Big Apple In The Heart of KL ... Amir Luqman SS09

People always say that to experience a city’s lively vibe, it is recommended for you to be there and feel it in flesh. Well, I guess that kind of thought is so yesterday because in the days of yore, people always took fashion as something that you use to cover the body and not art.

As we progressed day by day, fashionistas have gradually appreciate fashion as not just means of covering our bodies from heat and cold, but also a branch of art, just as similar to the likes of fine and visual arts.

At the recent 10 Rising Stars show held in conjunction with Malaysia International Fashion Week or MIFW, I honestly could feel the vibration and spirit of the ever-fashionable Big Apple style. All thanks to Amir Luqman’s New York-inspired spring/summer collection. An eclectic melange of elegance, city chic and modern sophistication, the marvellous ready-to-wear collection is drenched in earthy yet glorious colours that represent both boldness and contemporariness of two fashion hubs of two regions – New York and Kuala Lumpur.

A truly star-studded show, the show opened with a line of casual takes boasting lots of clean line emphasize and simple shapes. Simple wardrobe staples such as tank tops, halter top and one-shoulder top were treated with dramatic treatments such as batik prints and criss-cross ribbon detailing. Like a style trademark for the Kelantanese designer, each casual top sashayed by the models at the runway show were smartly paired with sexy hot pants in various permutations and colours.

To evoke the true spirit of New York, Amir also included a trench coat in his upcoming offering. Unlike the archetypal variants that you can find at Burberry or even MNG, Amir’s interpretation of trench coat, which is always a New Yorker style ‘must have’, is not only simple but also veritably sexy with chiffon lining in the interior.

Here’s another surprise for fashionistas – say goodbye to your boyfriend’s white shirt and say hi to the sensational double layered white shirt. Probably influenced by the shirts worn by men during the Elizabethan period, the shirt comes with sculpted sleeves in epic proportions as well as a matching obi belt.

However, it is always the evening wear section got everyone anticipating and glued to their seats. Though the whole inspiration may came from the “city that never sleeps”, the designer managed to inject a sense of Malaysian-ness in his designs as well.

Feminine to the core, the silhouettes are fluid, reflecting a woman’s femininity from in depth with smart play of luxurious colours ranging from shimmering bronze to joyous splash of batik print, another forte that Amir is well-known throughout the years. At this point, I can visibly see the painstaking efforts that he put into the invigorating collection, starting from the meticulous draping technique that he used and up to the smallest of details for the finishing touch.

Glorious applause came when Malaysian supermodel-turned-actress Kavitha Sidhu made her symbolic appearance at the show. Dressed in a luxurious one-shoulder chiffon long dress in classic tie-dye print, the crowd expressed their admiration as she graced the runway.

Of course, Amir too received the same kind of admiration with great applauses, signal of great approval from his fans and fashionistas alike. Believe it or not, even the Harpers’ BAZAAR Indonesia team was impressed by his collection. Now that’s what I call a great fashion achievement!

For those who are interested in securing Amir Luqman’s spring/summer 2009 collection for themselves, do not hesitate to contact the designer himself via mobile (+60 017 6106104) or via email at amirluqman.alo@gmail.com.

*Photos courtesy of Amir Luqman.