KUCHING: The recent “Best of Asean Designers 2019” has put Sarawak on the world map.
The three-day event from Sept 6 received positive acknowledgement from various parties, including world-class fashion designers and models who participated in it.
The event’s success also boosted the image of Creative Teamlab which had been lobbying tirelessly for Kuching City to host it.
According to Creative Teamlab’s managing director Damien Sii, the company also successfully hosted last year’s Miss World Malaysia.
“The ‘Best of Asean Designers 2019’ is our second success after last year’s Miss World Malaysia.
“We were motivated to organise the ‘Best of Asean Designer 2019’ following the overwhelming response, support and co-operation we received from various parties, notably the state government when we hosted last year’s Miss World Malaysia,” he added.
Sii said Kuching was selected as the venue for the ‘Best of Asean Designer’ this year but future events could be staged either in Bintulu or Miri.
This year’s ‘Best of Asean Designer 2019’ featured a number of world-renowned fashion designers including Olson Liyu, Natacha Van and Wan Bynun.
“On the whole, the event successfully put Sarawak’s name on the lips of fashion designers and enthusiasts around the world,” he added.
Sii hoped the event could lure more tourists, especially foreign fashion designers to Sarawak.
“At the same time, they will have the opportunity to get close to suitable local crafts for their fashion materials such as beads and pua kumbu among others. These would really sell Sarawak’s name to the world.”
State Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah also admitted that the ‘Best of Asean Designer 2019’ had successfully drawn fashion design enthusiasts to come to Sarawak.
“It is certainly a prestigious event and, if held regularly, has the potential to transform Kuching City into a world-class fashion design stage the likes of Milan, London, Los Angeles, Barcelona and Berlin in the future,” he added.
