Issuu

THE ICAD MAGAZINE

july 2019

celebrating women in design people (cover feature) DHANIYA ILLIANI YUSOF: the girl with many hats craft FERN CHUA: through fernâ€™s lenses place TINY FOREST: an oasis in ss15

from the editors

We are very excited to announce the pilot issue of TAPE, a bi-annual, faculty-run publication from INTI Center of Art & Design (ICAD). The idea of TAPE comes from our eagerness to record and journal various perspectives, stories and diversity found within the ICAD community. We decided to curate these narratives, put them together and formed a magazine. TAPE aspires to be a journal of anecdotal accounts from many of us who are connected to ICAD - but also allow others to have a very authentic view of our day-to-day experiences and what it is like to be part of the ICAD family. The main columns in TAPE are ‘People’, ‘Place’ and ‘Craft’. ‘People’ features stories from our local and international community. ‘Place’ highlights the unique sense of belonging to SS15, Subang Jaya, where we are based and ‘Craft’ narrates about the relationship our community has with the crafts of their discipline. Besides these three, TAPE will also cover other notable stories worth publishing, and feature selected artworks from some of our students or alumni. Every issue will center around a theme. For the launching issue, our theme is ‘Celebrating Women in Design’, with spotlights on Dhaniya Illiani Yusof, an up-and-coming conceptual artist recently graduated from ICAD; Tiny Forest, a horticultural establishment in SS15 founded by Malaysian singer, Yuna; and Fern Chua, the ‘New Batik’ designer, our industry partner and mentor to our students. We hope you enjoy this issue and do talk to our team if you have any interesting story leads that we can feature in future prints.

TAPE advisor WENDY YONG art director VIN SZE YONG editors RYAN CHEAH LAURA CHEN AMIRAH IZZATI ZAKARIA contributors DHANIYA ILLIANI YUSOF FERN CHUA TINY FOREST cover DHANIYA ILLIANI YUSOF printing company NETS PRINTWORK SDN BHD paper supplier MINLY PAPER SDN BHD printed on vintage 120 gsm proudly produced by INTI CENTER OF ART & DESIGN. facebook @inticentreofartdesign instagram @ icadmedianews editorial enquiries RYAN CHEAH ryansy.cheah@newinti.edu.my LAURA CHEN laura.chen@newinti.edu.my AMIRAH IZZATI ZAKARIA amirah.zakaria@newinti.edu.my disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed or implied in TAPE are those of authors or contributors and do not neccesarily reflect those of ICAD

content

06 craft

FERN CHUA:

through fernâ€™s lenses

12 place

TINY FOREST:

people (cover feature)

the girl with many hats

an oasis in ss15

DHANIYA ILLIANI YUSOF:

30 highlight

ICAD DESIGN DAYS:

to the women who design

through fern’s lenses craft

The innovator of the “New Batik” and owner of her self-label, Fern Chua talks about her design philosophies and design process together with intern and our Diploma in Fashion Design student, Patcheri Chin. text. LAURA CHEN photos. WENDY YONG

FERN CHUA: through fern’s lenses

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In his book, Principles, Practice, and Techniques: The Practical Guide for Aspiring Fashion Designers, Faerm S. mentioned that the keys to successful and prolific designing lies in the ability to evolve as a contemporary designer and to innovate technical knowledge. This is especially true with Fern’s success in reviving an ancient craft dating back to over 2000 years ago and turning the craft relevant to today’s market. Joined by Patcheri, our fashion student who interned with Fern, we delved into how the ‘Wilderness’ collection came to be formed as Fern takes us through her inspirations and the processes involved.

‘the new batik’ It is without a doubt that batik is a craft that celebrates the tradition and culture of Malaysia. As with many craft industries, the struggle in keeping it alive is real. A term strongly associated with Fern’s own self-label, ‘The New Batik’ describes how Fern intertwines traditional methods with modern, minimalist prints and silhouettes, reviving the craft into a contemporary, upmarket clothing label. Her works often feature elements of nature on halter neck, maxi and wrap dresses, chic tops, and multiwearable pieces. “It is a combination of what drives the commercial and cultural values and also the needs of the modern lifestyle. Patterns can be just as beautiful whether simple or in detail. There are different ways to manipulate it into what I call ‘The New Batik’. We are considered the very few who are able to do what we do because there is still a very fixated mentality about what defines batik.”

craft

FERN CHUA: through fern’s lenses

inspirations Staying true to her name given by her late dad, Fern’s primary inspirations come from the lines, textures and elements of nature, crediting her dad for the awareness she has on the details of nature. “My name is Fern, for one. He (Fern’s dad) really loved his nature and a lot of my inspirations came from being nurtured by him since young. He would often say to me, “Hey, look at this flower and this stone, look at the details of it”.

“For me, to do ‘The New Batik’ is to bring it to life through my own inspiration”. When asked how she collects inspirations, Fern says her best tool is her phone camera, “The camera is basically a modern-day tool to collect inspirations. A good camera is a designer’s greatest tool”. She detests how younger generations are now turning to online sources mostly, rather than collecting their own primary inspirations from their surroundings. “I think it’s very important to translate that into students, to capture it through their own eyes” As she said this, she glanced over at Patcheri, subtly giving notes of mentorship.

