A couple of weeks back, the Editor-in-Chief and myself got an invitation to a fashion show – the grand unveiling of FRIESENGUYS’ Holiday Collection 2024, paying homage to the legendary Kenzo Takada. The show took over Yuespace Hartamas in KL for a one-night-only Jungle invasion, with the event courtesy of the cool and beloved Iman Mohamed. At the show, we were introduced to the shy designer, Edie Chung.
RUZANNA LISA: So, tell us about yourself.
EDIE CHUNG: I was born in Sabah and then I moved to KL. I was trying to look for a job and during that time, I made some clothes. I have always been into fashion, was obsessed with it when I was a teenager and went to a fashion school, but I dropped out when I was 16.
RUZANNA LISA: What was the reason for dropping out?
EDIE CHUNG: It was too gruelling and too tough on me. I thought I would never return to fashion ever again so I thought I would go into script writing or something still within the art field. I really like the arts and I was also in the creative field. I did a bit of theatre and literature as well. Eventually, I found myself in fashion again when I was graduating and made a few clothes with my friend in my backyard.
RUZANNA LISA: When was this?
EDIE CHUNG: Maybe around 2015 or 2016.
RUZANNA LISA: Starting off with today’s event, what was your inspiration for Jungle?
EDIE CHUNG: So, I was working with a lot of traditional fabrics, a lot of brocades; Chinese mixed with Japanese brocades. A lot of old fashioned types of fabrics. After that, I came across this book by Takada Kenzo, the designer, who came up with a retrospective sort of work. He’s like one of the first Asians to make it in Paris and his first shot was called Jungle. It was an East meeting West kind of vibe. He wanted to bring Asian influence to Paris and I really resonated with his story. So, when it came to Jungle, I just thought of animal prints and mixing all sorts because I love clash patterns. I’m attracted to a lot of colour blocking and etc. so when I came across all these animal prints, I thought why don’t I combine it with something traditional and I usually hate a lot of stuff, like I don’t like animal prints.
RUZANNA LISA: Was Kenzo your mentor?
EDIE CHUNG: When I moved to KL, I preferred black and white. When I was out looking for fabrics, I always went for the cheapest sale clearance but the only fabrics available were usually bright and vibrant because people don’t know what to do with them. So, all these patterns were from bridal or Indian weddings and all sorts of things but that’s what I had to work with at the time. The more I kept looking at it, the more it started to make sense in my head. When I read Kenzo’s story, while he was in Paris, he couldn’t afford the expensive fabrics as well, so he went to the fabric bins and it was all this mix of stuff that people don’t want so he had no choice, he had to use it. I saw the similarity.
RUZANNA LISA: He was more like an inspiration to you?
EDIE CHUNG: Yes.
RUZANNA LISA: What comes first for you? The designing of clothes or the model?
EDIE CHUNG: I always start with the design first. How this turned into a brand was when I showed my designs to a buyer at Isetan. My training in fashion is that I went straight in, and I had to sell clothes. It was a reality check because I had to make sure that the clothes had to not only fit on the body, but it had to resonate with the customer as well. My designs can be quite challenging, but I always think of a silhouette that’s on a human body that would fit and flatter.
So usually, I don’t think about the model first because I know that once we follow this structure of the human anatomy, it will sit right, and it will fit right. We really focus on construction; a lot of mathematics is involved. It’s kind of like architecture but on the body. Some people use the mannequin to construct the clothes, but we don’t. We do it by calculations. That’s the thing about my brand. It’s just pure calculations on the body so we always know it would fit. It’s a standardised sort of thing so more people can wear my clothes.
RUZANNA LISA: Do you have a favourite design that you made or someone else made?
EDIE CHUNG: There’s one piece that I always go back to, it’s not a very famous design. It’s a normal men’s shirt that has a lot of patchwork on one side. The patchwork is all vintage with scrap fabrics in a lot of different colours. The shirt itself is entirely white but on one side it has all these patch patterns, a lot of crystals embellishments and it even has poetry written on it. It sort of has everything that I like into one.
RUZANNA LISA: So, the shirt is your canvas and everything you like is on it?
EDIE CHUNG: Yes, exactly. I think throughout my whole career, I tried to copy something like it. I’m not ashamed to say I want to copy it because I like it so much. But every time, that inspiration turns into something else so I can never make an exact copy.
RUZANNA LISA: Other than designing, do you have anything else that you would rather be doing instead of just designing? Because you mentioned you did literature and some theatre earlier.
EDIE CHUNG: I used to write for a magazine, but I realised that I take too long.
RUZANNA LISA: If you weren’t into designing, would this be your second choice?
EDIE CHUNG: Yeah, actually, one thing I found out while I was in university was that I like writing scripts so I quite like doing productions.
RUZANNA LISA: Do you have a script that you did that maybe you submitted somewhere?
EDIE CHUNG: Not exactly. I wrote a script, but it was just for my module. I picked it and realised that this is actually so much fun and at that time I was still doing the magazine thing at the side. I have always wanted to do a children’s book. They always have these beautiful illustrations and sentences that I always found were very profound. Despite being written for children, I find the words to be very deep.
RUZANNA LISA: Are you also into illustrations?
EDIE CHUNG: Kind of. I can make it reasonably attractive. I mean right now I only draw sketches. I already know the name of my children’s book because it’s inspired by a real thing, and it’s called ‘My Sister is a Monster.’
RUZANNA LISA: What makes or breaks a design in your opinion?
EDIE CHUNG: I always ask myself a few questions when I design something new; Is it relevant? The most important word to me about everything is authenticity and relevance so it doesn’t have to necessarily be a new design, but it must feel like it’s in the now. Second question is do I want to wear it, or do I want to buy it?
RUZANNA LISA: Does that mean that you always put yourself in the consumer’s point of view? Cause we do have designers that are the opposite and would only do it for fame and fortune.
EDIE CHUNG: I kind of do that as well. If I follow the body structure and it flatters them in a way that is good, then I think it would translate in retail as well. People think that selling commercials is a bad word in a creative endeavour, but I find it very flattering that someone is willing to spend money on something that I worked hard to design and make. It’s a sort of validation. It also has to inspire with the element of collection because some customers buy to collect.
RUZANNA LISA: Do you have a favourite in your collection?
EDIE CHUNG: Recently I do have a favourite which you will see at the end of this finale. I’m obsessed with the shape that I kept repeating three times and I usually don’t repeat. It’s inspired by a rocket, so I call it the rocket dress, but I think when you see it you’ll understand what I mean.
RUZANNA LISA: When it comes to fashion, how do you describe yourself?
EDIE CHUNG: I think it would be elegant. I like posh and elegant designs but there’s also something challenging about something that you wouldn’t think looks elegant but is elegant. Every collection will be different because I want to tell them my story and what I’m obsessed about but what makes it similar each time is that we focus on the basis as the foundation.
RUZANNA LISA: I know this is probably a cliché question, but what would you say to your younger self?
EDIE CHUNG: Some things don’t work out initially, but it depends on how much you like it and want it. No path is the same. I had a mentor that guided me when I started so although I didn’t graduate from fashion school, I had someone with the technical background and experience to mentor me in the process of making fashion.
RUZANNA LISA: If you had the chance to meet any model and for them to be your model, who would it be?
EDIE CHUNG: It’s a 90s model. She’s called Yasmeen Ghauri. She used to be everywhere and then suddenly she just disappeared. Now it’s the age of 90s models coming back and she’s the only one that didn’t so it’s impossible, but I hope so.
RUZANNA LISA: Do you have a message for the people reading this?
EDIE CHUNG: I’ll end it with the collection, I want to spread optimism and positivity.
