The call of the East: Malaysia Fashion Week set to showcase the continent's hottest new designers

The fashion spotlight is set to swing over to Southeast Asia in November with the opening of Malaysia Fashion Week (MFW) 2015.

Officially launched this fall in Paris, the second annual edition of MFW will showcase the Spring/Summer 2016 collections of over 60 Malaysian and over 30 international designers, all overseen by the star shoe couturier Jimmy Choo, who has been appointed Honorary Advisor to the show.

Organized in partnership with Mercedes Benz and fashion events organizer Stylo International, MFW will also include an exhibition of over 300 booths of Malaysian and international businesses of fashion apparel, accessories, cosmetics and personal care as well as textiles.

"The Malaysian fashion scene is getting stronger and stronger," Choo told Relaxnews at the show's global launch in Paris, where eight of the most hotly-tipped designers on the schedule previewed their SS16 collections to a select few. "Asian fashion is making noise right now. Young people are talking about fashion and design and they're also working in marketing so they're making very good money. Fashion can be such an important economy for a country."

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Asian clients have typically looked to Europe for luxury fashion over the years, but that could be changing, according to the world-famous shoe designer. He said: "We have so many young people studying in Europe now -- in Paris, Milan and London -- and they're bringing skills back to Malaysia. So now we have a lot of emerging young designers with their own ideas. That's why, along with Mercedes, we support them; we give them a platform to showcase their ideas."

The event will also include the Mercedes-Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Week -- an 'Asia for Asia' fashion segment focusing on the best designers from various Asian countries with China being its biggest. It will culminate with the Mercedes-Benz Stylo Asia Fashion Week Awards, offering emerging Asian designers the opportunity for international recognition.

MFW 2015 runs November 4-7 in Kuala Lumpur. For more information see www.malaysiafashionweek.my