For designers Hafizi Radzi Woo and Izree Kai Haffiz, the experience of growing their Fiziwoo fashion label is a fulfilling one.
The two have successfully transformed their business from a barebone outfit 13 years ago to a thriving atelier recognised by celebrities and high society.
Fiziwoo designs can also be spotted on the runway at all the big fashion weeks in Malaysia.
Hafizi and Izree met during their university days and despite being longtime business partners, they are as different as night and day.
When asked about what they would be doing if life took a different turn, Hafizi jokes about opening a mini mart or grocery store.
“I love the interaction with customers and handling the cash register,” he says.
This is despite him studying fashion and growing up surrounded by fabrics. His mother used to own a small tailor shop in Penang.
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, 37-year-old Izree has explored photography, corporate branding, as well as interior and furniture design while pursuing his architecture degree.
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Currently, Hafizi acts as the creative director of the Fiziwoo label, and Izree is the managing director.
The camaraderie shared between them is obvious, but disputes can still happen when it comes to everyday work matters.
“Gaduh banyak (lots of arguments),” Hafizi relates, laughing.
Yet, they seem to know each other really well – as it should be, with them being friends for over a decade.
“Inspiration for us as designers can come in any form, but for Fizi it is always about people,” Izree relates.
“He is inspired by people – how they live and what they wear day in and day out, those are things that make him understand fashion better.”
Izree adds that it is different for him, where it is his own life experiences that gets his creative juices flowing.
“A song, film or travel location, these ignite my interests. They spark my curiosity, and make me want to learn more and understand better about a certain culture or era,” he says.
How would you describe your fashion journey so far?
Hafizi: We had a rather humble beginning, where we ran the whole setup for a few years without any hired help.
We had to do everything back then. However, we both enjoyed it. That experience matured us personally, creatively and business-wise.
I think like for Kai, he will always remember the hardships of starting out and how he learned from all that experience. For me, I’d like to think back on the journey as a bittersweet one – while it had its ups and downs, I did enjoy the adventure, like sort of a roller coaster ride.
What’s your view of the Malaysian fashion industry? Has it changed over the long years?
Hafizi: The industry is a competitive one. That’s one aspect that has not changed.
In other ways, you now have customers switching their preference to fast fashion. The see-now-buy-now business model is something we all can’t avoid.
Izree: I think the local scene is becoming very “colourful”.
There is a lot more competition among fashion designers or brand owners, and this has given consumers a wide range of options to choose from.
I feel shoppers are also smarter. They understand how to look out for quality, like better fabric or workmanship, when it comes to the price point of a certain item.
In terms of trends, we have witnessed major changes in fashion – like streetwear now being a staple, and even adopted by Parisian fashion houses. As a designer, what’s your approach to trends?
Hafizi: Fiziwoo started out by offering occasion wear pieces like custom bridalwear and evening gowns, but we have since branched out to carry ready-to-wear in our diffusion line, Fiziwoo Studio.
We are also producing casual wear and street-inspired collections – but, of course, these will still have the Fiziwoo touch to them, that glamorous and chic feel.
As designers we have to pay attention to international trends. This is where we keep an eye out on any market shifts, then adopt what’s needed for our current and future collections. It just shows that you need to be versatile in fashion and keep an open mind.
The fashion industry is also more informed now about issues like sustainability and diversity. What are your thoughts on being a socially aware and responsible designer?
Izree: The best way for a designer to help the industry become more sustainable is to embrace slow fashion.
We should be producing high quality products, that can stay in your closets longer.
Such designs can be worn repetitively and styled differently for many occasions.
Talking about recycling, I believe it will only bring old clothing back into the same polluting manufacturing process – there is the re-bleaching, re-dyeing, leading to the process of producing discharge and wastage again.
At Fiziwoo, we are dealing with a lot of fabric waste and what we did in the past, is to reuse certain fabric remnants, like embroidering them back together to become a new fabric.
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Running a fashion label is not just about designing. The business side of thing is equally important. What’s your secret to balancing both aspects?
Izree: How we balance both aspects is by finding the middle ground when it comes to decision making.
Between the two of us, we respect each other’s views on any matter.
As both of us are passionate with what we do, it is common for us to have a lengthy “debate” over a decision.
Somehow, after 13 years of building the brand together, we pretty much understand how each one of us approaches certain matters.
It needs a lot of reasoning and patience when we are talking things over, but this has made us better at communicating and listening.
Take us through your creative process. How do you come up with a new fashion collection?
Hafizi: Usually, I will come up with a few initial sketches and ideas for the new collection.
Our design team will then extend the ideation by doing research from it; conceptualising extensive ideas, as well as detailing the colours and trends.
Then the marketing team will gather data based on our previous sales performance, and see what is trending in the market right now.
As the two of us work together to create a more detailed mood board based on all that additional input, we will develop a few initial samples, then develop the rest of the pieces for the collection.
The work doesn’t stop there though. There is also need to create a detailed story or narration, which helps in developing the prints motifs for the fabrics, finishing details of the collection, motifs of our embroidery or beadwork, and the music for the runway shows.
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