Named after her daughter, Sufyaa founder and designer, Rina Tahar, is steadily changing what we think about traditional Malay cultural outfits. Her designs start from S$250 and can go into the thousands, depending on the material chosen and detailing needed. And her clientele isn’t just women of status or brides, she’s dressed entire families and even teenagers for prom.
She sent samples to manufacturers she found in China, and had the finished outfits shipped to Singapore where a close friend helped her run the business back home. And because she wasn’t based in Singapore, Rina launched Sufyaa online after being inspired by the e-commerce landscape in Europe. While online shopping was only in its infancy in Singapore, it was the way of life in the West due to the vast size of the countries. “I thought to myself that it could be a good opportunity as well since I wasn’t physically in Singapore.”
The ultimate decision to wind down her ready-to-wear business came when she found out that the factory she was working with in China was making replicas of her designs for another label.So in 2016, she decided to pivot to a bespoke service, creating customised one-of-a-kind designs. And amongst all the fabrics she has, the one that takes a special place in her heart is a beautiful fabric that has gold or silver threads inserted between its base threads called songket. In fact, it’s what Sufyaa is known for.
Fortunately, the ways to use songket is limitless, she added. “You can add layers to it, you can put something else above it, there is a lot of room to play with it.” “I was fortunate to meet her when she was still the then Speaker of Parliament through AMP . They were having a gala dinner and Madam Halimah was the guest of honour. And because I’ve been working with them for a while, I asked if I could dress her, and they said yes.”To make an impact, Rina decided to askew the norm and dressed Madam Halimah in emerald green songket dress for that gala dinner.
She believed that these opportunities have been all thanks to her continued online presence. “Even when I stopped my ready-to-wear outfits, I was still heavily pushing Sufyaa on the website and on social media. And I really think that it has helped the brand gain awareness and traction.”It’s clear that Rina’s muses are her clients. And there’s no better proof that her fusion designs that blend different cultures in what has always been thought to be a traditional take on Malay outfits.
mdm milo presidente even went 2 KL market 2 shopp her hajib 3 for $10 ringgits...
As usual, China has no respect for IP rights.
AI is killing designer's job
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: asiaonecom - 🏆 10. / 59 Read more »
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »