Looking Back on 10 Years of Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week With Its Founder, Andrew Tan

Founded in 2013 by Andrew Tan of Andrew's Models (founded in 1987!), the inaugural KLFW set many precedents that were previously unheard of in Malaysia.

Before the public and large scale fashion show in Pavilion KL, designer and high fashion culture was not part of the mainstream, but nowadays, local designers are recognised overseas and are highly regarded locally.

To better understand the weight of 10 years we spoke to Andrew Tan to find out what's happened in the last 10 years and how KLFW has shaped the local fashion landscape.

The 3 objectives of KLFW is create interest in fashion industry, bring awareness to ready-to-wear (RTW), and maintain viability of the fashion industry: after 10 years have you met your objective?

If you or your friend is familiar with popular Designers such as Alia Bastamam, Rizman Ruzaini, Fizi Woo and many more — then it’s answered. If you or someone you know bought a Malaysian Designer outfit online recently – then the question is answered. Also, the fact that these brands are growing from strength to strength , year to year is testament to the success of the 3rd Goals.

What were the challenges to running your first show in 2013?

Lack of funds and lacking in credibility — most were just waiting and seeing if it (KLWF) would be just a one-off thing.

What about now?

The challenges are very different – we need to work harder to gain sponsors’ interest, designer’s interest, and the public’s interest as a holistic approach to KL Fashion Week. We are always exploring new and creative ideas to make sure it’s a win-win for all parties.

What has inspired you most about running KL Fashion Week for the past 10 years?

What is inspiring is that Malaysians are buying more Malaysian Brands – we don’t have to focus as much on the foreign markets as it is too competitive, and the global market has increasingly become more volatile over the years.

Malaysian designers – through their successful businesses — are able to establish a solid base in Malaysia. And they can now decide whether to focus on the global market or domestic market digitization, this is all depended on each individual’s business model, competitive advantages, and their supply chain strategy.

What are some of the personal sacrifices that you've had to make to keep KL Fashion Week running?

Lots of uncertainty and stress. There were also years that sponsorships were low and I had to finance a portion of the event using my own money.

What aspects of KL Fashion Week did you wish more people knew about?

The Malaysian apparel retail industry is a USD8 billion dollar industry and is expected to grow annually by 7.48%. That’s a lot of jobs for many Malaysians! We hope that we have contributed to this data by creating more jobs in the Malaysian apparel and retail industry.

What are KLFW's objectives for the next 10 years?

We will focus more on retail and working with premium malls to create more visibility for Malaysian Designers.

Malaysia Designers are great and they deserve to be showcased through a multi-label style boutique. Fashion is not just for an exclusive few – we are in the year 2022 and fashion should be inclusive; so the multi-label style boutique concept will allow more people to know how fantastic are Malaysian Designers!

KL Fashion Week 2022 is now on from 17 Aug – 21 Aug, 2022. Check out the KLFW 2022 calendar to find your favourite designers and their showtimes.

Cover Image credit: thefwordskl