Renowned fashion designer Dato’ Bernard Chandran isn’t just a visionary force in Malaysia’s growing fashion industry, he is one of its creative pioneers. In a wide-ranging interview with Vatsala Devi, he shares his remarkable story of vision, tenacity, and dreaming big.

Many parents have the preconceived idea that becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, or an accountant is a safe and respectable career choice, and at times, it’s almost impossible to change their minds. In the not-too-distant past in Malaysia, a career in interior decorating, computer graphics, or even fashion designing was unheard of. So you might imagine the reaction, when, in the 1980s, a young Malaysian lad told his father that he wanted to quit his accounting course and pursue fashion design to be one of dismay and shock.

However, in what proved to be a fortunate turn for the fashion world, this father was willing to give his son the freedom to follow his heart. Had it not been for such an open-minded father, the world might never have experienced the magic that Dato’ Bernard Chandran has been weaving into the fashion world since his debut in 1996.

In a rare opportunity, I got to meet and interview Bernard Chandran recently and found that the man who turns heads with his visionary fashion sense is both charming and down-to-earth in equal measure. His modesty and friendly demeanour proved that despite his successes, Bernard Chandran is firmly rooted to the ground. When it was pointed out to him, he credits his parents for instilling these virtues in him, which he now has passed on to his children.

“I think it is very important that we don’t allow circumstances to change our personality or the person we used to be,” he said introspectively. “Our roots are very important in making sure we don’t get lost in the sea of change. Always be a good person, not a nice person. There’s a distinct difference between being nice and being good. I believe in being good because the good karma will steer us to the right path.”

Charting his course

Coming from a middle class family has never stopped Bernard Chandran from dreaming big, which he explained was a key in his success. “There is nothing wrong in dreaming big and I always encourage those around me to have big dreams in life,” he explained.

“Dreams should be unrealistic because if they’re not, if they are small and easily achievable, there is no challenge in that.” Apart from having an early interest in fashion designing another reason Bernard has flourished in the fashion designing arena is because he dreamt and aspired to become successful and enjoy a comfortable life.

“My grandparents weren’t rich or highly educated, but they worked hard to give my parents a better life. In turn, my parents made sure their children enjoyed some level of comfort and then it was down to me and my siblings to make something out of our lives. I aspired to be successful so I could enjoy the finer things in life, and there is nothing wrong in admitting it,” said the 48-year-old.

When asked how could have possibly foreseen that fashion designing was going to lead him to a successful and wealthy lifestyle, Bernard laughed and said he didn’t know it then, but the designer Valentino showed him it was possible.

“When I was 16 years old, I was finally allowed to take the bus to Kuala Lumpur. This was back in the ’80s and at that time, there were only two malls – Sungai Wang Plaza and KL Plaza (now known as Fahrenheit 88) – and I enjoyed walking around the mall admiring window displays. One particular day, I remember stopping in front of Alvin Tang’s window dressing of a male mannequin surrounded by three female mannequins. There was something so sexy and appealing about it and I was taken by it,” he recalled.

With that image imprinted in his mind, he headed home and switched on the TV and tuned into one of the few channels available back then and what he saw convinced him that fashion designing was his calling. “The channel was showing a programme on the designer Valentino and – I remember it as clearly as if it had happened yesterday – that Valentino said that his annual sales were somewhere between US$400 to 600 million.

Now, even in the current economic climate, that is a lot of money, but back then, it was an insanely huge number to digest. And it wasn’t just the money that attracted me to what Valentino was saying; I coveted the whole lifestyle Valentino was enjoying and I wanted to experience it. So with my mind and heart deeply etched on fashion designing, I started putting a plan,” recounted Bernard with an excitement that was contagious.

Laying the foundation

Fashion designing wasn’t new to Bernard. His interest in fashion blossomed when he was fairly young thanks to his mother and television. “Although my mother worked in a factory she made sure that when she stepped out of the house she looked every inch presentable so much so that people in the neighbourhood thought she assumed a high position in a company,” he said laughingly.

“We had a tailor who made our clothes and a visit to the tailor was enriching because my mum was knowledgeable in the fashion trends that were famous back then and she dressed really well and made sure we looked good too. Her interest in fashion must have rubbed off on me because I was already following in her footsteps when I was in high school,” he reminisced. He attended Sultan Abdul Samad secondary school which was also known as sekolah anak syaitan for its notoriety, but through Bernard Chandran, the school also managed to adopt a glamorous feel.

“I used to be stylish even when I was schooling. Everyone who has attended a national secondary school knows that there is nothing fashionable about the white shirt and olive green pants uniform but I used to go to Edmundser and get my pants sewn. Despite my father’s admonishment, I’d get a new pair of pants in accordance with the trends of that time so I could look good. I enjoyed mimicking the styles worn by characters in the music videos – I’ve actually gone to school with excessive padding and pleats in my uniform,” he recalled. “But not everyone appreciated my fashion sense, and I had my share of being ridiculed by schoolmates.” Ironically, Bernard notes that the people who once mocked him and his fashion sense are today singing praises about him and his work.

Upon completing high school, his father, who wanted his son to follow a more traditional career path, enrolled him in an accounting school. Bernard pursued the course for two years before realising that he couldn’t continue with the charade.

