Limkokwing University’s Diploma in Fashion and Retail Design Semester 6 students presented their final projects to industry professionals from Malaysia’s renowned online shopping store, Fashion Valet on 19 Nov.
Fashion Valet offers a wide selection of trendy ready-to-wear garments for women, accessories and handbags from both home-grown brands and international designers. The online shopping giant strives to offer a simplified shopping experience for its customers by providing latest lifestyle and fashion tips.
The panel of judges for the final project assessment were Fashion Valet’s Head of Marketing, Veen Dee, and Fashion Buyer, Jaja Anuar, along with Limkokwing’s Vice-President Dato’ Tiffanee Marie Lim and Jasmi Rejab, lecturer from the Faculty of Fashion and Lifestyle Creativity.
Themed ‘Virtual Reality’, students were required to put together five pieces of designs by deriving inspirations from their day-to-day lives and conduct an extensive research to develop their ideas.
Adilya Botabayeva from Kazakhstan found inspiration from her medical X-Ray films.
“I designed abstract digital prints inspired from my own X-ray films. When I saw my X-ray films in 3D, I decided to incorporate them into my final project,” she explained.
The external examiners from Fashion Valet were impressed with some of the unique collections which used various techniques and styles. They expressed that some of the pieces can be a great success if sold to the public. Students were also given tips on the business aspects of the fashion industry including some guidelines on pricing.
“The pricing of your garments should not be very cheap. This will negatively impact your brand in the future, as you will find difficulties in elevating your brand,” explained Veen Dee.
Dato’ Tiffanee insisted that students should identify their target audience in order to determine the most suitable market for their garments. She explained the importance of understanding fashion industries in different countries and the relative buying power of their consumers.
“Some students excel in the making of the garments, but now they need help in business start-ups,” she added.
Throughout the semester, the University provides fashion students with multiple industry talks and workshops by fashion professionals.
A recent winner of the MODA Samsung Innovative Award 2015, Nur Irsalina from Malaysia learned to improve her designs by getting feedback from prominent fashion industry players.
“Engaging with people from the fashion industry opens up career opportunities for young designers like us. Even the professionals from Fashion Valet were interested in collaborating with students who have excelled in the final presentation,” she said.
When asked about her presentation to fashion experts, she answered, “It was definitely a different experience. Before, when we had assessments, we were evaluated on our design value but now we are getting feedback on how our garments will sell in the market.”
The students’ final project designs will be showcased in the ‘Creativity in Motion’ graduation fashion show in early December.
Visit here to find out more about the Diploma in Fashion and Retail Design course.
