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MELINDA LOOI EMBARKS ON A ‘COLOURFUL JOURNEY’ WITH EMMA MA’EMBONG AND LIYANA JASMAY FOR EMEL BY MELINDA LOOI’S 2015 BAJU RAYA COLLECTIONS
Every Raya is a journey – back to one’s home and family –
bringing back treasured memories of childhood, of happy days filled with fun
and laughter. The lightness of the festivities, the cheerfulness of the
occasion are captured perfectly in the latest Baju Raya collaboration between
actresses Emma Ma’embong, Liyana Jasmay and designer Melinda Looi – which is a
riot of colours befitting the theme, “Colourful Journey”.
“Isn’t it every girl’s dream to design your own fashion
collection? So, I was really excited when Melinda Looi approached me to jointly
create a Baju Raya collection, which is furthermore supporting charity,”
explained Emma Ma’embong, whose designs will be available under the ‘emel x
Emma Maembong’ label this coming Raya. Liyana Jasmay, who has been friends with
the designer for many years, echoed similar sentiments. Her capsule collection
will be launched under the label ‘emel x Liyana Jasmay’.
“From my early days, I remember Raya being a time when
friends would get excited about their journey to balik kampung. So, I’ve always associated Raya with a journey. At
the same time, Raya has always struck me as being a very colourful celebration
– with colours of the kampung, the flowers, the children, the ketupat, the
clothes…,” says internationally acclaimed fashion designer
Melinda Looi.
Combining the journey
with the colours, the campaign for the new collection was shot with the two
celebrity actresses in
Dataran Merdeka with a multi-coloured hot air balloon as the backdrop. The
launch itself unfolded under the tents of the Swiss Dream Circus, a choice that
reinforced the collection’s theme – what could possibly be more fun and
colourful than a circus?
In the
collection you will find this year’s trends such as art deco, metallic colours
and lines, with a touch of the celebrities’ and designer’s personal favourites.
Given Liyana’s preference for pastel colours, her line is dominated by pretty
pinks, baby blues, lilac and the softest greys. The Emma Maembong x emel
collection, meanwhile, showcases bolder colours in Emma’s favourite shades of
blue as well as green, red, brown and purple.
Both lines
consist of a variety of baju kurung and kaftans. You will find bias cut maxi
skirts and a variety of tops, some with belts, others with asymmetric hems;
some boxy and others cut along A-lines. For added comfort and style,
stretchable polyester crepe has been used for most of the items, glamorised
with ample use of lace and sparkling sequins.
In keeping with
tradition, a percentage of sales from this collection will be channelled
towards charity of the celebrities’ choice. This time around, Emma and Liyana
jointly decided to support the University Malaya
Medical Centre (UMMC), a unit at the university, which focuses on rare diseases
afflicting children.
“Both Emma and I are very concerned about children’s
health and feel strongly about supporting the work of UMMC because most of the
diseases that they treat are under the radar. There are so many little-known
diseases that don’t receive much funding. We hope more people make an effort to
learn about the work of UMMC and provide support in any way they can,” said
Liyana, who has a one-year-old daughter.
So while adding colour and cheer to
Raya 2015, and appealing to modest fashionistas in Malaysia and beyond, the
emel x Emma Maembong and emel x Liyana Jasmay collections will also bring fresh
hope to the lives of young Malaysian patients.
The
collections can be pre-ordered from 19 May and will be available online at Zalora.com.my, Zalora.sg, Lazada.com.my,
FashionValet.com as well as the official
emelbymelindalooi.com online store. Retail shoppers can find the
collections at Parkson Pavillion, KLCC
and Maju Junction, as well as the
Melinda Looi showroom on Jalan Maarof Bangsar.
For the first time the emel
collections will also be selling outside of Malaysia, namely in Jakarta and
Dubai via Centro Group and Namshi.com respectively.
About emel by Melinda Looi
MELINDA LOOI AND DATO KEE HUA
CHEE
'emel by
Melinda Looi’ is a socially conscious fashion initiative by multi-award winning
fashion designer Melinda Looi, offering an annual Raya ready-to-wear
collection, whereby a part of sales proceeds from the collection will be
donated to a selected charity each year.
