THE SHOW 2026: 21 Graduate Collections at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week

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11 Sep 2026

16 Min Read

Maria Wijaya (Academic Contributor), The Taylor’s Team (Editor)
IN THIS ARTICLE

Eighty looks crossed the runway at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026, and behind each of them was a final-year student from the Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology (Honours) at Taylor’s University. BECOMING, the sixth graduate showcase from the School of Design, brought 21 graduating collections to a public stage.

 

The collections were built over months, and the starting points were mostly personal: a father’s plant collection, a grandmother’s dress from the 2000s, beaches in Bali that used to be clean, and a phrase about a father who went out for milk and never came back. What the designers did with those starting points is where the work lives, in draping tested until a silhouette held, close to 500 roses smocked by hand, and garments distressed against archival photographs until the wear looked earned rather than applied.

 

Below, each of the 21 graduates introduces their collection in their own words.

Unruly Child by Mychelle

Mychelle on the runway with two models wearing looks from Unruly Child at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Mychelle’s collection began with the styles she was not allowed to wear as a child, deemed improper by her parents and her community. She took her direction from Vivienne Westwood and from punk and grunge dressing, where thrift flips and rebellion leave no boundaries for exploration. That thinking produced garments that convert, two-in-one and three-in-one pieces running through the collection. Draping across multiple patterned fabrics was the hardest part, and finding a composition that held took time.

 

Her chosen look: Look 3, where the silhouette is pushed further by a high collar and pins at the pants, and the vest is patched. Mychelle chose it because it holds both sides of the argument at once, the act of rebellion itself and the pressure that tried to suppress it and did not succeed, leaving the wearer more resilient in finding themselves.

Nocturne Rebirth by Joshikaa Premkumar

Joshikaa Premkumar on the runway with models wearing looks from Nocturne Rebirth at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Joshikaa Premkumar took the Renaissance as a symbol of rebirth and read her own growth as a designer through it. The result is ornate and structured, Renaissance forms given a modern gothic reading in black and red, with maroon crystal beads and gold beadwork. Crochet, corsetry and crinoline carry the craftsmanship she most wants noticed. Building the crinoline to the right volume was the technical problem, solved by adjusting measurements, reinforcing the structure and refining it through repeated fittings.

 

Her chosen look: Look 3, which she selects for the way it brings the craftsmanship, the gothic elements and the Renaissance structure together in one place. The handcrafted crochet skirt and collar carry the collection’s focus on texture and detail, the corset silhouette stands for strength and transformation, and the hanging beadwork adds movement.

Swan Syndrome by Serenata Greysia

Serenata Greysia on the runway with models wearing looks from Swan Syndrome at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Serenata Greysia has always been drawn to the darker side of perfection. Black Swan is a favourite film for the way it shows how the pursuit of perfection can slowly unravel a person, and paired with the elegance of Swan Lake it gave her a collection about the emotional cost hidden beneath grace. Dramatic silhouettes and layered structures work in black and white, with draping, crinoline, corsetry and layered tulle carrying the shift from elegance into breakdown. Keeping the shapes bold and still wearable took continuous draping experiments.

 

Her chosen look: Look 1, the ideal image of a perfect ballerina and swan. It holds the beauty, grace and perfection that society admires, and in doing so sets the foundation for the hidden emotional struggles the rest of the collection goes on to explore.

California Fading by Aden bin Mohd Paul Ang

Aden bin Mohd Paul Ang on the runway with models wearing looks from California Fading at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Aden bin Mohd Paul Ang came into fashion through collecting vintage, fascinated by what old workwear and military garments had been through before they reached him. California Fading is a tribute to that, built on the story told in every fade, fray and mark left by time. Silhouettes draw directly on the functional tailoring and rugged utility of early twentieth-century workwear and military gear. Getting the distressing to read as authentic was the difficulty, and he worked from archival photographs of genuine period pieces to solve it.

 

His chosen look: Look 1, which he nominates because it represents everything he believes in and loves about fashion, and carries the message he wants the collection to deliver. What he asks viewers to take from it is an appreciation of patina, on clothes and on anything else made well, since wear is the most visible evidence that something has been loved.

