This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 5, 2015.

There has been a frenzy of Star Wars collaborations of late, leading up to the highly anticipated seventh installation of Star Wars in December. One such collaboration involves the iconic sci-fi movie franchise and the fashion industry, which began with Star Wars-inspired collections on the high fashion runways at the New York and London Fashion Week last year.

American luxury label Rodarte was the first to debut a Star Wars-inspired collection, incorporating prints of the characters from the original trilogy character during the New York Fashion Week. A week later, fashion label Preen showcased its Darth Vader-adorned outfits at the London Fashion Week, complete with Stormtroopers backstage at the show.

The Star Wars-themed collections have featured a combination of literal interpretations of the movie, like the maxi dresses and long skirts from Rodarte with images of Yoda, and subtle influences like the oversized, helmet-like fur hats and metallic foil outerwear, reportedly inspired by the massive parkas sported by fans waiting outside theatres during the 1977 movie release. More recently, Star Wars fashion was seen on the runway of the World MasterCard Fashion Week that kicked off in Toronto last month and in the sky-high heels of Nicholas Kirkwood’s 10 collection.

Viewing all these collections online may have also given Star Wars fans in Malaysia some hope that they would witness something similar closer to home — a dream that has now come true. Malaysia Fashion Week (MFW) recently announced its partnership with On Demand Entertainment by Astro and Disney to present Star Wars fashion here, making it Asia’s first fashion week to do so. MFW, now in its second year, is organised under the Malaysia Fashion Showcase and Mercedes-Benz STYLO Asia Fashion Week (MBSAFW) banner.

The ongoing MFW 2015 will bring together local and international fashion exhibitors at the fashion and lifestyle trade exhibition known as FACIT@INTRADE as well as designers for the fashion showcase segment. It is anticipated to end on a high note with a fashion exploration called The Galaxy Runway inspired by Star Wars, at the closing gala on Saturday. 

The fashion week, supported by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, is hoped to be a stepping stone to making Malaysia a centre for fashion. “We have young, talented people in Malaysia who can do business internationally, not only in the region but also in the world. We want to make Kuala Lumpur a city fashion,” said Datuk Dzulkifli Mahmud, chief executive officer of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and chairman of MFW at the press conference early this week. 

Fans of Star Wars and fashion aficionados can expect the unveiling of Datuk Jimmy Choo’s creation at the Galaxy Runway — a pair of shoes specially designed for the show. Other designers whose creations will be showcased are milliner Bremen Wong, designers Lynda Rahim, Azura Mazaruddin and Nawre, while local pop sensation SonaOne, an avid fan of the movie himself, will also be performing at the gala.

Co-chairman of MFW and chairman of MBSAFW, Datuk Nancy Yeoh reiterated that, “The groundbreaking nature of this collaboration certifies MFW as a truly international fashion event that is on par with other fashion weeks around the world. MFW Star Wars inspired closing gala will culminate in the prestigious MBSAFW. It promises to be more iconic and revolutionary than ever.” 

MFW2015 is ongoing till Saturday. Full details can be found on malaysiafashionweek.my.