With an immediate attraction that began in London and a chance meeting only a year later, fashion entrepreneur Shalma Ainaa and her husband Wan Imar’s love story began unexpectedly and has taken a course to one many would envy.

We speak to them to hear about their challenges in navigating building careers. Shalma with her fashion brand Shals, and Imar managing the legacy of his family’s firm while harbouring a passion for music. Through the highs and lows of life, trust, loyalty and support has been pivotal in their story.

Also in this week’s newsletter:

• Oscars 2024: The best-dressed celebrities on the red carpet
• 11 designing women: Meet the first ladies of Malaysian design
• Erica Eng on releasing the first graphic novel of her Eisner Award-winning work, Fried Rice
• Jo Kukathas on theatre, her characters, and why arts should be celebrated

Cheers,
Sim Wie Boon
Digital Editor

From Barbenheimmer to Saltburn, Past Lives to Poor Things and many, many more, 2023 was undeniably a major year for film. With such an incredible roster of films to honour, it goes without saying that the 96th Academy Awards ceremony was an eventful night of cinematic brilliance, glamorously topped off with a lavish fashion feast served by Hollywood’s biggest stars on the red carpet.

This year’s best-dressed list is certainly a long one, with Zendaya stealing the show yet again in a sleek Armani Privé gown, Anya Taylor-Joy looking as graceful as ever adorned in a custom Dior number inspired by the house’s historic Junon gown, and Carey Mulligan sending fashion enthusiasts into a frenzy with her archived Balenciaga gown from winter 1951—and we’re just scratching the surface.

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It’s telling that when Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects won The Pritzker Prize in 2020, they were only the fourth and fifth women to win architecture’s highest honour since it was established in 1979.

Indeed, in architecture and other fields of design, the disparity in genders is significant, whether in America or Asia. Yet, despite this, women like the late Dame Zaha Hadid and the prolific Patricia Urquiola have created design vocabularies that are unique and exceptional.

In Malaysia, these ten young female designers are blazing trails in their respective fields, and our design landscape is richer for it.

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Erica Eng, a Malaysian artist and animator, began her journey with hand-illustrated pages in her college dorm in Kuala Lumpur, leading to the creation of her webcomic, Fried Rice. This work won the Eisner Award in 2020, marking Eng as the first Malaysian to achieve this honour. Now, Fried Rice transitions from digital to print, enriching bookstores with its graphic novel form marking another step in her artistic journey.

Despite rejection from publishers due to perceived story and experience deficiencies, we hear from Eng about her perseverance and support from fellow Malaysian illustrators like Reimena Yee and advice from Cheeming Boey to self-publish culminated in the novel's release. Discover how Eng values timing and a thoughtful approach over haste, believing in the sustainable growth of her work.

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Ask any fan of theatre in Malaysia, and the name Jo Kukathas will be brought up. We speak to Kukathas on her journey to becoming who she is today as she details how her initial foray into theatre was marked by a blend of playful mimicry with her cousins and a significant turning point when she substituted for an actor in a production that went on to perform at the 1988 Singapore Arts Festival.

Over the years, Kukathas not only established herself as a revered theatre artist and founder of the Instant Cafe Theatre but also created a gallery of beloved characters, each with unique personas. She expresses concern over the local art scene's lack of institutional support and vision, contrasting it with more integrated approaches in neighbouring countries. Nonetheless, she remains optimistic about the resilience and humour of Malaysians, encouraging aspiring artists to pursue their passion for the arts through study and practice, emphasising the role of nervousness as a catalyst for creativity.

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