Albert King is one Malaysian designer who doesn’t believe in doing things by half. When he presents a collection, you can expect nothing less than a dazzling showcase of fashion artistry at its best.
When his latest collection themed Splendour was unveiled recently, the treatment was no different. There were glorious gowns, traditional old-world kebayas, short and sassy party dresses which exemplified why King is so in command of couture.
His choice of hues played around a lighter colour palette this time, focusing on baby pink, baby blue, peach, light grey, light purple, black and white.
Fabrics like soft organza, chiffon, tulle and lace danced lightly around the feet of the models or were cleverly draped to hug a woman’s curves, modestly covering all the essentials yet appearing all the more alluring by insinuating what lies beneath.
For a change, there was none of the bling-bling often employed by other designers to convey the glam factor. Instead, King concentrated on handwork and detailing, unique origami folds and seductive lines, and pleasing tone colours.
“I intentionally had no beading on any of my clothes. I ignored the usual bling-bling which people have come to expect from glamorous evening wear and instead, there’s lots of handwork, cross-stitch and antique lace motif. The hand-pleated organza offers no shine at all.
“The whole idea is to get people excited about the kebaya again and let them know that it can be different. The kebaya can exude that old world charm without bright, shiny fabrics or beads.
“A huge amount of couture detailing went into every piece as they are all hand-made and you should look up close to appreciate the incredible handwork,” explains King, who has been in the fashion industry for more than 30 years.
It took King two months to come up with the collection, and the white structured kebaya with cross-stitch work and ribbons alone took three weeks to complete.
One of the standouts from the collection was the two-tone gown in blue (also, another version in pink) with origami fold detailing, resembling fish scales with lots of vintage style lace and aquatic overtones.
“(The shape was) Like a mermaid,” he says in jest, adding, “The design was inspired by the koi fish.”
There were also flowing palazzo pants to go with kebaya tops, offering a modern spin to the traditional outfit.
“I’ve always liked palazzo pants. Lest you think only tall thin model-type women can carry off the look, many fuller-sized women who are not so tall, who are my clients, look stunning in my ensemble!”
The collection is priced a little higher than his usual evening wear, but “when you see the handwork, it’s worth the difference.”
“I want to bring the point across that our (Malaysian) work is just as close to international catwalks and at a very high standard,” he adds.
To complement King’s collection, a variety of pearls such as South Sea, Tahiti, Golden, Selected Fresh Water, Baroque and Keshi Pearls from Rafflesia, The Pearl Centre, were also featured.
Necklaces, chokers, bracelets, pendants, brooches and rings were combined with other precious gems like the ruby, jadeite and amber. The Keshi baroque brooch, in particular, stood out as Keshi pearls are very special due to its unique one-of-a-kind characteristic.
