KUALA LUMPUR: Sheng Tai International Sdn Bhd (STI) launches into the new year with great pace to achieve its vision of elevating the historic state of Melaka into an international fashion city.
The property developer, founded by Datuk Leong Sir Ley, held its inaugural Straits Gala 2023 last night at The Sail Superdome, located at its iconic mixed-use development, The Sail Melaka.
The event followed the Met Gala Malaysia in 2021 and was attended by about 1,000 guests including international investors from over 15 countries such as Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, the Middle East, Russia, the US and the United Kingdom.
"It marks a key milestone towards achieving STI's vision of helping this Unesco World Heritage City take on another accolade of international fashion city as well," it said.
Leong said the Straits Gala 2023 saw a mutual coming together of global entrepreneurs at The Sail Melaka.
"There was keen interest from businesses in Japan in wellness and art and culture initiatives, with Russians interested in the AI space and others expressing their interest in the other initiatives, all underpinned by STI's core strength of property tourism," she said in a statement today.
Both international and local guests were treated to a fashion parade headlining designer talent from the Straits Designers' Gallery (SDG).
The SDG featured designs by Bill Keith and an array of over 30 local and international labels (from Japan, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia) and designers including Angelique, Auratier, Bill Keith, Carro, Diane & Norule, Erdan, Gillian Hung, Variante, Faramas and Myriad Grand Monde.
The line-up also included promising new talent from fashion graduates at the University Technology Mara (UiTM) in an effort to nurture new talent.
The event was also an evaluation platform for Fashion TV Academy Malaysia's trained models, with top graduates standing a chance to participate in international events held by FashionTV Paris.
Guests also enjoyed a spectacular percussion performance on a huge bespoke screen as well as performances by talented artistes such as violinist virtuoso Megan Mei, and popular singers Jaclyn Victor and Kenny Low.
"With Melaka once being a key cosmopolitan port in Southeast Asia during the golden era of trade in the 15th century, I felt that this is the right place to gather people from around the world and cultures across the world to enjoy Malaysian hospitality, food and culture, especially the unique diversity of Melaka – and enticing them to invest in The Sail," Leong said.
