2019-10-01 Singapore Tatler

If BernardChandran,Malaysia’s“KingofFashion”,wereto

puta messageona billboardaboutfashion,it wouldread,

“Getusedtoit.”Thedesigner,whohasdressedroyaltyand

celebritiessuchasLadyGagaandtheSultanahofBrunei

says,“Fashiontrendscomeandgo,butstylingis howyou

adapttothechangesandmakethemyourown.”

It wasChandranwhofirstfusedParisianhautecouture

elementswithtraditionalMalaysianwear,suchasthe

bajukurung, theChinesecheongsamandtheIndiansari.“I

wantedtochampiontheideathattraditionalwearcanbe

couture,”hesays.

Youcanalwaysexpecttheunexpectedwithhiscreations,

asChandranis passionateaboutpushingboundaries.“I’m

alwayseagertoexperimentandI willadvisemyclienttodo

thesame.I canbedesigninga saributI’llexperimentwith

Chantillylaceorvintagefabric,a differentzipora unique

techniqueofstitchingorembellishing.”

Thedesigner’sultimatemuseis hiswife,former

supermodelMaryLourdes-Chandran,withwhomhehas

fivechildren.“Sheis confidentinherskin—sheknows

whattoflauntandwhattohide,”hesays.Forherpart,

Lourdes-Chandrantrustsherhusbandcompletely.She

admitsthatwhileshehassometimesfeltuncertainabouta

newstyleheis incorporatingintohiscreationsforher,he

hasalwaysmadetherightcall.“I’velearntthatallI need

todois taketimetodigestwhathehascreatedforme—

evenif thelookisn’tmyusualstyle,”shesays.“Ashesays,

fashionis allaboutlearninghowtogetusedtochange.”

Bernard Chandran with Mary Lourdes-Chandran

Photographed in his Kuala Lumpur studio by Khairul Imran; Words by Lily Ong

“I’m always eager to experiment and I will advise

my client to do the same”

HAIR: DAVID SHAW; MAKE-UP: MONICA LEE

singapore tatler. october 2019 183