Kok Loong Ho
Couture Designer & Owner of The MOD House
服装设计师兼The MOD House经营者

The latest Couture Fashion Week in New York held a very important element – The MOD House by Malaysian designer KL Ho imprinted on the famous Manhattan runway. Featuring a stunning haute couture collection of Asian-inspired qipao, both shows at the Crowne Plaza Times Square and The Pierre, A Taj Hotel, were fully attended and well received by international fashion buyers, media, socialites and celebrities. The MOD (Malaysian Original Design) House received immediate enquiries and invitations to future couture fashion events in London, Paris and Dubai. With the assistance of Matrade Malaysia and Matrade New York, the label successfully penetrated the US market with its ready-to-wear collection as well.

To me every designer has their personal touch and uniqueness.  I don’t really know how to rank myself, but people are starting to recognise my creations especially in the marriage of the Eastern and Western cultures.

Once an accountant, Ho jokes about venturing from dealing with ‘figures’ on spreadsheets to dressing beautiful feminine ‘figures’ in the glitzy and glamourous world of fashion.

The Seremban boy who studied accountancy and filmmaking started work with KPMG before taking a leap of faith into fashion retail and wholesale. He was soon bosom buddies with top Malaysian designers while the shopping malls were busy clamouring for him. From there on 11 MOD Houses were set up in major shopping centres in Penang and KL.

“Life is all about what you want to do, regardless of your background. I started my fashion journey without any formal education. Relied on my instincts, feelings and horse sense a long way before signing up for a fashion design course very much later.”

While the name KL Ho and The MOD House label soared from local to international recognition, Ho believes that fashion must be practical too. “Currently I’m working on ready-to-wear office attires, available for online purchase and rental. Ladies will now be able to rent work dresses daily.  This will ease dressing woes and benefit them economically.” 

After 15 years in the industry, fashionistas are beginning to trust and revere his creations. Ho was in Melbourne recently to explore possibilities of working with Australian designers and fashion institutes like RMIT.

“I would love to help aspiring fashion designers, if possible. For newcomers, their biggest problem is to get manufacturers to produce for them.  I have a platform where they can contribute their designs while I navigate production and contemplate marketing strategies for them.”

Wearing many hats with ease, this designer extraordinaire will continue to spin bespoke magic, create prêt-à-porter lines and be the commander of his fashion production house with great style and originality. 

在纽约举行的最新时装周展现了一个重要元素 – 由马来西亚设计师KL Ho所带领的The MOD House在著名的曼哈顿T台上绽放光彩。这两场分别在皇冠假日时代广场酒店和皮埃尔泰姬酒店举行的时装表演以亚洲格调的旗袍时装系列为特色，令人赞叹不已。现场汇集了众多国际时尚买家、媒体、社会名流和闻人的高度关注与好评。

来自伦敦、巴黎和迪拜关于未来高级定制时装活动的询问和邀请，犹如雪花般涌向The MOD House (Malaysian Original Design)。在马来西亚外贸促进发展局(Matrade Malaysia)和驻纽约外贸促进发展局(Matrade New York)的推动下，该品牌的成衣系列也成功打入美国市场。

作为会计师开启职业生涯的KL Ho开玩笑表示，自己曾在表格上与“数字”打交道，然后在耀眼魅力的时尚世界里为美丽的女性们“计量”着装。这位出身于芙蓉，具备会计和电影制作专业知识的男人在投身时尚营销行业之前，曾在毕马威(KPMG)会计事务所工作。他迅速与马来西亚顶级设计师打成一片，并成为各大商场的招揽对象。过后分别在槟城和吉隆坡的主要购物商场设立了11家MOD House。

“所谓的人生就是不拘于任何背景，实践你想做的。我没有受过任何正规的教育就开始了时尚设计之旅，仅凭直觉、感觉和常识，直至很长一段时间后，我才报名参加了一项时装设计课程。”虽然KL Ho这名字和The MOD House品牌从杀出本土一路晋级国际市场，但他坚持时尚也必须是实用的想法。“目前，我正在设计一款随时可以在线购买和租赁的办公成衣。女士们现在可以每天租用上班服，除了舒缓服装穿着的烦恼，也减少经济负担。”

“对我来说，每个设计师都具备个人风格和独特性。我真的不知道如何给自己排名定位，但人们开始认同我的创作，尤其东西方文化融汇结合的作品。

在行业领域中度过15年后，这名时尚达人开始对本身创作信心大增。他最近在墨尔本探索与澳大利亚设计师和类似RMIT时尚学术机构合作的可能性。

“如果可以的话，我愿意协助有抱负的时装设计师。对于新手来说，他们最大的问题是寻觅生产制造商。我拥有现成平台，他们可以贡献本身的设计，而我将作为生产导航和提供营销策略。”

这位非凡的设计师将轻松地身兼多职，继续演绎定制魔法，创造云裳风暴系列，并以最佳风格和原创思维成为时装制作公司的指挥官。

By Billie Ooi-Ng Lean Gaik