SABAH ETHNO COLLECTION BY JEFFIE JEFF - PART TWO

Ola Darlings!

It's been exactly a month since my last post and you can't imagine how much I missed sharing with you the many events ( both personal and passion-wise ) that have been happening to me for the past couple of weeks! 

Anyways now I'm finally back again with another new post and this is a follow up to my previous post, also with the same title. As you already know I have been creating pieces inspired by my beautiful homeland - SABAH and here are my latest creations which I have been crazily completing last month in the festive spirit of Kaamatan! 

So without further ado, I present to you 

Sabah Ethno Collection by Jeffie Jeff - Part 2 :

 Kicking off this post is my design for Unduk Ngadau Papar 2014 - Debbie Colette Christopher which naturally drew influences from the Kadazan Tribe of the Papar District.

Since the original Papar costume had white ruffles, I decided to interpret that idea and turn it into the top ruffled part of the dress which reminds me of Flamenco dancers! Also since this year KDCA implemented the new ruling that all evening gown designs have to be fully inspired by their respective districts, I had to keep the overall theme to black and gold.

To further highlight the Papar District identity, I added this handmade cross-stich motif commonly known locally as 'Langkit' or 'Linangkit' to the waist section to further cinch her figure.

 Basically my idea was to create a classic black dress with ethnic influences suitable for Red Carpet events and here was the outcome. Sometimes less is more and that is why I love the simplicity this dress carries because I like my designs to be wearable!

Back View of The Dress 

This dress also made another appearance during the Unduk Ngadau DBKK 2014 Gala Night for another  finalist.

Moving on to the next creation, I present to you

Charming Huminodun :

This next design was for Unduk Ngadau Beaufort 2014 - Christine Ferra Mojiun and was actually the last creation that I made among all designs featured in this post. 

Naturally inspired by the bright yellow, red and greens of the traditional Beaufort costume, I decided to go for a more elegant approach to this evening gown by giving this design classic off shoulder sleeves.

Continuing to the next design, I give you

Runduk Tosindak :

This design was my entry for the Unduk Ngadau DBKK 2014 Gala Night and was inspired the Kadazandusun Community as a whole because I felt that since Kota Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah, why not create a design that captured the essence of North Borneo?

So for this this creation I took influences from Kadazan, Dusun and Murut motifs and tried my best to infuse them into one look which can be seen in the details of intricate weaving, beading and traditional lace work.

Also pushing myself in terms of innovation, I tried to include tree bark material into my designs as the Murut Tribes are known for using it in the mens traditional costume. Kadazan Penampang influences can be seen through the gold braid and buttons featured at the neckline and also at the waist fabric section which was deliberately included to emulate the 'Selendang Bobohizan' or Priestess' Sash used during rituals. Sashes are also worn by women during the Sumazau Dance.

The belt piece also made another appearance at Unduk Ngadau Tenom 2014 Gala Night which was paired with another dress to create a different look.

Finally moving on to my last design,

Unduk Eleganza 2.0

Finally we have reached my last masterpiece for this post and there are actually two reasons why this design has been named Unduk Eleganza 2.0. 

The first is because this design has actually been upgraded/modified from an existing, previous creation and is sort of a tribute to the original design. Second reason is that I can't think of a better name for this creation! Check out the original design HERE!

Basically the original idea of this design was to showcase my innovation by using the traditional woven fabric 'Dastar' which is generally used by the Kadazan Dusun and Bajau Community as a Traditional Headgear among the men.

I then added the bottom part of this design with woven fabric to give it a more sophisticated look as opposed to the original design which was more of a casual cocktail dress. Judging by many entries this year, I noticed that actually many Sabahans have been inspired by Unduk Eleganza and in turn have created their own version of woven dresses.

I guess you can say that I'm flattered because I DID I FIRST!

Whew! I feel tired even talking about it but I'm glad to be able to share it with everyone. Looks like now I am able to pull off a complete fashion showcase now with my collection of designs! So looking forward to the day. 

So we have come to the end of this post. Which dresses are your favourite? Do lemme know in the comments section below and don't forget to share!

