PERSONAL STYLE
The petite designer packs a stylistic punch with her classy punk-meets-street designs. By Cai Mei Khoo.
Putri Yasmin Ashram Ramli of When Our Eyes Met on dressing with character
The interior of Zouk’s main room was transformed into a chic bat cave of sorts, with shiny stalagmites and stalactites scattered across the space for Yasmin Ramli’s Pre-fall ’13 show. The club was filled with a mix of fashion kids, socialites, and a handful of local celebrities who Yasmin can count as fans of her work. Triangular shapes were apparent in both the décor and in the clothes she showed for her year-old label, When Our Eyes Met. “I was inspired by pyramids and threedimensional structures, and that formed the basis for this collection,” reveals Yasmin, whose latest collection showed jagged cuts, cutouts, and drapes.
Called ‘Darkened’, the aptly named collection showed 32 looks that were mostly in black and in varying shades of grey. “My personal style definitely influences the look and feel of my collections,” says Yasmin, who recently cropped her hair à la Demi Moore in G.I. Jane. “I would
describe my signature look as classy punk mixed with streetwear.” Something that’s most definitely a result of her having spent five years studying in London.
No stranger to the fashion scene, Yasmin is one third of the PU3 label, the other two being her twin sister Azalea and her mother, Raja Noora Ashikin. “My mother is a big inspiration for me getting into the fashion industry,” Yasmin explains. “She has her own line and has always had a natural flair for fashion.”
That flair was introduced to her at an early age. “My earliest fashion memory is of my mother dressing Azalea and me in Hawaiian bikini gear when we were two years old,” she reminisces with a laugh. “When I grew up I wanted to explore and learn more about the fashion industry, both the business side of things as well as the creative side that includes patternmaking, draping techniques, and sewing.”
Post-university, both Yasmin and Azalea started working on their PU3 label in 2006, opening their first boutique at The Curve. “I still work with Azalea on the PU3 line but I wanted to channel my own ideas, showcase my inspirations, and share my work, and that’s why I decided to start my own label,” she says, adjusting the neckline of the long black dress she was wearing at the shoot.
“When Our Eyes Met is inspired by
The romance that Yasmin explores in her work is something
a little darker, more melancholic.
love and romance,” says Yasmin. Black might not necessarily be equated with love and romance but the romance that Yasmin explores in her work is something a little darker, more melancholic – an emotion that was expressed in the first fashion film she directed and screened just before her fashion show started.
“My all-time favourite designers are Vivienne Westwood, whom I admire for her punk aesthetic, Helmut Lang, and the late Alexander McQueen,” shares Yasmin, who studied fashion design & marketing at Middlesex University, London.
On inspiration, Yasmin lists the people she meets, film, music, and travelling as her go-to sources. “Constant inspirations for When Our Eyes Met is the emotion of love, as well as the people I’ve met through the years, those who have made an impression on me. Travelling allows me the time to get inspired. I never leave home without my phone, notebook, and pen, just in case inspiration strikes,” says the designer. “What I love most about fashion is its versatility – I sometimes create unexpected silhouettes by accident. I enjoy experimentation, and it’s thrilling to share my work with others.”
Currently focusing on her next collection, Yasmin reveals that along with her signature sharp cuts and shades of midnight, combined with draping and pleats, this time there will be an unexpected splash of colour involved. From darkness to light, this is one home-grown label to watch. When Our Eyes Met is available at Seethrough Concept Store, 1st Floor, 25 Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.Tel: 03-2284 1868.