Winning the Best Fashion Designer award for 2023 and blowing her competition clear away was Gurdip Kaur from Penang.

Whipping Malaysia’s local fashion scene into a frenzy, the official debut of New York Couture Fashion Week brought all the glitz, glamour, and best dressed fashionistas to Parkroyal Collection Kuala Lumpur on February 25, 2023.

The event, which was organized by Media Path International (Malaysia World News) in partnership with Couture Fashion Week New York (CFW NY), saw more than 10 participating designers and over 50 professional models from all over the world including Japan, Ukraine, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, and Malaysia.

Winning the Best Fashion Designer award for 2023 and blowing her competition clear away was Gurdip Kaur from Penang, creator and founder of GypsyKorn Atelier. This win will doubtlessly be catapulting Gurdip’s career into high gear now that she’s invited to the U.S. to represent Malaysia at the New York Fashion Week next year!

Reported by WORLD OF BUZZ, Gurdip lets in on her unique creative process that started her winning collection, and what she looks forward to experience in New York.

“Our brand’s tagline is ‘dare to be different’ and upholding that is something that I find incredibly important. Staying true to that fact is the unique selling point of GypsyKorn, where every outfit is built like armor, in a sense that they’re all modular, so to speak.”

GPSYKORN’S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY COLLECTION, PUNKATURE, IS AN ODE TO QUEEN “V”

“Inspired by Queen Victoria from the era named after her, the Industrial Revolution and a tribute to dame Vivienne Westwood, who is also known as the ‘Queen of Punk’ and the late Alexander McQueen, this collection merges all punk culture elements from the aforementioned historical figures, a marriage of steampunk aesthetics, metal spike studs, and leather”, Gurdip shared. 

“As a direction towards sustainability, the leather used in this collection are from discarded garments that have been stripped and deconstructed, giving them new life and I’d like to thank Life Line Clothing Malaysia for providing me with these materials.”

“The values of Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen motivated me to challenge conformity and create revolution through fashion,” she explained.

WINNING BEST FASHION DESIGNER

Expressing her shock and gratitude, Gurdip is ecstatic that she’s finally being recognised by the fashion world

“It was a scary experience for me to be on a platform amongst other senior designers. I didn’t take this as a competition, and instead, I wanted to make a statement on what my brand is and who I am – that was the only thing running through my head being a fairly new young designer to the industry,” she shared.

Gurdip also talks about the challenges she faced on her journey, especially with battling many different stereotypes in her community for how she chooses to express herself.

“I’ve had to deal with being stereotyped by my community with my appearance from having tattoos and piercings and I’ve had that chip on my shoulder for the longest time.”

“I want all other designers out there who are going through a similar journey to never give up and to know that what you dream is possible if you really set your mind to it”, she added. 

Gurdip’s experience in the industry has seen her dressing various artists in the local music scene including Maruxa Lynd for the Northern Music Festival 2022, Late Night Frequency for Anugerah Indie Muzik 2023 and KVEN DAVÉ Fantasy music video. Upcoming projects for Gurdip includes a 6-piece collection in collaboration with Sekumpulan Orang Gila, a local modern-rock band.

And alongside this new project, she will also be heading to New York for their Couture Fashion Week in February 2024!

Gurdip adds, “An an independent designer from Malaysia, I want to showcase that creativity in my country is not just limited to big brands. I believe that there are many talented individuals here in my country, including fashion designers, musicians and artists who deserve to be seen and heard.”

As for navigating the local industries that are more conservative in a traditional sense, Gurdip doubles down on her vision, enforcing that there has to be more boldness in creativity in order to be recognised in international arenas.

“Even though Malaysia is known as a conservative country, I believe that we should always think outside the box and strive for international recognition. Winning this opportunity would not only be a great international platform for me but also a positive representation of Malaysia.”

Learn more about Gurdip’s upcoming journey to the Big Apple on GypsyKorn Atelier Facebook page and Instagram.