AirAsia’s Runway Ready Designer search goes regional

AirAsia’s hunt for fashion designers has gone regional this year. The AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search is the airlines’ second year partnering with the annual event.Contestants across the markets of Jakarta, Manila,Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok will participate in the competition, the grand finale for which will be  held in August at the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week Ready to Wear (KLFW) 2016.On its Facebook page, the airline said:"AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2016 returns with a region-wide search for aspiring young designers in five countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. Top 3 finalists chosen from each country will be selected to showcase their collection at the grand finale at KLFW RTW 2016 and one winner will walk away with prizes worth at least RM350,000 including a confirmed show segment at KLFW RTW 2017, RM25,000 to produce a capsule collection, 150,000 AirAsia BIG Points, AirAsia or AirAsia X flights and many more."In local press, AirAsia Berhad chief executive officer Aireen Omar said the airlines wants to provide a platform for young fashion designers across Asean for them to empower and catapult their careers in the fashion industry."There is so much talent in this region and as a truly Asean brand, we want to expand this designer search to other countries apart from Malaysia," Aireen said in the Star Online.Along with KLFW founder Andrew Tan, Aireen would be part of the panel of judges which also includes Vivy Yusof, owner of fashion e-commerce site FashionValet.com, fashion designer Alia Bastamam and editor-in-chief of Glam magazine, Suzie Adnan.A total of 10 young designers were given the chance of a lifetime to showcase their creations on the prestigious KLFWRTW2015 runway.