Entering the Fashion World with Carven Ong…

Last month before the festive season hit full force, there were events in abundance and I actually ended up going to Prince Hotel twice in the same week because one was for the Princely Wedding Fair 2010 preview, and the other was the Carven Academy of Fashion 18th Anniversary and Graduation Gala 2009.

There were canapés and drinks served outside the ballroom with some of the designs done by the students put on display, but thanks to the usual horrific traffic in KL I only managed to get there just before the event itself started. The layout of the room was badly inadequate as it was not meant to accommodate the volume of people that they invited.

Students of the Carven Academy of Fashion were meant to display three of their pieces each at the graduation gala before a panel of judges made up of the likes of Gillian Hung, Scott Chu, Christopher Low, Wee Chee and Jeen Lee who are all notable in their own rights (I’m sorry though, but at the risk of sounding ignorant – I hadn’t heard of any of the others apart from Gillian Hung prior to this!)

If you notice, the photographers were all crammed behind the judges’ table – and there were only about 20 seats or so allocated for invited journalists and bloggers…woefully inadequate. There were an additional 2 rows of empty seats behind the media section that were empty but labeled for some Datin that didn’t show up. I reckon they should have just removed the labels after the event started so that everyone would have been a little more comfortable, but those seats remained empty until the end. I heard later that the media that arrived later were just squeezed in haphazardly and some were so miffed with the arrangement that they just walked out (!!)

Anyway…the focus was meant to be on the show, right? So here we go…these are some of the choice outfits that piqued my interest during the catwalk show…

For some reason, most of the graduates seemed to prefer monochromatic colours for their designs as there were many black and white outfits. New colour shift, or sticking to basics?

This one was a real breath of fresh air though – cheekily named “I’m Not A Little Boy” by Jozef Liew had all the bubblegummy colours and plastic you could possibly remember from your childhood…right down to the dolls perched on his models’ heads (and yes, that is an Ultraman you see on the male model’s head!)

Out of all the graduates, the winner of the gala was quite distinct (at least to me, anyway). Miki Lee deservedly won with her designs themed “Transformation”. Ingenious idea – the bags her models were carrying actually transform into jackets and coats! :D

The rest of the evening was filled with other dresses designed by other students as well as Carven Ong himself.

There was also a performance by Soo Wincci – I reckon she can carry a tune decently enough, but as to whether she can really hold her own as an artist I couldn’t really tell since the speakers at the back of the room threatened to shatter my eardrums. And yes, it was that deafening.

Of course, the evening would not have been complete without a shot of the man himself (seen with one of his bridal gown models). Damn, I need to get a DSLR…these ‘at a distance’ photos are becoming embarrassing! :s

And true to character, the evening was not without its pinnacle moment – when a certain SOMEONE decided that she hadn’t been exposed enough (she arrived late!) and proceeded to sashay to the front right in between the stage and the cameras, stop and POSE, all while there were still proceedings happening on stage. How déclassé, seriously. You may be dressed in the designs of Carven himself, but isn’t it a bit disrespectful to steal the limelight while he’s still on stage? Then again, after seeing similar instances multiple times over the past few years, the antics of this particular person doesn’t surprise me anymore…*shrugs*


Carven Ong (Couture & Wedding Specialist)
Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur
No. 4 Jalan Conlay,
50450 Kuala Lumpur
03-2162 8232

Carven Academy of Fashion
No. 8 First Floor,
Jalan Panggong,
50000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2072 8632