I sent an email. I did that, hoped for the best, and then I continued living my life… until I received a response email. Was I surprised? Totally. A Malaysian fashion designer actually responded to me! I couldn’t hide my excitement ever since that happened. Oh, and I was nervous about creating a good first impression. Never mind it, I knew everything would be alright. I continued planning the May issue; creating contents that revolve around Eid, and a number of unrelated subjects.

But the nervousness never went away. She noticed. Ezzati Amira noticed while she was being interviewed. “No worries,” she said, “I’m such a casual and chill woman.” Indeed she is. She continued, “it’s all about the effort and that – you know, you have to start somewhere from the bottom, of course; and then, sooner or later you will gain from experience in everything.” She started as a fashion design student at Limkokwing University, and after a year of foundation, she transferred to Raffles Design Institute, Kuala Lumpur in 2008 to 2010. Soon she worked with a local fashion brand, Le Ann Maxima as an in-house designer, but three years with Le Ann Maxima taught her that “my forte is ready-to-wear design.” 

So she left. She left Le Ann Maxima, and worked in a retail store for a while as a salesgirl while finding different jobs. At the same time, she started designing a collection for her own brand. “I started applying again (for a job as a designer) but then, no one was really interested.” But that didn’t weaken her. She started her brand in the same year (2013) with her first Spring/Summer 2013 collection. She was approached by Andrewsmodels to be sponsored at the annual Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week (KLFW). “KL Fashion Week was like, one of the biggest supporters when I first started.” She then had her first studio at Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang, KLCC; joined multilabel stores; moved to Bangsar, and then to Ampang Hilir in 2019.

When talking about fashion, she described it as “fast-moving”, “full of trends”, “very competitive”, and “very subjective, ‘cause not everyone has the same taste as you, you know; and it’s very subjective in terms of beauty – I mean, ugly things can also be beautiful, but it’s in time, so… we have to pretty much accept all these. We as designers, we don’t judge people, we don’t.” Surprisingly, Ezzati quickly revealed that she doesn’t really like to use the word ‘fashion’ and prefers referring to herself as a creative person. “Because when you say fashion, sometimes people relate to luxury, right? Of course fashion is all about luxury. But then, if you have a sense of good style, you can also be fashionable.”

As a ready-to-wear designer, Ezzati Amira presented seasonal collections (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter). It was not until 2017 that she introduced her first Raya collection. She worked on her Raya collection with Zalora in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. She has stopped doing seasonal collections since the COVID-19 pandemic started and focuses more on the Malaysian market. She wants to present capsule collections that are more focused, more exclusive, and more suitable for the Malaysian market (and she uses comfortable fabrics for the weather). “It’s modern, and contemporary,” she stated, “designed for someone who dares to experiment and be unique and try something new. (Because) I think that’s what fashion is all about, you know. It’s about, like, having your own confidence to be yourself. Basically to wear your own personality.”

Her inspirations are said to come from movies, travel and culture, surroundings, etc. “As a designer, I don’t really like to see all the inspo stuff at first, ‘cause I’d rather, like, for it (the idea) to come out naturally. I’m more into the technical part – I would rather sketch and draw and experiment with the technical part, with the pieces. I guess that’s how the Raya collection process was,” she told Eternally Chanel.

“I was looking back at my grandmother’s photo albums. I love to look back at the grandparents’ photos back in the day, like that era of our grandparents and stuff,” she shared the inspiration for the Ezzati Amira Raya 2021 collection. She also praised today’s grandparents and great-grandparents for being “fashionable, so dressed-up with great hairstyles” as youngsters in the 1920s, 1940s, and 1960s. “I feel like… we’d all be like that again, celebrating our culture. You know, there are interesting things about it: it’s very colorful, it’s very peaceful, harmonious, and all these feelings that caused me to come out with this collection. (This collection) is – how do I say it? It’s somehow like relatable to old people,” she explained. 

