Islamic fashion not only for faithful, designer says

By Clarence Fernandez

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters Life!) - Islamic fashion is broadening its appeal beyond the faithful as women everywhere are increasingly drawn to its flowing lines, says renowned Malaysian designer Melinda Looi.

Looi, who hails from a dressmaking family, first caught the public's eye with her prize-winning graduation collection in 1995. The award-winning designer spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the Malaysian International Fashion Week:

Q. Do you think Islamic fashion is catching on?

A. My designs are not very Islamic. I'm slowly making Islamic clothing, because I think the Islamic fashion events are really getting big, so I'm slowly involving myself in all that, since I live in a Muslim country, and there is a huge market for it.

A lot of people like the Europeans really love wearing the abaya dress, it's a huge market, so we are slowly doing that. In our collection every season in our ready-to-wear we try to put in some kind of design that is inspired by the Muslim culture.

To me it's interesting, it's nice, I think we can make it look really modern and yet a little conservative.

Q. How do you see Malaysian fashion evolving?

A. I think Malaysians are all very talented. Because we are all influenced by the three different cultures. We live in a country where we grew up with three main food and costume influences -- Indian, Malay and Chinese, so you get inspired.