Dawn of a new beginning

HOMEGROWN fashion label LANA KL has a new creative director in Luqman Mansor. Luqman took over after the departure of founder Lana Hazmi, who left to focus on family matters.
Luqman, who has been in charge of the company for close to a year, put a lot of pressure on himself.
He said: “Everyone who is in this position should feel the pressure – the pressure from what the fashion buyers, customers and media would expect from me, these expectations really worried me in the making of each collection.”
Nevertheless, the budding designer paid tribute to Lana, who had been instrumental in his progressive journey.
“What a lot of people do not seem to realise is that fashion is in everyday life,” he explained. “It gives you a certain amount of freedom, not just for myself but for everyone else ... it is the sense of freedom we get subconsciously.”
Last August, Luqman showcased his first collection at the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week, an experience which helped him to grow as a designer.
This can be seen in Luqman’s designs for 2018, as LANA begins to push boundaries, expanding its potential in the fashion industry.
At first glance, Luqman’s Spring/Summer ‘18 collection appeared disparate in each design, and not quite fitting the cohesive manner most designers set out to achieve.
However, Luqman intended to explore the theme of individuality and diversity throughout the collection.
By taking a step back to consider the connection that ties the collective, one notices the similarities in each design.
Luqman played around with prints and embellishments as an homage to the pop culture phenomenon of maximalism; interpreted in shapes, lines and colours of Sarawak’s topography that the Borneo native so strongly shares a sense of familiarity and comfort with.
The Autumn/Winter ‘18 collection also sees Luqman reinvent a new aesthetic for the contemporary modern woman of LANA.
“The collection [marks a] critical juncture, a phase of rebranding LANA before it is too late,” said the designer.
In other words, it is about setting the cornerstone for the brand, and finding the archetypal LANA girl and signatures that are easily recognisable – classic silhouettes interrupted by intentionally misplaced details with idiosyncratic allure.
Luqman understands the importance of practicality in garments and how it translates to woman’s everyday clothing without compromising his aesthetics.
The collection successfully captures the LANA girl in absolute strength, longevity and the appreciation of her heritage and culture.
A LANA girl is a well-travelled soul who understands diversity and empathises with her surroundings – a true chameleon. She wears confidence externally, and never afraid of her own fragility while enjoying every aspect of good living.
Luqman also speaks of elevating feminity in a period where many women have doubted themselves, struggling to find courage.
He said: “I’ve learned so much from my clients and the audience on social media. We have built a close-knit relationship with them, and by evaluating their responses, it enables us to study them to get to know the LANA girl even better.”
Nonetheless, I see Luqman not just as a fashion designer, but as an accomplished storyteller with a profound cultural sophistication, as he continues to take inspiration from his homeland, Borneo.
And, in a time where everything is over-referenced and ever-evolving, the debate about originality has been futile, but then again, being original seems to be the least of Luqman’s concerns.
He does not mind if other brands pick up LANA’s creative trends, simply because “you can’t find originality anymore, it is almost impossible.”