What Remains by Shraddha Rajeshkumar

Shraddha Rajeshkumar on the runway with models wearing looks from What Remains at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Paris is a city Shraddha Rajeshkumar has always wanted to see, and What Remains looks at the post-war version of it, a place that rebuilt itself without losing its identity. Off-white, dark grey, black and burgundy stand for scars and memory, while pearl embellishments on the collar, corset and blazer stand for the tears of people who endured. Constructing the blazer took the most work, requiring precise tailoring and repeated adjustments to the pattern before the fit held.

 

Her chosen look: Look 3, which she describes as deeply personal and as her own interpretation of resilience. The sculptural form, hard sleeves and pronounced collar and skirt open a dialogue between strength and vulnerability, making the case that traces of beauty remain after devastation and that memories shape a person without determining what comes next.

Antler Veins by Giok Wan Chee Aurelia

Giok Wan Chee Aurelia on the runway with models wearing looks from Antler Veins at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Giok Wan Chee Aurelia’s father is a plant collector, and the Platycerium is the plant they both love. She studied its shield frond and branching fronds for silhouette, then noticed that its vein patterns look remarkably like lace, which made lace the central material of the collection. One look is built over a wire structure, and shaping and securing that frame was the hardest problem, solved through repeated prototyping and reinforcement.

 

Her chosen look: Look 03, the only menswear design in the collection. The highlight is the tie, shaped from the Platycerium itself. It is a small detail against everything else in the collection, and Aurelia chose it precisely for that, since it states the concept clearly and makes the look stay with you.

Not a Phase by Nichole Charity Sio

Nichole Charity Sio on the runway with models wearing looks from Not a Phase at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Nichole Charity Sio grew up without leaving childhood entirely behind, and Not a Phase argues that a love of dolls, cute aesthetics and playful forms is not something to be outgrown. Four looks trace a line from childhood through adolescence and adulthood to self-acceptance. Layered organdy is draped into exaggerated puffy silhouettes that carry the softness and imagination of being young, with more structured elements marking the move into adulthood. Holding that volume was the main technical challenge.

 

Her chosen look: Look 1, a babydoll dress that holds the innocence and wonder of childhood in its voluminous silhouette and soft, playful detailing. It opens the collection on its central claim, that the interests, emotions and sense of joy formed in childhood go on shaping identity well into adulthood.

Inner Terrain by Livia Lioe

Livia Lioe on the runway with models wearing looks from Inner Terrain at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Livia Lioe started with erosion, drawn to the textures and irregular forms that time leaves on solid surfaces, then saw the parallel with how experience gradually shapes a person. The collection works in structured, asymmetrical silhouettes with manipulated surfaces, in dark brown and off-white drawn from weathered landscapes. Heat manipulation and smocking create the contrast between controlled form and worn texture. Constructing stiff panels without picking up creases or marks from the interfacing was the technical problem.

 

Her chosen look: Look 2, which moves from a smooth, structured surface into manipulated texture and so carries the gradual transformation the collection is about. The asymmetric silhouette, sculptural collar, single elongated sleeve and side belt build a form that is irregular and controlled at the same time.

What Flowers Refuse to Say by Daniella Moksa

Daniella Moksa on the runway with models wearing looks from What Flowers Refuse to Say at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Daniella Moksa built her collection around emotions people keep hidden, using flowers because they carry their own language for feelings that go unsaid. Soft peach pink and blush champagne, flowing shapes and light fabrics set the register, with smocking, draping and organza creating a flower-like texture. Handmade rose smocking is the signature. Draping was the hardest part, since every fabric falls differently and each idea had to be tested before the shape came right.

 

Her chosen look: The hand-smocked skirt, which carries close to 500 handmade roses. Daniella chose it as the clearest evidence of the time, patience and craftsmanship behind the collection, and as the piece that best demonstrates her argument that fashion can communicate feeling without a word being said.

Always Was by Angelina

Angelina on the runway with models wearing looks from Always Was at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Angelina’s collection is a reflection on the parts of childhood she still carries. She returns often to simple moments when happiness came easily, and Always Was is about how those memories continue to shape a person. A white palette stands for innocence, flowing fabrics for the carefree part, and lace for memories that are precious and fragile at once. Holding volume in the soft, puffy silhouettes was the main challenge.

 

Her chosen look: Look 3, which carries the most lace in the collection. Each layer stands for memories and experiences collected through childhood, and Angelina chose this look because the accumulation is visible in it, standing for everything that stays with a person and becomes part of who they are.

