WHENEVER I watch award shows on television, I tend to notice the very glamorous and beautiful outfits the celebrities put on.Or maybe in movies or in a fashion show.Then I thought where can I ever find similar garments?

The ladies, especially, always wanted to have custom-made outfits to a degree that it would be nearly impossible to bump into someone wearing the same.At times, the cuttings for some garments aren’t the right fit for our bodies.Furthermore, the price you have to pay for the same piece worn by the celebrities is absurd.

That was before I found Phoon Mei Chi, a 25-year-old petite designer.She offers the service to design and customise clothing creations based on customers’ preferences.

For example, normally, tall and thin girls fit well in small size clothing but tend to be too short for them.With that, Mei Chi gives her customers the opportunity to request for their preferred size or length or even material from her in-house designs.In other words, she makes one dress with the flexibility of how and what you want that dress to be.

She said with some pride, “This is one service which I believe is rarely found, as girls often face fitting problems.” Besides that, she also offers her customers full customisation based on customers’ given measurements or standard sizing.Whether it is a dress or blouse, Mei Chi will fulfil your dream outfit.

“The dressmaking process was initially for my own self.

This is because I’m petite, so I’ve always encountered fitting problem like dress armholes that are too big or a knee length dress ended up being a midi dress (and midi wasn’t cool back then!).I was getting frustrated and thought to myself, I can hand make that!” she exclaimed.

Her very first customised garment was a smocked off shoulder top.She decided to post her effort online, only to realise to her delight that there were people who were interested in her work.After the surprise responses, she felt that she wanted a clothing line of her own and that was how Emcee Couture (her clothing line) came to life.

When asked about the foundation of her sewing skills, she replied, “My mother was the one who built up my needlework ability.

I never took up any formal sewing lessons; she was the one who taught me the basics of it.

Soon after that, I took the effort to learn more by browsing through sewing techniques and information in books and the Internet as well as by looking at commercially sewn garments.” She added, “I think it was in me as well as I started off sewing things (non garments) quite young, I was always driven to sew and operate the sewing machine.” Mei Chi received a load of orders and customizations since she started Emcee Couture and sometimes she had to hold some orders to a later date.Her biggest challenge was dealing with time management.It is not easy to handle considering the overall process she had to go through from designing the pieces to modelling, photographing and finally posting it up online.She also had to reply tons of emails and pack the garments for delivery.“It is certainly a one-woman show!” she chuckled.

Given that her business is receiving tremendous supports, she thought, “At this point of time, I won’t rule out the possibilities of opening a brick-and-mortar shop.

I’m still on my way in gaining the exposure of being a different online shop and to share my love of dressmaking with others.” Although it wouldn’t be too soon for Mei Chi to open her own physical shop, her latest development for Emcee Couture has been somewhat unexpected.Emcee Couture is now contributing exclusive pieces for a local boutique.

“I am honoured to be given that opportunity to further expand Emcee Couture’s image.The owner of the boutique respected my ideas and gave me the freedom to work on my designs.” “I’m really thankful and looking forward to more opportunities like this since I’m also on the lookout for stockists who would like to carry my line.I believe this kind of experience really opens up more opportunity and I can learn so much more.”