The Ezzati Amira brand has always been detailed with the material and the workmanship but because of Raya at home (due to pandemic), the collection has to be more practical, comfortable, and effortlessly good and beautiful. Ezzati also mentioned that the collection is a bit more subtle and ayu compared to previous years’ bright, bold, more vibrant colors. “This is like a transition of amping the Ezzati Amira women from a teenager to a more mature woman, I feel. A reborn of Ezzati Amira women… yes, I guess that’s how I see it.” The softer, more subtle color palette gives the illusion of rich chiffon and more – and this is related with the emotions and inspirations that she got. She denied that her process was random, and emphasized the fact that it had to come out from a storyboard based on her inspirations, thus the collection turned out to be cohesive instead of messy.

On the other hand, in terms of the detailing, she let the ideas flow naturally and continuously. “In a way, they’re like automatically appear in my head but the way I interpret them into my collection, I – (because) sometimes when we just sketch, they just come out, like they flow naturally. You need to have a lot of freedom and be creative.” She was also influenced by the fashion in Bollywood films. “I loved the culture so much since I was in primary school and I think their drapes and detailing caught my eyes.”

“It (the collection) has a fresh color palette, so we have peach, ivory, and beige, and then in between those we have black. But in between those colors I also still insert, like, one bold color which is the red… maroon-ish, and also there’s dark olive,” she stated, “in terms of the prints, there are two highlighted prints which are the watercolor abstract print and also the floral print. In terms of the detailing, there are puffy sleeves, drapes, asymmetrical, tied-up style. But this time, we focus on baju Kurung moden a lot. Because before this like… no, no, I wouldn’t compare – it’s always different every season.”

Ezzati Amira Raya 2021 collection looks glamorous and luxurious, yet simple and effortless. “I think that is what Ezzati Amira women are all about. Quite simple, but attractive. It’s not as simple basically, because I love to design something that has detailing, so your personality shall speak through. And in a way it’s quite empowering also, as a woman, because it’s about being bold and confident; it’s always been.”

Clothes from Ezzati Amira including from the Raya 2021 collection are versatile. You can mix and match those clothes, for example, the pleated top can always be worn with simple jeans or even a pink skirt.

I took a chance to ask Ezzati who she would collaborate with, given the chance.

“Oh, okay. This is a tough question. Oh, this is tough,” she remarked. “I would love to collaborate with, like, photographers and a lot of different artists, maybe visual artists or interior designers or whoever.” She also pointed out that she would love to collaborate with a local furniture manufacturer, or bags and shoes designers. Oh, and a Singaporean florist This Humid House as well. “Maybe I’ll think about it.”

Her words of encouragement for people who want to enter the fashion industry:

“Fashion world is a scary world. But that’s why you have to be tough,

“I say, start working first; start gaining some experience. I think it’s best for you to work with someone first rather than start your own brand straight away because if you wanna do something, you have to think of the long-term – it’s better for you to be really passionate in doing something, you know. When I started I was pretty much very ambitious like – you know, at a very young age you want to do a lot of things. So, I think it’s much better if you gain some original experience first. If you love doing fashion and if you don’t study fashion, then I suggest picking a fashion course, and at least learning some sewing technique. You can just go to a 3-months class, and the basic one for example,

“but most importantly is that you just keep going and don’t give up. You have to believe in yourself because at the end of the day you only have your own view, your voice, your visions, your dreams, your goals only you can execute on your own. We don’t see what’s in your mind or what’s in your heart, so we will only see the outside (of you). And one thing I realize is: Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, because from making all these mistakes and failures and everything, you’re growing. Don’t get so sad about mistakes; you have to embrace your fear and embrace that you have to be daring enough to take the risk and have confidence in yourself because it’s not an easy world – the world is like an oyster. You learn everything from your own mistakes, and improve, and be better. Just keep going and never give up,

“and just be yourself, believe in yourself. That’s like the most important thing, because at the end of the day, once you get somewhere, you have you. But of course (it’s nice) to have the support from your parents. That’s how I see it,” and she concluded with a genuine, happy laughter.