fighting fish, it is a beautiful sight to see how their fins flare out when they get agitated by one another, and it reminded me of pleats! My team and I always share our excitement over detailing, silhouettes, fabrics, design, etc. For me, my process always starts from conversations. At the back of my mind, these conversations with my team suddenly became an informal forecasting of what’s to come, as well as the potential of what the next collection should be.
The team put these pictures on a draft blogpost for me ages ago and i didn’t even have time to blog about it… till now!
At 2am on a Wednesday. Great, Joyce.
These pix i’m posting are all unfinished pix from weeks ago… :p
Above is the kitchen when the bar wasn’t built yet.
The kitchen my favourite room in the whole apartment.
Okay wait i can’t decide, i really love spending time at my dining table and bathroom too. And my bed.
I know what it is, admiration.
I have the most admiration for the kitchen because it makes my heart either squeal gleefully or sigh happily when i walk into it. I get to take in the sight of it in its entirety and the sensation sure makes my heart glad! Danny of Supereka designed it while i chose the appliances, colours, and tiles. There’s a particular ledge jutting out of the L-shaped bar, which i’ve discovered is my favourite spot to sit on and observe the room like a child.
The centre court of KLCC where the event was held, was abuzz with a huge crowd!
As I elbowed my way through the masses, I saw why. NARS had gathered all 20 talented members of the Kuala Lumpur Orchestra & Strings Ensemble to play for us that night. They sound soooo fabulous!
It was crowded even in the sectioned-off area for guests and media, and I saw a lot of familiar faces (and some famous ones too). The models who were onstage were showing off their dark and sleek looks, very much inspired by the celebrated photographer, Steven Klein. Although he wasn’t in our presence that night, his creative spirit surrounded us with blown up images of his Fantascene shots. These images were hand-selected by François Nars, together with Steven, from his archive of works done previously for well-known publications such as W magazine, Vogue and so on.
A few paces from the centre court stood their brand new store. I went to check it out (it was also packed with beauty junkies) and immediately got sidetracked by their gorgeous lip colours. SO MUCH LOVE FOR THEIR DARK LIP COLOURS! The NARS beauty consultant introduced this Audacious lipstick colour in Bette, a dark purple maroon colour, and I was sold! *thank you NARS for the RM150 voucher, hehe* I also spotted the shimmery versions of the Larger Than Life Eyeliner, and immediately took the copper coloured one. Amber Chia was right across me, checking out eye shadow palettes when she saw what I picked out.
Amber: Eh, good choice! Dark colours are very ‘in’ now!
Me: You should get one to match that dark shadow colour.
Amber: Yeah, I should right?
*and she proceeds to get two dark versions of lipstick*
I’m so busy being busy that i STILL haven’t had much time to blog!
In a nutshell, KBF has been doing PR for Rimowa, Poh Kong, Love Bonito, Longchamp, and we’re starting with a new client soon which i’m excited about – an organic skincare brand from the UK!
We’re organizing a Love Bonito appreciation event for select media and personalities end of this month,
we’ll be doing some deco and selling party stuff on It’s The Ship this Friday till next Monday (Asia’s largest festival at sea),
meeting in Singapore on Tues (i think),
Longchamp launches in Gardens on Wed,
doing a one-day Oneness course on Sat,
i’m a panelist for the Malaysia Major Events symposium on Mon,
then most probably flying to Tokyo for a press event on the same night…
That’s my next two weeks planned out for me already.
I finally moved home two weeks ago (hence been so busy, been unpacking and settling in amidst work, will blog bout that separately).
I just watched this vid that Erwan Heusaff recently posted, with me in it! He’s a restauranteur and food blogger from Manila (www.thefatkidinside.com) who traveled through 5 Asian cities (Taipei, Saigon, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Seoul) to shoot a food documentary called Overnight.
“Overnight is a travel and food show for today’s traveler and we’ve been working on this web series for 4 months now. In today’s time hungry world, people want to try and experience so much in so little time. In fact, we discovered that most people travelling around Asia would spend on average 36 to 72 hours in any given capital city. So we decided to the same thing. Overnight will attempt to show you what you can do during those precious few hours you have in the metropolis. From drinking, eating, discovering new cultures all the way up to clubbing. Overnight’s got you covered.”
I got acquainted with Erwan online when i reached out to him for a regional PR project a few months ago, and he said he was coming to KL to eat so OF COURSE i said i’d try to meet up. It was during KL Fashion Week and a tight schedule but i managed to fit in doing some drinking and eating with them.
Erwan and his camera crew were a blast to take out – super easygoing and fun. I took them to Nagaba where there was a party going on and introduced them to another major foodie – Tai Yong. We liked them so much we met up at Sambal Hijau to eat the next day.
I’m on the video at 15:10.
Thanks for saying positive hopeful things about Malaysia at the end.
Erwan is also TLC’s latest personality and brand ambassador for Southeast Asia, and will be in KL again this weekend for the TLC Festival; along with Jojo Struys, The Fabulous Baker Brothers and Janet Hsieh.
Date: Sunday, 22nd November 2015
Time: 2pm – 9pm
Location: Setia City Park, Setia Alam
Sorry to be missing them as i’ll be on The Ship.
Last random note, an interview of me came out in the New Straits Times in September… (okay yes, i’m a really horrible blogger these days)
Rimowa, Europe’s leading manufacturers of premium travel and carry-on luggage made of aluminium and polycarbonate had its store opening in Gardens yesterday and KinkyBlueFairy did some of the PR for the brand!
I was so pleased to finally meet shoe designer Nelissa in person after i’ve sent the KBF team to her events, and she’s sent me shoes. Check out her website nelissahilman.com.
My pink top is from the #SchaxFV collection from www.fashionvalet.com, and hair styled/saved by Centro Hair Salon.
I looked a downright mess the whole day, running from meeting > work out > lunch > fabric shop > pure health > parents’ house > supermarket to prep for detox > top up touch and go > home to get ready in a flash.
