“I believe she is her own girl,” says designer Alia Bastamam, describing the persona of those who don her namesake label. “The Alia Bastamam woman I design for is very true to my resort aesthetic. She is unapologetic, she is brave, she is confident and she dances to her own tune.”
The description is beyond dispute, evidenced by the edgy clientele seated on the front row at an Alia Bastamam show. But it is also an apt depiction of the designer herself as it is pretty evident that Alia is one who marches to her own beat.
It began as early as eight, when as a young child, she already displayed an aptitude for sewing, playing with her grandmother’s vintage sewing machines.
“Those machines are quite hard to use but my grandmother saw that I could manage it quite well and she used to give me bits of cloth to sew,” she says. “My grandmother used to say that if you can draw a straight line, you can sew a straight line.”
Then at 10, she asked for a machine of her own. The Singer – which she still has today – further cultivated her interest in sewing while also stirring an entrepreneurial spirit in her.
“I never had enough pocket money so I started making Batu Seremban and selling it to my friends. I was making a lot of money,” she laughs.
Later, while in high-school and typical of teenagers, a rebellious streak emerged which was seen in the way she adapted her school uniform, which caught the attention of her friends. “I used to make the skirt shorter,” she says. “And my friends used to pay me to take in their pinafore.”
Eventually, her sewing skills were honed by the fact that she had strict parents who, she says, would never indulge her. “They would never buy me a mini skirt or anything like that.”
Out of necessity, the young Alia used to scour stores like The Reject Shop where she would find oversized sweaters for men, which she would then alter to her liking.
“I used to buy clothes that didn’t fit me because they were cheap,” she says. “And then I used to do things to it and, make them my own. That’s how my designing style grew and that’s how I started.”
Fashion, however, emerged when she discovered the “big” Vogue pattern book that belonged to her fashionable mother. The book which featured illustrations by the some of the biggest names in fashion – Calvin Klein, DVF – captivated her and she soon began sketching based on the illustrations in the book.
Though a student of architecture, her sewing and designing became a necessity because it was as a young college student that she started clubbing – wearing her creations that caught the eye of others. And she soon started making party dresses for her friends still in college.
It was also after high school that she formed friendships with Jimmy Najeem, Shahrezza Ezani and Shamin Yusof, who picked up on the innate designing skills their young friend possessed. The friendship was the pre-cursor to the beginning of Alia Bastamam, the brand.
Fast-forward, and it was while on holiday that a kaftan she made for herself became quite a phenomenon, capturing the attention of others on the trip. It was then that the idea of starting a fashion label first surfaced.
But Alia, who was in a comfortable position working for an established label, found the idea of starting a brand using her name quite daunting.
“I was really scared,” she recalls. “I had just finished studying and was working and they wanted me to quit my job. I was like – are you crazy? We don’t know anything, we don’t know anyone. We just know our party friends.”
She admits that a fair amount of coaxing was required and it was only after a year of contemplating over it, Alia decided that she was on board with the plan. Despite these hesitations, the Alia Bastamam brand was formed, located at a tiny lot that measured just 700 sq ft, catering to a niche audience.
There was no production team. Much of the sewing had to be done by Alia herself and grasping the business of fashion was not easy. Nonetheless, the team tackled each challenge, head-on.
It was also a different era in fashion. It was all about extravagance and made-to-measure creations by formidable names like Bernard Chandran, Rizalman Ibrahim, Michael Ong and Radzuan Radziwill dominated the industry.
The luxury ready-to-wear market was untouched at the time, and it was a gap that Alia discovered from her own experience. However, Alia admits that she was hesitant about being the brand to step up and fill that gap.
But over time she discovered that there was a group of women who kept coming back and with that, she became increasingly assured that she, as a designer, was doing something right.
At the recent KL Fashion Awards 2021, Alia received two awards. The first was the Decade of Excellence Award and the other was for Brand of the Year. “Me being Alia Bastamam has shaped me into the woman I am,” she says.
Now as the brand celebrates its 10th anniversary, Alia is ready to embrace the next ten years with greater certainty than she had previously.
“We are definitely excited and proud to have reached this 10-year mark,” she states. “We have grown into becoming such an amazing team and it’s humbling to remember where we started from. We are hyped for the next ten years and beyond.”
“We couldn’t have done it without each other,” she reflects. Each member takes on a different aspect of the business. Jimmy ensures that Alia keeps to the timeline, Shah takes on the marketing and communications while Shamin keeps track of the finances. This has led to Alia Bastamam evolving into the strong brand it is now, ready to take on new challenges, which include establishing a strong regional presence and perhaps, venturing into the lifestyle arena.
But regardless of whatever area they choose, the focus will always be on remaining true to the Alia Bastamam brand. “We want to be a brand that’s ever evolving without losing its DNA.”
(Main image: Dress from ALIA BASTAMAM; Happy Hearts earrings from CHOPARD)
Read the full story in Prestige Malaysia’s December 2021 issue.