IN RECENT years, fashion cross-over or collaborative projects have become common practice. It is a great way for fashion retailers to inject a breath of fresh air to their brand. For example, Swedish fashion retailer H&M has collaborated with Jimmy Choo and Matthew Williamson in the past, and the most recent one will be a limited edition capsule collection by Lanvin. Britain’s Topshop is also well known for its collaboration with English fashion designers such as Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders.

As a fashion designer who graduated in Britain, and worked in London and Shanghai before, I too, love to collaborate with different fashion companies. In October last year, I collaborated with Stella Luna, a Taiwanese shoe retailer. I designed an evening dress collection inspired by “Room 1069”. All its 10 concept stores in Shanghai, Beijing and other major cities in China used this design concept, which is carried through from the interior, window display to the music. My next fashion cross-over project is with Japanese department store Isetan in Kuala Lumpur. I designed a capsule collection for their existing in-house fashion brand “Cultivation”. My design concept is to have a versatile collection for the busy modern woman.

One of my creations was a dress that can be transformed into a top once the wearer pulls up the hem to the waist and ties it into a knot. A garment with dual functionality will cut down on the need for more clothing in the wardrobe! This plays a small part in saving our planet.

When you are in Isetan KLCC, The Gardens or Lot 10 shopping centre, KL, next, check out Cultivation by Victor Khoo. He writes the column Trendsformer, which appears in StarTwo every second Monday of the month.