Also special Thank You to all the amazing photos from respective photographers in this post. I didn't crop out their watermark to showcase their amazing work!

Till Next Time,

SABAHAN ETHNO INSPIRED CREATIONS BY JEFFIE JEFF

Ola People of The World!

I'm finally back again with another new post. Sorry for being unable to blog as much as I want to because of my super busy schedule packed with work and events in this month of May! Oh I can't believe that I am already saying that we are in May, time just really seems to be going by faster this year!

Anyway as you would have already guessed by reading the blog title, this entry will be about my garment design collection based on Sabah's rich and diverse culture which I have been creating periodically since 2012 ( If memory serves me correctly! ) 

For those of you who are reading this from other parts of the world, Sabah is the name of the state in Malaysia where I live. It is also known as North Borneo. Sabah is a melting pot of many indigenous and immigrant groups with over thirty-one different ethnic races and that is a LOT of inspiration for an artist!

Since I have been getting so much requests / orders this year, I thought perhaps that I should just blog it instead so that it would be easier for the to view my work in one page. So here I am.

So without further ado, presenting the complete 

Sabah Ethno Collection by Jeffie Jeff :

This design titled 'Rani Sogigisom' which means The Queen Forever was my first Sabah Ethno inspired creation which drew influences from the Kadazan Tribe of Penampang and Dusun Lotud Tribe of Tuaran.

Basically my idea was to create a classic black dress with ethnic influences suitable for Red Carpet events and here was the outcome. It comes as no surprise that this is among all, the hottest cake of the crop! And I have the photos to prove them to you.

At Priscilla Verus's Traditional Wedding Ceremony

The outfit has also been worn by Sabahan Celebrity of Akademi Fantasia fame - Queenera!

Featured in a national feature in Malaysian paper - Metro!

This dress has also reached as far as Bali, Indonesia when Malaysia representative for The Miss Scuba International pageant was held there!

The dress also made a re-appearance in the Unduk Ngadau DBKK Gala Night in 2013 worn by the gorgeous Ryannie!

And again this year for the Unduk Ngadau Tuaran 2014! Note that additions were added to the dress.

Moving on to the next creation, I present to you

Lun Exotica :

This next design was inspired by the Lundayeh Tribe of the Sipitang District. For this look I decided to go for a more demure approach by giving my evening gown sleeves and played along with more of the silver elements of the traditional Lundayeh costume as most of Sabah's traditional costumes have gold accents.

Though not as popular as the first Rani Sogigisom creation, this dress however has made several appearance on stage in other years.

2013 Unduk Ngadau Membakut representative in Lun Exotica

Closeup details of Lun Exotica. Photo credits to David Aramaitii

We now move on to the next design,

Unduk Eleganza :

For this third design I wanted to showcase my innovation by using the traditional woven fabric 'Dastar' which is generally used by the Kadazan Dusun and Bajau Community as a Traditional Headgear among the men.

My idea was to also create an evening gown which were separate pieces and could be manipulated into give several looks from casual to evening glamour depending on the styling. So basically the major components of this creation was a corseted bodice, a mini skirt and a black chiffon outer layer.

However several netizens of Facebook quite didn't favour the idea and thought that it was inspired by the Rungus Tribe of Kudat! I was a little taken aback, however I didn't mind the comments much because you can never please anyone in life and also you can't blame the ignorant for not knowing the different type of fabrics!

Anyhow despite all the drama, this dress made it to the Top 7 Best Traditional Inspired Evening Gown Category for the Unduk Ngadau Gala Night in 2013 out of over the 30 districts competing! So I guess that really does say a lot of my work versus the negative haters comments. 

It's not what people say, it's what YOU DO!

Last but not least, I've saved the best for last.

The Spirit of Borneo :

Although this isn't really under the Evening Gown category, it still needs mentioning because it is after all inspired by Sabah's Ethno diversity. Besides this ensemble is the first design to have reached an international stage with a worldwide audience!

