Malaysian-born Sisters Capture World Fashion Scene By Design

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Childhood memories of Malaysia have inspired three sisters to spin their yarns of romance and intrigue via catwalks and boutiques from Australia to Europe.

While these young designing women — Rowena, 30, Juliana, 28, and Angela Foong, 25 — call Australia home, and home to their burgeoning fashion venture, they pay tribute to their Asian and family roots through their East-meets-West label, “High Tea with Mrs Woo”.

The whimsical title recalls a Malaysia of times past and Sunday afternoons dressing up for high tea with the many “Mrs Woos”, real and imaginary, in the girls’ early lives in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan and later in SS2, Petaling Jaya.

“We express our ideas like an eventful setting of delicacies, tea and conversation,” Rowena says. “We create quirky designs that explore and give meaning to our feelings of cultural displacement — to make sense of who we are.”

Each garment tells a tale in which the sisters celebrate their heritage, infused with images from travel, cinema and music (aided by Asian satellite TV).

Pieces in each collection even sport their own titles — such as “Russian spy in Shanghai”, “Never-ending nighthawk”, “Alice weeps” and “Mildred Pierce” — that echo a character, movie scene or book chapter.

The result is a striking cultural bridge with a theatrical bent, blending modern and retro, bold and pensive, cheeky and sensuous.

“Fascinated with weaving memory into clothing, we explore the ability of fashion to unfold a great yarn,” Rowena says.

“We explore nostalgia and romantic escape by recapturing journeys and translating tales into contemporary wearable inventions. We collect wistful moments and recreate them”.

Discarded fabrics and objects are rescued and mixed with natural materials from Australia and New Zealand and as far afield as Japan and Italy.

“Using colour, texture and pattern to spin our stories, we make new fabrics by piecing together antiquated prints in unexpected material combinations.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of one significant journey for the Foong sisters, from Malaysia with their parents Fong Chee Yee and Lucy Yap to beachside Newcastle, two hours’ drive north of Sydney.

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