AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search Ended with a Bang!

AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search Ended with a Bang! | Fifteen young Asean talents showcased their creations at the grand finale of AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2016 held in conjunction with Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week Ready to Wear 2016 (KLFWRTW 2016). The annual designer search was extended regionally to five Asean countries this year following its success in 2015.

The competition, which aims to empower youth and develop young talent in the region’s fashion industry toured Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok from March to June 2016 in search of young and hungry talents. Auditions held in each city narrowed down top three aspiring young designers to represent each country.

The Top 15 finalists showcased their selection, which are all Asean-inspired on the prestigious runway of KLFWRTW 2016. Panel of judges for the grand finale included regional judges from five Asean countries, as well as Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia Berhad; Andrew Tan, Founder of KLFWRTW; and Vivy Yusof, Co-Founder of FashionValet.

The Grand Winner walked away with the coveted title of ‘AirAsia’s Most Promising Young Designer 2016’ and won the prizes of a confirmed show segment to showcase their full collection at KLFWRTW 2017; a year-long mentorship from the KLFWRTW team; RM25,000 sponsored by FashionValet to produce a capsule collection which will be sold at fashionvalet.com; 150,000 AirAsia BIG Points and a pair of return AirAsia flights.

Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia Berhad said, “This year AirAsia is proud to bring contestants from five countries to Kuala Lumpur for AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search. We are amazed with the quality of work from these young aspiring designers, which highlights just how much undiscovered talent we have in Asean. Throughout the competition, the contestants had an opportunity to learn from industry heavyweights ranging from many established fashion designers to business owners and members of the media. We look forward to seeing them grow in the years to come.”

“We are here to help the development of new talents and we are pleased to once again collaborate with the KLFWRTW team; with the aim of establishing Kuala Lumpur as the region’s fashion hub. In addition to the competition, AirAsia flew in designers from India, China, South Korea and Australia to participate in the exciting week-long fashion event” added Aireen.

Andrew Tan, Founder of KL Fashion Week Ready to Wear said, “We were thrilled to be working with AirAsia for the second time and being able to foster new talents, as well as giving an opportunity to the young designers to present their collection and creativity on a professional runway. This year's competition is more challenging for our local aspiring fashion designers but I believe this is also a golden opportunity for students to exchange creative ideas with their counterpart.”

Vivy Yusof, Co-Founder of FashionValet said, “It has been a great experience collaborating with AirAsia for the designer search this year and we are excited to support the Grand Winner with their first capsule collection which will be made available at fashionvalet.com. FashionValet has always been supporting local & regional designers and connecting their brands to a larger audience and we look forward to support yet another young talent in the fashion industry.”

The Top 3 winners from AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2015 - Lee Bao En, Shazmin and Ter Mei Ching also had the opportunity to showcase their full collection on the KLFWRTW runway, marking their first appearance as designers on a platform as big as KL Fashion Week.

AirAsia is also KLFWRTW 2016’s Preferred Travel Partner and is proud to have flown in international fashion designers throughout the AirAsia Group’s extensive route network including from India (P.E.L.L.A), China (Angel Chen), Australia (Betty Tran) and South Korea (D.GNAK), making KL Fashion Week RTW 2016 an international fashion event.

The AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme and FashionValet are proud sponsors of AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2016.

Follow AirAsia’s Youtube Channel (youtube.com/user/AirAsia) for webisodes featuring the journey of all participants for the region-wide AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2016, or follow the hashtag #AirAsiaRunway on other social media channels such as Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/AirAsia).