Great British Fashion coming to KL

Special preview: A model wearing a dress created by one of the British brands.

KUALA LUMPUR: Popular British fashion and retail brands will be featured in the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Weekend Autumn/Winter 2013 showcase in November.

Highlighting the theme “KL Fashion Weekend featuring GREAT British Fashion”, it is the first large-scale joint initiative in Malaysia by the Malaysian and British governments in support of doubling bilateral trade and investments. British High Commissioner to Malaysia Simon Featherstone said British retail brands had been very successful in the market here.

The Prime Ministers of both countries are committed to increasing trade between the two countries from £4bil (RM19.2bil) to £8bil (RM38.4bil) by 2016, he said in his speech yesterday at a preview show of the British brands that will be part of the event.

Featherstone said the fashion shows held yesterday were the first step in a line-up of activities to promote Kuala Lumpur alongside London as one of the world's top shopping destinations.

“We are proud that Malaysia will be the first overseas post to hold such a large-scale campaign to support the UK retail industry and specifically aimed at encouraging UK retailers to enter the growing and dynamic Malaysian market,” he said.

Featherstone also announced that on June 14, Global Retail Ventures will launch three British fashion brands in Malaysia, namely Blue Inc, Jane Norman and Accessorize.

Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general Datuk Azizan Noordin said the event would contribute to the Government's ongoing campaign to establish Malaysia as a leading duty-free shopping destination.

“The retail and fashion industry makes a significant contribution to the country's economy and shopping holds the second biggest share of tourist expenditure after accommodation,” he said. Azizan said the event would be held in conjunction with the 1Malaysia Year-End Sale 2014, from Nov 16 to Jan 5.

-thestar online.