Rizalman made a bag for Sometime by Asian Designer

Homegrown bag label Sometime by Asian Designer adds another Malaysian fashion designer to its collaboration roster. Rizalman, who we named Classical Designer of the Year at the ELLE Malaysia Style Awards 2016, has made the Ribag, a shoudet bag that launches exclusively on Zalora tomorrow.

The Ribag made its debut at the Rizalman for Zaloraya 2017 runway show in April. Rizalman and the team at Sometime by Asian Designers took more than six months to complete the bag design – this included making revisions on prototypes before they were happy with the final result.

Plenty of attention was paid to how the bag should provide ample space for your things (and we know it's probably a lot of things), and so the Ribag isn't just spacious – it has nine pockets, the most that Sometime by Asian Designers has ever put on one of its bags. The Ribag is made with beautiful synthetic leather in 12 colours, and retails for RM229 each.

The Sometime Designed by Rizalman collection rolls out at Zalora Malaysia and Zalora Singapore at 11am tomorrow, 4 May. Warm up your mouse fingers now; we have a feeling this is going to be another sell-out collection.

Big demand for stylish modest fashion as more Malaysians Muslim women don hijabs

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — When Dewi Dahlia Rani Ismail Hadi, 26, started wearing the hijab four years ago, she didn’t give up being stylish.

Instead of a jubah (a long loose Arabic robe), she began dressing in modest yet stylish clothes like long-sleeved blouses and full-length skirts instead.

The young homemaker — who follows Muslim fashion personalities who wear headscarves, or “hijabis”, like Malaysian Vivy Yusof, Indonesian Indah Nada Puspita and Kuwaiti Ascia on Instagram — said she finds she can still be fashionable while wearing the hijab.

“I feel it’s actually more fun because I get to play with more things — hijab, tops, accessories,” Dewi Dahlia told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview.

And what was she wearing that day? A long-sleeved chiffon top and trousers, with a hijab draped loosely over her head, all in pastel teal and dusty pink.

Dewi Dahlia said she spends between RM70 and RM200 a month on clothes, with maxi dresses, maxi skirts and cardigans now comprising her wardrobe staples, a change from the sleeveless dresses, short-sleeved tops and short skirts that she used to wear.

She said she considered modest dressing, according to her Islamic faith, to mean covering the head, neck, the arm, and the whole leg.

10 top Malaysian fashion designers' collection on show in Paris

KUALA LUMPUR: Ten top Malaysian fashion designers showcased their Ready-to-Wear Spring/Summer 2017 collection during Malaysia Fashion Week (MFW) 2016 global launch in Paris, France Thursday.

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), in a statement here said, 10 designers including Bon Zainal, Bill Keith, Fizi Woo and Sakura Malaysia's collections were featured through a fashion show held on the boat itself.

"These ten designers were handpicked to represent Malaysia and serves as an international flag-off and prelude to the MFW 2016 in Kuala Lumpur for November 2016. The collections showcased embody Malaysian traditional wear pulsed with sculptural and sharp-edged silhouettes and whimsical totes," it said.

The Malaysian designers will also be displaying their collections for fashion buyers Thursday and Friday at Paris Hilton Opera from 10am to 6pm.

Matrade chairman, Datuk Noraini Ahmad said: "Malaysian fashion is unique and is inspired by the many facets of Malaysia culture, hence via this launch we wish to invite global trade buyers, particularly from Europe to Kuala Lumpur and discover the creativity of Malaysian and Asian fashion."

MFW which has been making headlines and focused on boosting Malaysian fashion and lifestyle industry, organised by Matrade in partnership with STYLO International and Mercedes-Benz.

MFW 2016 in Kuala Lumpur will feature the Spring/Summer 2017 collection of over 60 Malaysian designers at its Malaysia Fashion Showcase segment and over 30 international designers through Mercedez-Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Week.