Structure in Sight by Glaisha Laurette

Glaisha Laurette on the runway with models wearing looks from Structure in Sight at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Glaisha Laurette started with the corsets in the period drama The Buccaneers, taken by their seam lines, panelling and structured shapes. She then looked at the Gothic architecture of the Milan Cathedral for its strong lines. Together they produced a modern ready-to-wear collection in black, white and brown, with clean structured silhouettes, visible seam lines and panel details. Sewing the lining neatly while keeping the garments comfortable and well-shaped was the hardest part, resolved over several fittings and pattern changes.

 

Her chosen look: Look 1, which Glaisha selects because it shows the corset-inspired seam lines, the structured shape and the ready-to-wear intent in a single complete outfit. It makes the collection’s case directly, that structure can be beautiful and wearable at once.

Sour Milk by Aleena Nayeem Usman

Aleena Nayeem Usman on the runway with models wearing looks from Sour Milk at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Sour Milk takes the phrase about a father who went out for milk and never came back, and reinterprets it through Aleena Nayeem Usman’s own experience of a father often absent while working overseas. The collection deconstructs tailored suits, referencing both his workwear and her school uniform as symbols of authority, with hand-fabricated hair textiles and linings printed with childhood photographs. She wants viewers to notice the weight of the garments, which was the technical challenge, making pieces that read as physically heavy while still allowing movement.

 

Her chosen look: Look 2, titled Playdough, which Aleena describes as the emotional centre of the collection. It stands for being moulded by a parent’s expectations through childhood, constantly shaped into someone whose purpose was to please. She does not expect the collection to be understood immediately, and says so deliberately.

Nebula Realm by Shi Zhuojiahui

Shi Zhuojiahui on the runway with models wearing looks from Nebula Realm at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Shi Zhuojiahui looked at nebulae, the birthplace of stars, and chose to work from what they symbolise rather than how they appear. Their constantly changing forms suggested garments about growth, imagination and the beauty of the unknown. Sculptural silhouettes and layered volumes sit in black, navy blue and soft purple, with hand-sewn beading for celestial detail. Taffeta, stiff tulle, horsehair braid and corset construction do the structural work, and balancing volume against wearability took repeated sampling of boning and horsehair.

 

Her chosen look: Look 2, which brings together the sculptural volume, the hand-beaded detail and the spiral floral elements drawn from nebulae. It was selected as the look that best carries the mystery and sense of transformation running through the collection.

Quiet Blue by Elysia Thierry

Elysia Thierry on the runway with models wearing looks from Quiet Blue at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Elysia Thierry grew up in Bali, and Quiet Blue holds both the beaches she remembers from childhood and what visitors have since left behind on them. The collection moves through purity, pollution and renewal, using recycled plastic taken from discarded bottles. Each look progresses from the one before it: plastic manipulation with pintucks follows the first, then individual bias-cut manipulations add texture and depth, before wire structures build to a sculptural silhouette. Handcrafting each manipulation was slow work and the hardest part of the process.

 

Her chosen look: Look 1, which represents the beaches as they were before the pollution arrived. Elysia chose it for the memories it holds of family and friends along those shores, and for the connection it draws between a place and the personal experiences formed there.

Æternoura by Naaih Mohamed Solih

Naaih Mohamed Solih on the runway with models wearing looks from Æternoura at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Æternoura came out of Naaih Mohamed Solih’s experience of growing up unable to express an identity fully, and turns that into something closer to a stage. The Aurora Borealis, fantasy film, pop music and performance feed a palette of turquoise, icy blue, lavender, pink and teal. Layered organza, tulle and net recreate the shifting colour and movement of the aurora across corseted silhouettes, voluminous skirts and oversized sleeves. Building corsets stable enough to support that weight without sacrificing comfort took careful boning placement and extensive fitting.

 

His chosen look: The final ballgown, which closes the collection on its theatrical volume and its layered aurora colours. It was selected as the fullest expression of the dreamlike transformation and the confident self-expression that Æternoura is built around.

The Garden of Monet by Cheng Ying Beatrice

Cheng Ying Beatrice on the runway with models wearing looks from The Garden of Monet at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Cheng Ying Beatrice worked from Claude Monet’s gardens and his Impressionist paintings, translating blooming flowers and gentle light into a collection of soft colour and flowing silhouettes. A graceful halter line, soft silk and handcrafted three-dimensional floral embellishments with delicate beadwork carry the reference. Look 2 is made in silk with structured interfacing, and constructing the halter bodice while keeping a smooth fit and attaching the florals without disturbing the drape was the hardest problem.

