CATER FOR CUSTOMERS’ DEMANDS TO GO GLOBAL, MSIAN PM'S WIFE TELLS FASHION DESIGNERS

From Mohd Nasir Yusoff

ASTANA (Bernama) -- Muslim fashion designers hoping to
go global and have worldwide recognition for their brand and products must cater
for the demands of their customers who are now trend conscious, said Rosmah
Mansor here, Wednesday.

The prime minister's wife said designers and players in the business must
regard customers as their most important component because today’s customers
have global tastes, very trend conscious and were extremely concerned about
quality.

"Always be reminded that today's fashion transcend borders even while
retaining ethnic or cultural tones," she said when addressing guests at the
Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF) held on the sidelines of the ongoing seventh
World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here.

She said, hence to be able to do that, designers must be attuned to the
latest trends of fashion from the fashion capitals of the world.

When talking about the business aspect of the fashion industry, it was
without doubt that Islamic fashion was fast becoming a lucrative business,
reportedly with current market worth more than USD96 billion per year.

Rosmah, the patron of the IFF said that, by any measure, it was an enormous
market that could be fully explored and tapped.

"Contrary to the common belief that fashion and Islam are incongruous, I
would like to reiterate that Islamic clothing, especially for women, can still
be fashionable, contemporary and stylish whilst fulfilling the Islamic
requirement for moderation and modesty," she said.

She hoped that the IFF would end the myth that a Muslim woman cannot posses
a sense of style but on the contrary Islamic dressing was a style of its own and
beginning to attract more and more attention.

Stressing that Islamic fashion was now considered as the breath of fresh air
in a global culture, she said, it was thus not surprising that famous brands and
designers as well as high-end stores were reportedly competing to design and
produced Islamic and Islamic-inspired collections.

"It is my hope that IFF will continue to provide the much needed platform to
help launch Muslim-inspired fashion designers so that they are able to
competitively market their ensemble with the rest of the world-renowned fashion
houses and haute couture designers," she said.

Among those who graced the event were Director-general of the First
President of Kazakhstan, Dariga Nursultanovna Nazarbayeva, Minister of Women,
Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Kazakhstan
Labour and Social Protection Minister Gulshara Nurshaevna Abdykalikova.