KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — She’s been planning it for a very long time so it’s understandable that designer Melinda Looi was bursting with excitement at the launch of her new concept store at Eslite Spectrum, The Starhill.
With her usual gusto, she seemed to be everywhere all at once, talking and posing with guests made up of celebrities, socialites and influencers.
A lion dance was followed by a mini fashion show that featured seven fun and quirky looks made up of colourful prints, denim worn inside out, a jacket worn back to front and mismatched socks and shoes.
Why mismatched? Wearing odd socks is Maya’s thing,” said Looi, whose 15-year-old daughter Maya Luebbert is a budding artist and muse for her work.
“And as a family we celebrate Odd Socks Day in November to spread awareness on bullying because my children were bullied when they joined a new school.”
Maya is the first local artist to be featured at the Melinda Looi concept store with her cartoon-like prints on clothes and batik and rattan weavings she did herself.
“For now, it’s all her artwork, but we’re going to have collaborations with different artists, artisans and craftsmen every few months,” explained Looi.
It’s part of her big mission to support local artistry and craftsmanship as well as preserve our artistic heritage for future generations.
She considers inspiring Maya to love rattan weavings already a great step.
Maya, for her part, is fully onboard and looks forward to future collabs with other artists which are ‘more interesting’.
Apart from a wide range of clothing, there are also accessories, socks and fabric for sale at the concept store.
“Even if you don’t buy anything, just come inside and take a look for inspiration,” said Maya, who wants to be a mixed media artist.
“Remember, art is everywhere.”
