Michael Kors Fall 2012 Collection

THERE were lots of browns, blacks and reds in Michael Kors Fall 2012 Collection showcased recently in a private function solely for the media. Held at Whitebox, MAP Publika in Solaris Dutamas the collection was showcased on mannequins with two giant TV sets screening the catwalk, which was probably done in the States.

It was a simple affair – icy fruit drinks were served to guests. They helped quenched the thirst on a hot late afternoon especially when the weather has been so unkind. Valiram’s big guns were around to greet the afternoon batch of journalists and photographers. Their Manager of Marketing, Carmen Tan and her girls showed me around the displays as I was one of the early birds and was probably looking a bit ‘lonely’.

See anything you fancy?

Michael Kors does not believe in providing press release. A good move, I thought. Carmen provided some details of the collection. She actually pointed out this lovely simple dress, which she said looks even more stunning on a woman’s body than a stiff mannequin.

“The thing about Michael Kor’s clothes is that you don’t need to be super skinny to wear them,” Carmen said.

It seems the trick is in the fabric choice, which has the qualities to hide your love handles.  Looking at the pieces showcased I do not think body size is the issue. My curiosity, as with other journalists who viewed the collection, is how in the world does one wear the totally flimsy and see- through pieces made from the gorgeous Chantilly lace?

Mohair, fur, Chantilly lace and seduction.

“It all depends on how daring the wearers are,” said Joanne Teh, Assistant Brand Manager of Michael Kors, Malaysia.

Michael Kors has a good following among Malaysians and his collections are snapped up very fast with the jeans and jeggings being the hot items among Malaysian women. This season’s collection features some Bohemian feel to the designs and the “hard and soft combination” in material like the use of leather, lace, mohair and sequins. Though colours are earthy, bold stripes and checks are dominant in some of the pieces.

“Michael Kors love details like the visible stitching on the clothing,” said Joanne. “And Michael loves belts as they give a slimming effect to the waist,” she added.

The WOW factors - Joanne Teh shows us what they're all about.

Two of the pieces from the collection have been worn before by celebrities like Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada and Queen Victoria) and Liu-Wen, the new face of Estee Lauder.

In October last year, Michael Kors opened its Flagship store in Kuala Lumpur at the Pavilion. The store has been doing well since, embraced by the Malaysian market in a big way, says Deepak Sharma, Regional General Manager of Fashion Division, Valiram Group.

Before the end of this year, Michael Kors stores will open in 1Utama, KL Sentral and Johor before spreading its wings to the other states within Malaysia. New businesses will open in Jakarta, Indonesia between July and August this year while Sydney will see hers in November.

“Michael Kors is growing from strength to strength regionally and globally,” said Deepak. “It will open flagship stores across the world, in Madrid, London, Taiwan, Shanghai and the largest of it being in New York, housing the biggest selection of Michael Kors products.”

My favourite colours.

“Michael is always talking about being fashion forward but also making sure his clothes are comfortable. For those who follow Michael, and know Michael, know what his fashion is about and what his lifestyle is about, will know he is a very relaxed guy. He is really into having a life as well as a balance of work and family. A lot of his clothing has a fine balance between fashion being comfortable as well as wearable.”

“I hope you will also see these reflected in the clothes showcased today,” said Deepak.

Amidst the flurry of clothing all lined in rows on mannequins accessorised with stoles made of rabbit fur, long gloves and thick winter jackets, one cannot miss the beautifully burnish leather finished handbags, shoes and boots.

Love the look, touch and feel of everything in the collection.

Michael Kors’ collections come in several ranges, with each range carrying different pricing but quality is its biggest asset.  The flagship store in Malaysia carries almost 90% of what the stores in the US have. There is a good stock of Michael Kors’ retail as well as wholesale range. And when more Michael Kors’ store opens in Malaysia, fans can easily find a bigger selection of the more affordable wholesale range as well.

According to Joanne a plain Michael Kors top can cost about RM200+ and that’s not a bad bargain seeing that clothes these days, even those without significant labels, can easily go up to about RM180+ a piece.

