International Ipoh Fashion Week 2022 (IIFW) is making an official return for its fourth season on October this year under the new norm, after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
IIFW founder and chief executive officer Louis Sebastian announced this at a press conference on opening of International Ipoh Fashion Week Season 4.0 to be held in Ipoh over four days from Oct 20 to 23.
In his speech, Louis said the event will feature an exclusive line-up of fashion designers and celebrities from Malaysia and fashion labels from Singapore, India, Indonesia, Nepal and the Middle East.
“This year we have a total of 40 female and 10 male local and international models who will walk the runway as we welcome the world to the wonders of Perak.
“We have flourished organically, becoming not only a forum for individual designers, but also an opportunity for young curators to set out how their generation sees things.
”The aim is to capacitate and empower local fashion designers, facilitate market and network opportunities in order to ensure growth and sustainability of their businesses,” Louis said.
Present at the press conference were Perak state Housing, Local Government and Tourism chairman Dato’ Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi, participating designers, supporting players, partners and members of the media.
Dato’ Nolee said the IIFW will help boost tourist arrivals to Malaysia as it showcases Perak’s unique wonders, attractions, culture and food.
“With our neighbours looking to invest and spend some of its resources on style, Perak has many of the right ingredients to succeed in its mission,” she said.
The IIFW showcase theme “Fashion with A Heart” is in line with the event’s corporate social responsibility effort to generate funds for the benefit of Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun’s paediatric intensive care unit and Perak Food Bank, an NGO which champions sustainability and climate change.
The Red Carpet charity gala dinner scheduled on Oct 21, 2022 at the Hotel Casuarina @ Meru Ipoh will be graced by HRH Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, members of the Perak Royal Family, foreign ambassadors, celebrities and performers of both local and international stature.
IIFW will include a mini fashion exhibition by Indonesian designers and fashion symposium.
There will be a unique Closing Fashion Showcase at the Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah on Oct 23.
The IIFW has taken on a life and energy of its own, nurturing and helping homegrown talent, since it was inaugurated five years ago. The first event in 2017 was a success and it became an annual event in Ipoh receiving overwhelming response.
Today IIFW has made a mark in the fashion industry carving its niche of being a marquee fashion event in Malaysia, and positioning Malaysian fashion into the spotlight as a thriving emerging fashion capital.
Ipoh Fashion Week is supported and endorsed by Perak State Government, Tourism Perak, Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, Tourism Malaysia and other state agencies.
A brief overview of the week is as follows: –
• 20th October 2022 – Fashion Symposium / Mini Exhibition
• 21st October 2022 – Red Carpet Charity Gala Dinner
• 22nd October 2022 – Runway Fashion Showcase at Ipoh Old Town
• 23rd October 2022 – Unique Closing Fashion Showcase at Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah
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