Bernard Chandran

Dato' Bernard Chandran
Born	(1968-02-27) 27 February 1968 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Nationality	Malaysian
Education	Paris American Academy
Occupation	Fashion designer
Spouse(s)	Datin Mary Lourdes Chandran
Labels	Bernard Chandran

Dato' Bernard Chandran (born 27 February 1968) is a Malaysian fashion designer. His talents have earned him many faithful clients among Malaysia's elite most notably the Royal families of Malaysia and Brunei as well as two former Miss Universe. Due to this, Chandran used to be known as Malaysia's "Prince of Fashion", but is now being hailed as Malaysia's "King of Fashion".

Chandran is also a Malaysian television personality. He's known as the chief designer of the reality television show Project Runway Malaysia, since its debut on 8TV on 3 August 2007.

He is also a brand ambassador for the Tiffani By Izen service apartments (to be completed in 2009), developed by Ireka Land Sdn Bhd.

Chandran was a guest judge on Britain's Next Top Model, Cycle 6, Episode 12. The top three models were given the chance to model for Chandran's fashion show during the London Fashion Week.

Early years

Bernard Chandran was born to Mr. P Ramachandran and Mrs Chow Yook Lin. Bernard Chandran is of both Indian and Chinese parentage (commonly referred to as Chindian in Malaysia). He grew up in an average Malaysian family. His father wanted him to become an accountant and he almost followed this advice, before briefly considering being a tobacconist, "It's a good career!".

At aged 16, he had already decided he wanted to be a fashion designer and it was just a case of convincing his father. He initially studied fashion in a local fashion college known as International Fashion Training Centre (IFTC) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

During his time at the college, he was known for his shyness backstage around the undressed models during his initial fashion shows at the local college. Given three months after graduation to prove himself, he arranged his debut solo show, taking the first steps on the road to becoming Malaysia's top designer. Bernard's father was won over and helped fund his son's further studies, with Bernard soon winning a place at the prestigious Paris Fashion School in Paris, France.

In 1991, he decided to join the 'Open European Contest for Look of the Year 2000'. Chandran won and broke the record of being the first non-European to win the coveted title. "The contest was gruelling," grinned Bernard. "I am so happy to be the first non-white winner as it proves that Asians are as good as anyone else". For his pains, Chandran received a camera, 19 000 francs, and more important publicity and contacts which opened doors.

Lolita Lempicka offered him a job on the spot, which was flattering but he felt it was still too early. "I want to be completely well-versed in my craft before joining a top house because their expectations are high and by then you are not allowed room to make mistakes." quipped Chandran.

Chandran is only too aware how important this was in starting his career. He opinionated that "Everyone must go to a fashion school to understand the basics of fashion. Not only to learn design, but the history of fashion too."

Fashion Business

In the Industry

After honing his skills overseas in Paris, he returned to Malaysia to set up his maiden shop in KL Plaza in 1993. The first 'Bernard Chandran' couture house was a small rented shop with a handful of staff in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. From there, he built up his client base amongst the who's who of Kuala Lumpur, ranging from the rich to royalty. He has now expanded his shop in KL Plaza to take up 4 shop lots and is nearly 300 square meters in area. He was voted Designer of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2003.

Chandran has also started introducing Europe to his couture with a boutique at swanky Knightsbridge, London.

His creations are drawn from Chinese, Malay, Indian and other eastern cultures. He regularly does shows around the world, although he does tailor his overseas ranges to be more daring than his range for Malaysia. Bernard believes in the importance of creativity, confidence and vision.

"My inspiration comes from my customers...how they move, how they talk, their attitudes, their lifestyles. When I first meet a new customer, I make her understand that I am here to make you look good," Chandran's favourite designers are Valentino "...for his femininity and finishing...", and Galliano who "...has a great spirit." He admires Hussein Chalayan for his works and how he dealt with his bankruptcy.

Chandran himself has appeared on the covers of numerous Malaysian magazines, such as Malaysia Tatler, Shape Malaysia, Female, Men's Health and Parenthood. His wife, Datin Mary Lourdes Chandran has shared spotlight with him on few covers too.

Celebrities in Bernard Chandran

Estelle notably wore an azure blue dress by the designer with exaggerated pointing hips to perform at the 2008 MTV European Music Awards. She also chose to wear two (one on stage in a duet with Kanye West and one for the red carpet) of his distinctive pieces to the 51st Grammy awards, where she went on to win her first Grammy.

Lady Gaga has also been spotted in designs from Chandran's Collections. She even wore a Chandran piece for her interview with Jay Leno

English electropop musician, Little Boots wore a Chandran dress for her interview with Metro.co.uk.

Rihanna wore a hat from Chandran's Autumn Winter 09 Collection for her famous topless, bondage-style shoot with Vogue Italia.

Tori Amos chose to wear a red gown from Chandran for the cover of her 2009 holiday album, "Midwinter Graces". The dress is from Bernard Chandran's Autumn Winter 09 collection. Chandran had also designed all the 15 gowns for her current concert.

Collections

Chandran's Ready-to-wear collections.

• Autumn / Winter 2011–12
• Spring / Summer 2010
• Autumn / Winter 2010
• Spring / Summer 2010
• Autumn / Winter 2009
• Spring / Summer 2009
• Autumn / Winter 2008
• Spring / Summer 2008
• Autumn / Winter 2007
• Spring / Summer 2007
• Autumn / Winter 2006 – 2007

Chandran comes up with a special collection every year called the Petang Raya Collection (An Evening Of Celebration) to cater to the local Malaysian market for the festive season of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

• Petang Raya 2010 / 2011
• Petang Raya 2009 / 2010
• Petang Raya 2008 / 2009
• Petang Raya 2007 / 2008
• Petang Raya 2006 / 2007

Family

He is married to one of his former models, Datin Mary Lourdes Chandran (a Malaysian of ethnic Indian origin). She is a former International model and was one of the most successful Malaysian models in the 1980s. Together they have five children.

Datuk Chandran is intensely proud of his Indian ancestry and heritage. His home has many portraits of him and his family regaled in extravagant historical Indian garbs.

Chandran is firm about not spoiling his kids. That means no branded clothes or flippant purchases, so they would learn the value of money. He starts his mornings by offering puja (prayers), together with the family. It's a daily discipline that he wants his children to embrace, so they will grow up with a strong set of values and a sense of duty. Chandran wants his children to be grounded in Hindu faith.

Awards

• He became the first Malaysian to win the 'Open European Contest for Look of the Year 2000' in 1991.

• He was voted Designer of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2003.

• He received his honorific, Datuk, in 2006 when he was awarded the Dato' Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) by the Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar, the Sultan of Pahang, Malaysia.

• Chandran was awarded Malaysian International Fashion Alliance's [MIFA] Special Achievement Award 2009.

External links

• Official Webpage of Bernard Chandran
• Yahoo! group for Bernard Chandran
• Official Facebook Fan Page for Bernard Chandran