But here’s the sad news, well for the guys at least, there is no Michael Kors gents’ selection in Malaysia as yet. So if you’re a guy and a Michael Kors fan, you can shop till you drop for your women instead.

Hide your bulges in this stunning piece, girls.

An Online Food Directory

GoMakan.com is an online food-based portal that serves as a directory facilitating the search for eateries in Malaysia.

Owned and operated by Monhan Holdings Sdn Bhd, GoMakan.com sees the support of Malaysia’s F&B outlet owners searching for a bigger, better and faster way of reaching their audience. Anyone who has Internet access would be able to tap into this food site.

Shin Kajiwara, Chief Executive Officer of Monhan Holdngs Sdn Bhd, said the portal serves as a venue for food outlet owners and food fans to interact over their one big love – food. He said the portal will draw everyone, local and international, together.

Every outlet owner is given a platform to highlight their menu through images displayed online and their full menu listing. To help customers in making their choice on which eatery they would like to visit, each operator provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on their outlet.

Part of GoMakan's homepage.

As with most portals, GoMakan.com also has features such as the search engine, user-driven dining reviews as well as a web TV channel that runs food shows produced by the GoMakan team. GoMakan has also partnered with the soon-to-be-launched IPTV’s Emagine to enable their contents to be viewed in hotels, private homes and hospitals.

Currently, GoMakan is concentrated only on food outlets in the Klang Valley. However, it has already prepared its business expansion to include the entire country.

Businesses interested in being featured on the portal pay a yearly subscription to be listed as a commercial member. They are then given access to information such as traffic flow, source assessment, search trends and demographic breakdown. All these information allow them to drive traffic to their outlets.

Shin Jaiwara, whose real name is Chong Yu Hsin has worked and lived in Japan for 15 years. He is from the IT industry and has worked in some of Japan’s prestigious companies. In 2011, Shin decided to return to his homeland, Malaysia with the desire to shape and change the world of the web and the Internet not only for Malaysia but also Southeast Asia. And that was how Monhan Holdings Sdn Bhd came about.

Energizer Night Race 2011

THE Energizer Night Race 2011 closed its online registration a month ahead of the March 1 deadline due to overwhelming response.

Are you one of the runners at this year's event?

This year’s event will see double the number of last year’s participants. Come April 16, the Sepang International circuit will be flooded with 10,000 runners, 30% of who will be international participants. And 40% of the participants are women.

This positive response could be due to the race venue - the very track that Michael Schumacher has been making his mark in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Yesterday’s press conference was to officially launch the race and also to announce the early closing of registration and the unbelievable feat of reaching the 10,000 participant target.

Energizer Malaysia Brand Manager Joshua Leong attributes this year’s “out-of-the-box” concept as one of the main reasons in the encouraging response from runners.

Good money up for grabs at the night race.

Well, who wouldn’t want a “piece” of Schumacher and all the other motorsport racing greats who have been on that very spot that these 10,000 runners will be on come April 16.

Joshua likens the race to the brand’s Energizer Ultimate Lithium – improved and energized.

“We continue to challenge the norm and raising our standards, quality and performance all the time,” Joshua said.

This year’s event sees even more sponsors than in 2010 with FILA leading the way as the official race apparel. And participants will again be given free Energizer LED Headlight to add more “light” to their night race.

Some adjustments have been made to the categories. While last year’s 10km Category has gone one notch up, making it now an 11km Category, a new category was introduced – the 5.5km Category, which is actually the total distance of one circuit loop. Team Relay Category however has been removed completely.

The track for one of the categories.

Since Energizer markets its products throughout the world, with commercial and production operations in 49 countries and distribution in 131 countries it comes as no surprise that the race has also reached Argentina, the Philippines, South Korea and South Africa.

With Energizer spearheading the fitness world with its first night race held at an internationally renowned race track, Joshua promise more “exciting, lifestyle-driven and out-of-the-box consumer and trade activities for the upcoming month”.

Although this is Energizer’s second race it is the first to be held at night.

More information at www.energizer.com