More talents for the promising clothing and textile business - part 2 of our fashion design series

Regarded once as a “sunset” industry in the early 80s, the fashion industry of Malaysia is now perceived as an industry with potential. In 2008, it contributed RM10.5 billion to the country’s export revenue and investment is expected to reach US$3 billion in the next eight years.

“The fashion industry is so huge today. It is not what it is 20 years ago,” muses Kenneth. “The presence of leading fashion houses in Malaysia such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, H&M, and others is a strong indicator.”

Last year, Malaysia’s retail industry sold RM83.2 billion worth of items ranging from clothing to jewellery to souvenirs. According to Retail Group Malaysia (RGM), the projected retail sales growth this year is 6% translating to RM88.2 billion.

In terms of exports, Malaysian textile and clothing are set to double to an annual value of US$7.5 billion by 2020, according to Textiles Intelligence. Last year, exports grew by 33.5% to US$2.5 billion and 19.8% to US$1.3 billion in textiles and clothing, respectively.

More experts in terms of fashion designing and marketing will be needed to support this growing industry, said Kenneth. Most parents, however, are sceptical on how their children will secure jobs in the future.

“We have [Raffles College] one of the most expensive courses in Malaysia but there’s a reason to it.” He said that most designers – fashion, jewellery, graphic – are actually earning better than blue-collar jobs.

Most of Raffle’s graduates end up in entrepreneurial work and open retail boutiques, textile design studios or freelance as costume designers. Others work in for design, marketing and production departments for fashion design houses. Some have continued their education overseas.

Aside from producing good fabric and other materials, Ruzz Gahara felt that the industry also needed to produce more talents to sustain growth.

Presently, their company outsources most of its tailoring to Jakarta, Indonesia.

Nik said that it has been a challenge to move from tailor-made to ready-to-wear clothing since most of their tailors are not based in Malaysia.

“It would be better if we have home-based tailors so they can actually see how the materials react to bodily contours,” he explained.“Understanding the texture of a certain fabric is very crucial in fashion design.”

To date, Ruzz Gahara’s collections are in the Connector Group, a company that houses a variety of Malaysian entities and brands in Miami, Florida, USA. It helps promote and expose Malaysia to international markets.

The Malaysian government has identified growth areas in the textile and clothing industry. These areas include industrial and home textiles, functional fabrics, ethnic fabrics and high-end fabrics and garments. Moreover there is greater emphasis on key support facilities and services, such as design houses, fashion centres and specialised dyeing and finishing facilities.