Opinionated, original and committed to giving back, the bold and unapologetic trio of local fashion trailblazers &mdash; Evonne, Daren Yeap, and Chloe Tang &mdash; are flipping style conventions on their heads, and they couldn&rsquo;t care less about the rulebook.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Alright, I&rsquo;m ready,&rdquo; Daren Yeap announces after a solid hour and 20 minutes of meticulous prep for the camera. But achieving the polished, contemplative aesthetic that Yeap and his fellow fashion dynamos pull off? That takes more than just time &mdash; it&rsquo;s about precision, bringing every detail perfectly into line. This was my first sit-down with Yeap, the visionary behind UglyPretty, a label unapologetically pushing boundaries with designs that demand a double take, making you question and then embrace what you&rsquo;re wearing. &ldquo;Sometimes, I wonder if my designs even have a place in society,&rdquo; he admits. But those doubts faded when one of his creations showed up on the world stage, worn by none other than K-pop powerhouse BabyMonster. &ldquo;I gagged,&rdquo; Daren confesses. &ldquo;I remember telling Chloe that I wanted BabyMonster to wear my piece. Then, one day, while scrolling Instagram, I stumbled across a fan cam of their performance &mdash; and there it was.&rdquo; Specifically, Chiquita &mdash; Daren&rsquo;s favourite member &mdash; was rocking his skirt. &ldquo;At first, I thought, &ldquo;Did someone copy my design?&rdquo; But the craftsmanship, the details &mdash; there was no mistaking it,&rdquo; he laughs. When he finally confirmed it through social media with a message in his inbox revealing it was indeed UglyPretty, he was speechless. &ldquo;I gagged, again.&rdquo;

For Chloe Tang, a close friend and KL-based creative, the incident only proved that dreams have a way of materialising. Known as the group&rsquo;s resident &ldquo;fun-bringer,&rdquo; according to both Daren and Evonne, Chloe balances her humour and zest with a surprising dose of wisdom. There&rsquo;s a calm ease to her, maybe from growing up in a strict family, making her appreciate the small joys she brings to those around her. &ldquo;Having an incredible support system, especially friends and family, is everything,&rdquo; she reflects, acknowledging the grounding effect it has on her life. However, Chloe&rsquo;s upbeat energy doesn&rsquo;t always sit well with everyone. &ldquo;Some people think I&rsquo;m over the top, and they&rsquo;ll tell me to tone it down. But at the end of the day, I know who I am, and I won&rsquo;t change what doesn&rsquo;t need fixing,&rdquo; she declares. Her style rocks a devil-may-care attitude, much like her outlook. Kuala Lumpur-based stylist and model Evonne radiates the same fierce energy, nailing a vibe that&rsquo;s both demurely provocative and spiked with punk attitude. Her signature aesthetic &mdash; mixing sensuality with bold cuts, ruffles and chains &mdash; turns heads wherever she goes. Yet for Evonne, her styling process is refreshingly simple. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not hard. I just go to my closet and pick whatever fits my mood,&rdquo; she says. It&rsquo;s all about taste, and for Evonne, fashion has been her playground for creative self-expression since day one.

Interestingly, though she now thrives in fashion, Evonne&rsquo;s journey began in law school in the UK. &ldquo;Our faculty building was across from the fashion school, and people would always ask if I was in the wrong building,&rdquo; she recalls with a smile. &ldquo;I took it as a compliment.&rdquo; After graduating, she headed back to Malaysia to explore opportunities in the fashion world, discovering new layers of her creative intuition along the way. For Daren, his exploration of fashion began in childhood with a handmade paper doll his mother crafted for him. &ldquo;I used to make these huge gowns for my dolls, and the designs got more experimental as I grew older,&rdquo; he reminisces. Dressing unconventionally became his way of expressing confidence, sparking his lifelong love for design. Chloe, meanwhile, found freedom in fashion after years of tamping down her creativity. &ldquo;My family&rsquo;s strict with how we dress, which I respect; they were raised that way and naturally wanted the same for me,&rdquo; she shares. But her style takes a different path. For Chloe, dressing up is about either going all out or keeping it minimal, but always loaded with personality, embellished with trinkets and packed with attitude &mdash; making it hard not to say, &ldquo;She ate!&rdquo; when she steps out.

But dressing boldly or even fabulously still feels like a rarity here, largely because people fear they might look &ldquo;too much&rdquo; for their crowd. &ldquo;Sometimes people say they feel intimidated by the way I dress,&rdquo; Evonne admits. Yet, it barely fazes her now. &ldquo;When I was younger, I cared about their opinions. But as I got older, that feeling faded, and now it just leaves me questioning &mdash; why are they intimidated? What did I even do?&rdquo; That strong personality, paired with a fearless wardrobe, exudes what some might call &ldquo;girl boss&rdquo; energy. I had to ask where she found this resilience. &ldquo;Trauma,&rdquo; she replies. &ldquo;Growing up, I had to stand up for myself because I didn&rsquo;t want to be a pushover forever. I was bullied in school just for being Chinese. It was mentally exhausting, and it pushed me to go against the grain. That&rsquo;s where my confidence comes from, and it&rsquo;s why I stick to my principles,&rdquo; she adds. Today, Evonne is one of the most recognisable names in Kuala Lumpur&rsquo;s fashion circuit, a fixture in striking platform heels or pointed boots at any major event. Years into her career, Evonne feels the local fashion scene still needs a push to hit its full potential. &ldquo;Funding is crucial,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s so much local talent out there, young designers with incredible visions, but they&rsquo;re often overlooked because we lack the funding to showcase them. It&rsquo;s different in places like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, where fashion is backed by industry players and even the government.&rdquo; Chloe, with her brand strategist experience, echoes this and adds a tip for building a brand presence in this challenging environment. &ldquo;The trick to brand awareness is anchoring your brand to a specific culture or lifestyle. TNTCo, for example, built its identity around hip-hop culture by collaborating with local rappers. Now, anyone in the streetwear scene or the hip-hop community knows their brand,&rdquo; she explains.

Daren, on the other hand, believes the missing piece is self-expression. &ldquo;We play it safe far too often, and designs are starting to look repetitive,&rdquo; he comments. But he appreciates that the industry is at least moving toward a more playful, expressive scene. &ldquo;Change is slow, but it&rsquo;s happening. Trust the process and we have faith in what we&rsquo;re doing. We&rsquo;ll get to where we want to be eventually,&rdquo; he says.

CREDITS: Creative Direction &amp; Words Syazil Abd Rahim Photography Lobach Grooming Nicole Ng Hair Wan Ning

Interview: How Darren, Evonne, and Chloe freshened up the local fashion scene

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