The word
emel (pronounced eh-mehl) is derived from the word amal, of Arabic origin. Amal
means hope, expectation, and aspiration. In Malay, it means good deeds or
charity.
About Emma Maembong
Emma
Ma’embong (real name Fatimah Rohani binti Ismail) is an accomplished actress
and model. Her acting career took off when she was cast as Munirah in the
popular TV series Kau Yang Terindah, directed by Erma
Fatima. Emma also appeared as Nawwal Husna in Projek Memikat Suami, another TV
drama.
Her exotic looks, as a result of Malay and Scottish parentage, has led
to Emma being named one of the 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2014 by TC Chandler.
She has a fan club called Emavengers.
About Liyana Jasmay
Actress and singer Liyana binti Jasmay’s
career began at the age of nine, when she appeared in local TV drama Si Lembik.
She then debuted on the silver screen in Castello, which earned her a
nomination for the Best New Actress Award at the Malaysian Film Festival 2006.
Three years later, she won the Best Actress award at the Malaysian Film
Festival 2009 for her role in Papadom and in an indie-gone-mainstream movie,
KAMI. Liyana married her childhood sweetheart, Fathuddin Mazlan, in February
2013 and is mother of a one-year-old daugther.
About University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC)
A MINIMUM OF RM 50,000 WAS GIVEN TO UMMC WITH MORE TO COME!
A MINIMUM OF RM 50,000 WAS GIVEN TO UMMC BUT MORE IS COMING!
UMMC was
officially opened on 5 August 1968. Working closely with the Faculty of
Medicine, the centre lives up to the university’s motto: Ilmu Punca Kemajuan
(Knowledge is the Key to Success). UMMC, which falls under the Ministry of
Higher Education, strives to provide the best health service and treatment
through learning and research.
About Melinda Looi
A purveyor of fine art and vintage chic, Melinda
Looi is fashion's answer to Avant-garde in Malaysia, the full throbbing force
of elaborate detail and unconventional style.
Melinda Looi was born as a daughter of a renowned
tailor but her career in fashion was not a planned one. After winning a
scholarship to La Salle School of Fashion in Montreal, it was her graduation
collection that catapulted her into the spotlight, earning her the Malaysian
Young Designer Award 1995 in Kuala Lumpur.
Melinda entered the demanding
and exuberating world of fashion design, carving her niche in various stage
productions as well as working with the television and film industry in
Malaysia and Canada.
With her unique ability to combine fiction and
function into her designs it has won herself major awards, especially to mention
twice the prestigious Designer of the Year Award at the Malaysian International
Fashion Awards in 2004, 2006 and the Mercedes Benz STYLO Designer of the Year
award in 2009.
She was being selected as a Malaysian representative at World
Fashion Week to be held in Paris in 2013, with one of her couture pieces being
showcased in fashion weeks around the globe as part of the build-up activities
leading up to the actual event.
Melinda’s latest accolades include an
award for 2014 Sport and Art Trophy from International Olympic Council,
Switzerland.
AWARDS
& ACCOLADES
• 2014 IOC Sport and Art
Trophy, Malaysia/Switzerland
• Malaysian Representative at World
Fashion Week 2014, Paris, France
• Nominated for Fashion Designer of
the Year at 3DPS Awards 2013, London
• Winner
of “Great Women of Our Time” Awards 2013 (Design & Style category) by The
Malaysian Women’s Weekly
• First 3D Print Fashion Show in
Asia, 2013, Kuala Lumpur
• Designer of the Year 2009,
Mercedes Benz STYLO Fashion Awards, Kuala Lumpur
• Designer of the Year 2006, MIFW,
Kuala Lumpur
• Designer of the Year 2004, MIFW,
Kuala Lumpur
• Most Dynamic Designer 2003, MIFA,
Kuala Lumpur
• Asia Pacifica Young Designer Award
2000, Hong Kong
• Winter Wedding Dress Contest 1997,
Canada
• White Creation Award 1997, Canada
• ASEAN Designer Award 1995,
Singapore
• Cotton Award 1995, Japan
• Malaysia Young Designer Award
1995, Kuala Lumpur
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