 

Her chosen look: Look 3, built on a sculptural lotus-petal bodice with oversized lily pad appliqués. The contrast of soft pink and green draws directly on Monet’s water lilies, and Beatrice chose it as the look that sits closest to the heart of the collection.

Inner Angel by Seona Choi

Seona Choi on the runway with models wearing looks from Inner Angel at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Seona Choi began with the symbolism of angel statues and the structure of Victorian undergarments. Angel statues have come to stand for healing, rebirth and self-liberation as much as anything else, and she reinterprets that through contemporary evening wear. Soft sheer fabrics carry delicacy, while felted wool recreates the shadows and textures that appear on stone over time. Creating sculptural silhouettes that stayed light and fluid took repeated draping and careful internal construction.

 

Her chosen look: The look that brings the sculptural silhouette, the sheer layering and the felted wool textures together. Seona selects it for holding the elegance, protection and transformation that angel statues carry, and for the way the contrast between sheer and structured stands for vulnerability and protection at once.

The Cultural Marriage by Sarah Bassa

Sarah Bassa on the runway with models wearing looks from The Cultural Marriage at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Sarah Bassa grew up surrounded by family wearing traditional clothes from India and Pakistan, and this collection is an homage to those roots. It is built around bandhani, the process of tying fabric before dyeing, and the dupatta, a draped shoulder cloth worn in South Asia. A dress her grandmother made in the 2000s set the direction, its colours and materials pointing toward draped art. Chiffon was the difficulty, with heavy gathers and partly sheer panels demanding hand-sewing across nearly every look.

 

Her chosen look: Look 1, the green dress, where the design and the choice of dupatta sit in harmony and the draping becomes the point. The fall from the back of the neck to the arm carries the eye when the garment moves. It took three weeks of hand-stitching to keep it that light.

Cautionary Tales by Rachel Payet

Rachel Payet on the runway with models wearing looks from Cautionary Tales at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Rachel Payet played princess growing up, often with her siblings, and Cautionary Tales asks what happens when that childhood meets adulthood, when playtime becomes logical and considered rather than intuitive. She drew on the eighteenth century for its opulence and its layers. The first look uses denser fabrication and structure, and as the collection progresses the fabrics soften, mimicking the process of undressing in that period. The women’s corset is the piece she is proudest of and the one that taught her most about patterning and anatomy.

 

Her chosen look: Look 2, one of the most complex pieces to make and, in her assessment, the best executed. Rachel chose it as the most striking thing in the collection and as the look that showed her which direction she wants to take as a designer.

ANAK MALAYSIA by Arman Faiezal

Arman Faiezal on the runway with models wearing looks from ANAK MALAYSIA at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

Arman Faiezal’s collection comes from his own religious trauma and a harsh upbringing in a conservative hometown, working through shame, guilt and poverty. The government school uniform is the reference point, and four looks correspond to four things he carried. The palette is dirty, rust and sweat. More than fourteen fabrics went into the collection, most of the garments developed by draping actual shirts and pants, with custom patches added to every look.

 

His chosen look: Look 4, which imagines a persona from hell. The hump at the back stands for what he carried, and the skirt reads love in Arabic on the selvedge, holding the idea that a person remains loved regardless of what they carry. Arman wants the collection to stand as representation for anyone struggling with faith and identity.

CAMBIA by Shang Xuanbo

Shang Xuanbo on the runway with models wearing looks from CAMBIA at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2026.

CAMBIA follows a journey from vulnerability to resilience, a figure gradually gaining the courage to face what stands against them. Shang Xuanbo works almost entirely without sewing, using fabrics soft enough that stiffener and fusible interfacing do the shaping instead, which gives the surfaces a more unusual visual quality. Working with a new fabric each time a different shape was needed made that approach a continual problem to solve, and every garment is dense with detail that rewards close examination.

 

His chosen look: The second outfit, which began with the fabric itself, found during selection and chosen for being exceptionally soft and delicate. The cutaway detailing and asymmetrical hemline are the elements that sit closest to Shang Xuanbo’s own aesthetic.

The Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology (Honours) at Taylor’s University runs across three years, and THE SHOW is where it ends: a public showcase at Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week, in front of an industry audience.
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