In His Shoes
The fashion designer puts aside her silks to sew up PPE suits for our beloved frontliners. By Amy Yasmine.
8AM My day starts off around 8am, and immediately after waking up, I check my phone for any messages I’ve missed out from Instagram, Facebook, and text messages on WhatsApp. I need to clear at least 20 to 30 e-mails in the morning, and around 50 Insta messages throughout the day. It doesn’t take that long for me to get out of bed, since I need to change into my Lululemons and do some yoga for about 45 minutes to an hour. I’ve been practising yoga for 20 years now, but have been a serious follower since 2006 when I got pregnant. I go for classes whenever I can at Damai Studio, or these days, Celest Thoi, fashion designer I’ll work on my poses at home based off my memory from and humanitarian Ashtanga classes when I was living in Auckland. It really helps me feel calm, focused, and grounded. 8.45AM After all that stretching, it’s time for a shower and a quick skincare routine. I tend to keep it quite simple, but I swear by my Sulwhasoo facial cleanser, La Mer treatment lotion to tone, Dior Huile de Rose serum, Dior Le Micro-Sérum de Rose Yeux for my eyes, Dior Prestige La Crème to moisturise, and the Lancôme Absolue UV for sunscreen. Now that I spend most of my time at home during this MCO, I don’t feel the need to dress up on a daily basis so I choose something comfortable to get dressed in, like an oversized T-shirt and shorts. 9.30AM My family and I tend to keep it quite healthy with our food. I don’t normally cook, but I’ll always have a juice in the morning. If I have time, I love to chop up some avocado and prepare an avocado smoothie or as a side with some toast. My kids get in on the avo action too. We could eat it every day! 11.00AM Before heading out to do anything, I put on some light make-up which consists of powder, blusher, and lip gloss. Currently, I’m using the Dior Forever cushion foundation, Dior Backstage blush in Rosy Glow, and my trusty Lancôme Juicy Tubes lip gloss. 11.30AM On weekends, Saturdays are spent in the studio while on Sunday, my family and I head to church, followed by a family luncheon and dinner. But in light of the recent pandemic, I’ve joined forces with designer Melinda Looi to help produce PPE suits and protective masks for our Malaysian frontliners. Through the fashion association MODA, we have been able to reach out to many like-minded individuals who have taken the time out from producing their seasonal collections in order to support our local
heroes. At the moment,
I have 12 seamstresses who have devoted their time to this initiative, while there are many others who have donated their portable sewing machines in aid of this cause. 12PM Out of the house with my protective gear on to meet with Melinda and collect hospital-grade fabrics for distribution. At this point, Melinda has kindly shared enough materials for me to produce 200 pieces of gowns and about 650 pairs of shoe covers! I’ve also kind friends from Gethá who have contributed three big rolls of similar fabrics for gowns and head covers. Together, we have made more than 1,000 pieces of gowns and 1,200 pieces of head covers. Similarly, another friend has also donated a roll of black fabric, which was used to create 900 gowns and 500 shoe covers in the last two weeks. 1PM With so much happening, a sandwich is my go-to lunch. I drop by a supermarket every other day to get some groceries, which includes milk, bananas, some berries, avocados, rocket leaves, yogurt, and cheese. 2PM Another round of fabric distribution! This time, I’m off to two other Malaysian designers at their workshops, and managed to pick up a few other sewing must-haves from other seamstresses. 3PM Once I’m home, I’m ready to set myself up for work. Luckily for me, I’ve two thoughtful daughters who are able to help me as and when I need them to. With them being out of school, online classes and tuitions have replaced classrooms, which gives them time to bathe our three dogs, cook, and even lend me a hand to cut, count, and pack when they can. When it’s time for a break, I sneak in a quick video for Instagram before continuing on sketching and getting things drafted. 4.30PM These days, I’ve been sending out messages to rally for donations, as well as receiving requests from doctors and hospitals on their needs, especially when it comes to N95/KN95 masks. It’s quite a different scenario from my usual client conversations (which still happen!). 6PM In the evenings, I find respite in taking my dogs out for a walk. I have a black giant Schnauzer named Snoozy, a white Swiss Shepherd, Truffle, and a brown Belgian Shepherd I’ve called Bentley. 6.30PM For dinner, the kids have requested for grilled steak and baked root vegetables so it’s back in the kitchen for me. Nevertheless, it’s been a while since we last cooked together! There’s nothing quite like unwinding with your family with a glass of red wine in hand. 8PM With Michael Bublé playing in the background, I’m back in my studio again to continue with work. In between, I try to reply as much e-mails as I can while checking social media. Though I’ve been getting a tonne of enquiries and responses lately, I really am so touched by the kind souls who have reached out offering their skills and help. 11.30PM I love to indulge in a quick pampering session after having a shower. Skincare is most important to me. I start by using Lancôme Clarifique to cleanse off make-up, a Sulwhasoo facial cleanser to wash off impurities, followed by its cult Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Creamy Mask. I then use a La Mer treatment lotion to tone my skin, before adding a few drops of Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair to the mix and finally topping off with a Lancôme Absolue eye cream—I can’t live without eye cream! Once I’m all done, I slip into bed ... but no shut-eye without getting my daily news updates on TV. Truth be told, I really do miss watching Netflix. Since making PPEs, I haven’t had the time to indulge, but I’m waiting to catch up on Next in Fashion. It’s great to watch and learn from other designers— fashion keeps me alive. J
650 pairs of shoe covers 50 Insta messages 12 seamstresses