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craft

FERN CHUA: through fernâ€™s lenses

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design process The ‘Wilderness’ collection, inspired by Fern’s visit to the west-coast of France started off with a few clicks on her phone camera. These images were then shared with Patcheri along with a brief, detailing the kind of details Fern would like her to focus on. Patcheri developed these into a series of initial, hand-drawn motifs and sketches which she then proposed back to Fern. The next step was to head to their batik studio to experiment with the motifs. Fern explained that being hands-on in the sampling process is a vital step in understanding what kind of motifs worked for the dye-resistant technique and what doesn’t; this was especially so for Patcheri who needed to understand the `technique vs. design’ dynamics. These motifs were then developed again and again, until it was deemed as fit for production and in line with the brand image. For each of the prints, the experimentation process is a long one. The dandelion print for example, had gone through a series of a hundred printing samples before the right print-size was found. The ‘Audelia’ piece mimic raindrops through a watercolor wash technique where salt is applied to wet paint, “A lot of these back-and-forth on getting the colors & the mixture right was a tedious process but the beauty of it is that it continues to sell”.

Fern Chua is one of ICAD’s many industry partners You can find Fern’s pieces at her flagship store at: FERN, Bangsar Village 2, UGF 17A, 59100 KL. www.fern.gallery Instagram: fernchua

With each success and failure of these experimentation, Fern never fails to whip up her camera to document the process.

“I do like to take random pictures and I’ll see it and how I can develop from there”.

an oasis in ss15 place

text. AMIRAH photos. RYAN CHEAH

TINY FOREST; an oasis in ss15

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Nestled along eateries and hair salons, Tiny Forest offers a green refuge for anyone who seeks to escape the hustle and bustle of SS15, away from the roaring traffic. The name, ‘Tiny Forest’, cleverly gives away what’s in store. Stepping inside is as though a ‘pause’ button has been pressed, welcoming visitors to disconnect from the world outside. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve decided to put a tatami mat there!” laughs Amir. Tiny Forest is founded by Yuna Zarai in 2012 while she was in Los Angeles, where she began making custom terrariums for her friends. Upon returning to Kuala Lumpur, Yuna, a Subang native, alongside her mother, decided to set up a terrarium studio in SS15 in May 2014. Operated by Amyra and Amir, Tiny forest is now firmly rooted in SS15 and is certainly not rattled by the ever-changing retail trends in Subang Jaya.

place

TINY FOREST; an oasis in ss15

Being in an area that is widely dominated by students, SS15 brings with it equal part opportunities and challenges. It is a place where trends are easily picked up. However, there are some trends that fizzle out as quickly as they bubble up. “We have seen vape and coffee shops being opened and then closed” says Amir. Although many desire longevity for their enterprise, only a fraction of them achieve it. Amir, who originally hails from Johor Bahru has grown increasingly fond of Subang Jaya over the years. “SS15 basically has a balanced crowd - the everchanging, the student crowd and the family crowd”.

When asked about longevity, Amyra notes that in the past, terrariums were a trend. However, Tiny Forest views them as a lifestyle item as opposed a trend. There is a growing need among urbanites to bring the outdoors inside. Due to the challenges of living in confined spaces, more and more urbanites are looking at indoor plants and terrariums. “We know for sure that people who go to work in the morning just want to go back and chill at night, so we contribute to that lifestyle” explained Amyra. She believes that evolving and learning are keys in the ‘arium’ business. Aside from catering to walk-in customers and corporate clients, Tiny Forest also offers in-store terrarium workshops and the space can be rented out for various other workshops. A physical retail space allows customers to see what they are buying up-close, as opposed to online stores. “Over here, you get to choose from A to Z what you want - what container, what plant, and what kind of decor you want to put together. It’s more focused on the experience” furthered Amyra.

Agreeing with Amyrah, Amir believes that this gives them staying power and drives them ahead of their competitors. “I can tell you that there are a number of shops that sell terrariums, but they are not many terrarium shops that you can go to, see and touch for yourself,” says Amir.

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Tiny Forests offers more than just a retail experience. To Amir, it is more than just buying and selling. He values the interaction and connection he has with their customers. “We are more than just a business. We welcome customers to relax at our shop and have a conversation with us,” explained Amir.

Often seeking opportunity to build a strong sense of camaraderie with other local businesses, Tiny Forest finds bazaars and markets such as Riuh and Suka-suka to be ideal places to connect with the community and support local businesses alike.” We bring our crowd to the markets in order to support each other” furthered Amir. Both Amir and Amyra’s journey with Tiny Forest can best be described as a serendipitous one. Amir’s frequent visits to the store later nudged him to be on-board with the team. Amyra, on the hand, has not always had an interest in indoor plants or terrariums. However, watching her plants grow nurtured and cemented her interest in the field.”It is satisfying when I see them grow and bloom, knowing that it is a result of my hard work” says Amyra. Tiny Forest remains committed in evolving and sustaining their establishment by keeping ahead of time through their wide range of plants and accessories. Their persistence in welcoming changes and working closely with the community is a testament that an idea can grow and be sustained.

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TINY FOREST; an oasis in ss15

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Tiny Forest opens Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 8pm. 14, SS15/8B, Subang Jaya, 47600, Selangor, Malaysia. tinyforestsj@gmail.com Instagram: tinyforestsj Facebook: tinyforestterrariums

people

the girl with many hats text. RYAN CHEAH photos. WENDY YONG artworks. DANIYA ILLIANI YUSOF

Behind the eccentric yet quirkily feminine appearance lies an effervescent personality that is ready to take on the world. Dhaniya Illiani Yusof, a graduate from INTIâ€™s Diploma in Fashion Design program in 2018, chats with us about her multi-faceted career, her struggles as a young Muslim artist in Malaysia, her experience navigating the challenges of the industry, and her big ambitions for the future.