A woman’s world

JOIN the Red FM deejays this weekend at FemmeCity, a unique exhibition and fair for women organised by Clove, The Star’s monthly women’s pullout.

Developed for women who are intelligent, confident, discerning and willing to invest in products and services, FemmeCity showcases a variety of booths to help them look and feel good and improve their lives.

The fair will be held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur from July 30 to Aug 1 and is open from 11am to 7pm.

Aly, Nisha and other Red FM deejays will be there to entertain visitors with games and contests. The deejays will also co-host a fashion show by well-known local and international designers.

Red FM’s Aly (left) and Nisha will rev up the action at FemmeCity.

Aly, the host of Red FM Eleven 2 Three (Mondays to Fridays, 11am to 3pm), says: “FemmeCity is an exceptional fair as it aims to reflect an actual living, breathing city. There’s a wide variety of booths laid out to mirror the streets of a metropolis covering beauty, fashion, health and fitness, women’s consumer products, services and hobbies.”

Nisha of Red FM Late Night Love Songs (Sundays to Fridays, 10pm to 1am) says: “So, come on over and join us, you will have a wonderful time exploring this remarkable city.”

Make it an exciting weekend for yourself with a visit to FemmeCity and add on to it with a win on Red FM’s RM60k Music Takeaway.

There are still loads of cash waiting for you to win your share on this easy contest.

Simply register to be a Red FM listener first so you can join in the contest.

To register, SMS space space to 33988. When you hear the Song of the Week being played on Red FM, SMS to 33988 and your SMS just may get selected to take away the prize money

More in store for shoppers

TRYING to decide on a mall to go to on weekends can be tough, especially for those living near Subang Jaya.

With the opening of Empire Subang, shoppers now have a wider selection starting this month as Tangs recently moved into the shopping mall.

The launch party of the new store started off with the beating of Chinese drums by C.K. Tang owner Tang Wee Sung followed by a short performance by a group of drummers and dancers.

Tang then unveiled the new Tangs store to some 800 guests when he lifted the red curtains which had draped the main entrance of the store.

Colourful show: (From left) Tang, Loke and Seow Khim Soon posing with models after the fashion show.

Guests were ushered into the store to have a glimpse of the 31 000 sq ft retail store and to witness the Summer 2010 fashion show featuring different brands offered at the store.

The store features a contemporary design, recreating Tangs’ heritage in the form of a mansion.

The interior of the store has a strong architectural concept to give shoppers a feel of what it is like to shop in a mansion.

The departments are separated by different “rooms” as each of it was clearly defined by a lifestyle concept.

On the ground floor of the store, “rooms” such as Wardrobe Men, Style Travel, Playlab, Timepiece are there while the upper floor has Wardrobe Women, Scents, Dressing Room, Playground and Homes@Tangs.

Lively start: A special performance by a group of Chinese drummers at the opening ceremony of Tangs Empire Subang.

Similar to its flagship store in Kuala Lumpur, the new store also offers personal fashion styling and corporate gift services.

“Our new store will offer a unique shopping experience that customers associate with Tangs, based on its distinctive assortment and creative store design for which we are well-known.

“We look forward to adding more stores in the future and continue the success of Tangs in this vibrant retail market,” said Tangs Department Store (Trading) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer James Loke.

Food and drinks were also served during the fashion show while guests later mingled and shopped.

Throughout the night, guests were also entertained by hand percussionist, pole dancers as well as the soulful singer songwriter Atilia

Fashioning art from scrap

MOST households will find their postboxes stuffed with flyers, brochures and catalogues on a daily basis, which then usually accumulate into piles of unwanted paper.

While sending them to a recycling centre remains the best option to dispose of them, and at the same time lend a helping hand to Mother Earth, those with a penchant for handicraft could also turn these unwanted scraps into nifty household items.

Some 10 participants of the Friends of Penang Botanic Gardens Society’s recycling crafts workshop at the Botanika Outreach held last Saturday discovered how to do just that, rolling pieces of unwanted paper into straws and then weaving them into mats and baskets.

The society’s programme coordinator Lim Keng Pheng said it was best to use glossy paper as it was more durable and colourful.

Friends of Penang Botanical Gardens programme coordinator Lim Keng Pheng showing eco-guide Choo Kok Leong (right) the way to weave the paper straws.

After rolling them into long straws, pieces of unwanted wires are inserted into the core to strengthen them. These are then weaved into a variety of items, employing the same concept and techniques as rattan weaving.

Programme and events head Cheah Li Li said the craft could be easily mastered by anyone, regardless of age, and once they get the hang of the basics, it was rather easy to fashion colourful trinkets.

“These flyers and brochures are things we get every day. Instead of throwing them away, you can make something useful out of them.

“The only thing you need to buy is glue, which is used to stick the straws together. The finished items can also be given as gifts,” Cheah added.

Among those who participated in the workshop was retiree Chng Saw See, who got the hang of it and managed to fashion a basket just one day after trying it out.

“It’s interesting, and you can choose whatever style or colour you want. There are just a few basic principles, but beyond that, it’s entirely up to each individual what they want to make,” she enthused.

Homemaker Selina Khoo also brought her three children Ashlynn Lim, 12, Nathalynn 10, and Chrisalynn, six, to the workshop, intent on inculcating a ‘go green’ concept in her young daughters.

“We believe in caring for the environment. Moreover, we get to learn a new art and spend time together in a meaningful way,” Khoo said.

Another participant, eco-guide Choo Kok Leong, found that it was common for people to discard pieces of paper once they were done reading them, as not many had fully embraced the concept of recycling.

As such, he wanted to learn the craft to show his friends what could be done with recycled paper, and hopefully motivate them to follow suit.

Sometimes, there is no need to go out and buy something, because many items could be reused and recycled, Choo added.

Those interested in the society’s upcoming activities and programmes may call 04-2279915 for details.

Falling for Fall’s fashion

Suits, lace and leather – these trends, and others, all add up to surprisingly wearable Fall/Winter 2010 collections.

ARE designers playing safe for Fall? Yes, and no.

Fashion tends to follow the dictates of the economy and is a reflection of our times. That’s why you can sort of chart the economy through hemlines, they say: if the economy’s up, so are hemlines; if it’s not so healthy, we’ll be wearing long skirts. But there will always be designers who will be different, which is what makes fashion fun and unpredictable!

So this season, apart from the noticeable wearability of clothes as seen at Prada and Celine, you get some geometric and graphic pieces from Balenciaga, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Zac Posen.

Generally, most designers have emphasised tailoring, with the focus, this time around, being on what people could actually wear – it’s not easy to translate fantastical runway clothes into everyday wear but several collections managed it quite well for Fall/Winter 2010.

Bottega Veneta

Marc Jacobs, for one, had a safe collection, as did Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. Celine, under Phoebe Philo, is already a byword for perfect pieces to complete and complement an existing wardrobe; Gucci also brought out a collection of lovely, wearable clothes.

There are some things that will always remain true in Fall, though: leather and fur are still key trends and there was, as always, plenty of glamour and sparkle as well as a lot of richness in texture and fabric.

If Spring/Summer 2010 featured light leather in nude shades, Fall/Winter goes back to black leather.

It was like a roll-call of brands with leather: Bottega Veneta, Dior, Balmain, Hermes and DKNY offered everything from trench coats to trousers in leather. And yes, the all-leather look is something to think about for Fall.

Balenciaga

Fur is something that will always appear during Fall/Winter, and Chanel was prominent in displaying it in coats, trimming and boots (see our round-up of Fall/Winter accessories, All or nothing, right).

Lanvin also featured fur along with Michael Kors, who fur-trimmed his clutches.

The military trend is still going strong, we’re obviously not done with it yet; this was seen at Burberry, which had military coats and aviator-style jackets, and Max Mara, which offered that classic combination of trench coats and boots.

Minimalism was back in the forefront, this time with a more sophisticated style.

The emphasis was very much on the quality of the luxurious fabrics, so the perfect cut and tailoring were very important. Frida Giannini of Gucci came out with a collection you could build an entire wardrobe on.

These two trends combined to produce collections full of classical looks and wearability, as seen from the trousers, great tops, and the perfect pea coat from Phoebe Philo at Celine; even Marc Jacobs came out with a collection from which you could pick classic pieces.

Another trend was suits. There was Alexander Wang and his deconstructed pinstripe suits; Stella McCartney showcased some great suits while Bottega Veneta had an amazing all-leather one; Dolce & Gabbana had beautifully-cut jackets and even Diane Von Furstenberg, that grande dame of dresses, did suits!

Lace was another favourite trend, with Burberry showing off lace skirts and blouses and Dolce & Gabbana and Givenchy also adding lashings of lace.

Also look for more feminine clothes this coming Fall/Winter: Christian Dior had plenty of chiffon and ruffles and Versace sent out fitted and short dresses along with elegant long ones as well.

Louis Vuitton had curves in the forefront with a collection of corsetted dresses with full skirts.

Draping as always was a prominent feature in collections from Alexander Wang, Halston, Lanvin, Narcisco Rodriguez and Rodarte, to name a few.

Designers used velvet as well as metallics for that all-important shine.

If you like capes, there are plenty to choose from, long or short; Phillip Lim showcased several, Marc Jacob’s had one in shearling, and Alexander Wang had a long version.

And the colour for this season? Black, of course! Elegant, simple and perfect.