So one evening, he took his dad out for a drink in a bid to convince him that there was a future in fashion designing, and if given the opportunity, he could make a name for himself. His plan was to not return home until he could convince his dad. It was quite a challenge as Bernard, the oldest among five siblings, was expected to set an example, but his father eventually relented and allowed him to take a three-month course.

From PJ to Paris

“I enrolled in the International Fashion Training Centre in PJ (Petaling Jaya) and worked doubly hard so that at the end of the three months, I could convince my dad to let me continue,” he explained.

“It turned out that I didn’t have to worry because within three months, the college management was thrilled with my performance and decided to waive the remaining fees.” His father – slowly starting to realise that his son had raw talent and the potential to make a name for himself in an industry then relatively unheard of in Malaysia – was bowled over when three months after graduation, Bernard arranged his debut solo show, if only to prove himself. Bernard’s father was convinced and helped fund his son’s further studies, with Bernard soon earning a place at the prestigious Paris Fashion School.

Bernard described his time in the Paris Fashion School as a whirlwind period of education where he spent his time learning the ways of Parisian fashion and, almost immediately, his talent was recognised. Whilst in Paris, he achieved the exceptional accolade of being the first non-European designer to win both the coveted Silk Cut Young Designers Award and, in 1991, the Open European contest for Look of the Year 2000. In 1993, Bernard Chandran graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Paris American Academy and Pattern Making at L’Union Des Chambers Syndicales Parisiennes, Paris.

“I didn’t want to just be one of the many creators in the fashion designing industry. I wanted to be an inventor, and to be one is by experimenting and learning through trial and error. Teachers can only teach so much and the rest of it is down to us as learners to improve. Invention cannot be taught in school – it has to come from within: an inner voice urging you to take risks and experiment many times before an invention is born,” Bernard pointed out.

He also added that his learning process didn’t take place inside a classroom alone. He would look at window displays, study the mannequins to see how to make a piece of cloth fit the body snugly, and then he would go back and practise until he perfected it.

Making an entrance

Even before having left for Paris four years earlier, Bernard had launched his own eponymous designer label, Bernard Chandran. When he came back to Malaysia, he was still only 25 years old and by then married to model Mary Lourdes Chandran. “At that time there was no public relations team, no computers, no social media… it was down to me to make things happen.

I did shows in the mall. I took bags with the clothes and ran all over, conducting lots of shows. It was hard work, but I believed in my work and did whatever I could to market it,” Bernard recalled. His fortune looked to change when the Brunei Royal Ladies Club wanted him to do a fashion show in Brunei and, knowing that the royal family had their own designers, Bernard was elated that they chose him.

“My debut was a bittersweet experience. I had always wanted design for the Sultan of Brunei who was the richest man in the world at that time. This idea took root even before I left for Paris, so imagine my exhilaration when the Royal Brunei Ladies Club – which was hosting a charity event – approached me to do a fashion show for them,” Bernard explained.

“I was also told that the Queen herself would be present at the fashion show. Thrilled by this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I decided to showcase my best works. I took all the savings and invested it into making the clothes. Then the bombshell fell: the show was cancelled.”

Though understandably sad and disappointed, Bernard convinced himself that opportunity would present itself again and he soldiered on. In December that same year, there was a different show which he went for. The Sultanah of Pahang saw Bernard’s collection and wanted it in the show, which again made it possible for him to start dreaming again. Armed with all the money he had, Bernard hosted a press show to get some publicity for his work.

He pulled out all the stops to put up a really good show for the press and it worked wonders. The press absolutely loved him, and it was the one show that thrust him firmly into the limelight for six months, earning him public adoration and putting him on the fashion map. Then, as luck would have it, he got word that the cancelled fashion show in Brunei was back on.

“I felt that the cancellation was a blessing in disguise because by the time the show was back on I had amassed more money to make better clothes that looked much nicer than my first effort. The show went on and the Queen became my client,” he exclaimed. Bernard pointed out that even when things don’t go strictly to plan, it can still work to your advantage. Dreams can push a person to achieve the impossible. His certainly came true and today, he still attends to royal patronage from Brunei and Malaysia, and international celebrities like Michelle Yeoh, Lady Gaga, Estelle, Tori Amos, and others.

Recollections

When he was still starting out, Bernard looked to Europe because it opened the world of opportunities for him. Europe gave him the edge and made his fashion more slick and streamlined. Fast forward to the present and today Bernard has a strong foothold in the European fashion arena and is best known for his success in bridging the traditional lines of his rich cultural heritage to his contemporary creations. A decade after his debut, he’s now made the shift to Paris Fashion Week – a move he describes as huge. “To show at Paris is definitely not for the fainthearted and you really need to be serious about your craft and business before even attempting to show there,” he pointed out.

Paris inspired Bernard and made him understand his own culture in an even more personal manner. Determined to spin his own game in his home country first, upon graduating he returned to Malaysia to embrace his destiny in the emerging fashion scene at home, and, in his words, “to be the Chanel of Malaysia.” That was in 1993. Today, he and his wife have inspired many people to be in the creative and fashion industries, making fashion designing look creative and intellectual for the current generation.

Similar to Coco Chanel, Bernard Chandran wanted to be the catalyst of change in the fashion industry and he has achieved that dream. In the end, he explained, it’s all about building a brand with the strength to last through the generations – a heritage to look back on and a touchstone from which future generations can draw inspiration. It’s not about just designing clothes, it’s about creating a legacy.

This article was originally published in Senses of Malaysia (March/April 2016) which is available in print here.