Basically I was asked to create an international costume for the representative of Borneo to the Miss Tourism Queen Asia 2013 held in China. I instantly knew that I had to create a female warrior design inspired by the Murut Tribes of the interior Sabah who are notorious for their headhunting culture and which Borneo is also known for through out.

I also injected a little Kadazan Dusun element through the embellishments and also the headgear because it is indeed an authentic yet majestic piece! Who could resist all those feathers? 

I am also equally proud and happy because it has been getting positive reviews all over the country especially via the Missology and Pageant fans feedback. I can't wait to design my next International Costume!

As published on www.chinanews.com

So there you have it, my current Sabahan Ethno inspired designs in my collection. I am currently working on 6 new dresses this year so wish me luck! Will keep everyone posted soon.

Don't forget to SHARE this and leave me a comment to tell me which one is your favourite?

Till next time,

Behind SMOTY Season 4

Welcome back darlings! As promised, here is a follow up of my previous post for Sabah Model of The Year Season 4.

So as most of you who follow me on Facebook would already know that I am the Makeup Artist & Designer for SMOTY Season 4 Finalist Mei May @ Kong Su Mei  for the finals as well as Wardrobe & Makeup Sponsor for SMOTY Season 3 Winner - Valentina Eddie.

Here are some exclusive behind the scenes photo backstage including their individual makeovers kick starting for my makeover for Valentina :

Before & After of Valentina's Makeover.

Valentina with her AMAZING crown! Thank GOD I got to try it before they took it away and yes I got to try it on. Fact number two, I did this dress in under ONE Day together with her!

Full shot of my Elie Saab inspired gown on Valentina. I initially wanted it to be more of a ballgown design however since she didn't want to wear a cancan, we just let the lower part of the gown flow.

Before and After of Mei May's Makeover.

Just a quick run through of her makeup look. 

FACE : I used M.A.C's new Matchmaster Foundation in 3.0 and used the same foundation in 1.0 for Highlight and 5.0 for Contour. To set I used Chanel's Natural Finish Loose Powder in 30 Naturel.

BROWS : I used M.A.C Fluidline in Dipdown and set with The Body Shop's Eyebrow Duo Powder. EYES : using Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette and Lips is finished off with NARS Lip Lacquer in Chelsea Girls.
For overall finishing, I used Chanel's Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder in N10.

You got to contour that face!

Closeup of Mei Mei's Makeup Look. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

For the second and third round, I changed her makeup to compliment her wardrobe with emphasis on Red Lips and more defined eyes.

Next moving on to my wardrobe creations for Mei May. 

This season's SMOTY competition was divided into 3 Rounds. The first round was a dance opening number with introductions ala Miss Universe with red satin outfits provided by the organizers. Round Two was "Cheongsam to The World" which featured creative oriental-inspired costume designs reflecting the origins of the Chinese Cheongsam and finishing with Round Three where it was all about finalists parading in their Evening Gowns.

I did both Mei's Creative Cheongsam & Evening Gown from Design to Execution till the final presentation and here are the detailed results of my masterpieces. A pre-judging session was organized prior to the event to closely evaluate the workmanship of each contestants' /designers' creation for each category.

My creation for the Creative Cheongsam Category which was hugely inspired by old chinese temple architectures.

Back view of my Creative Cheongsam Design.

Evening Gown Creation! 

Among my two creations, I started with this first and finished this to the last hour! I guess you can safely say that I really feel that for this piece, I really challenged myself to the limit ( which means lack of sleep! ) and hands down if anyone were to ask which would be my personal best work, I would be so happy to say that this is The One!

Backstage getting ready for Round Three!

Loving this shot because obviously you can see both the front and back of my masterpiece. And Yes, that entire mess on the vanity table is mine!

Final touches - Sewing the finishing details to my masterpiece just before the runway, just like they do in Fashion Week!

I am super happy that everything that I have envision has finally manifested into a real garment and looking back at this, I am happy that my month of sleepless nights has paid off. My only concern is that I wish that I had added a full round layer of tulle as opposed to draping them like in this picture as it can have a mind of its own! Otherwise I am super duper HAPPY!

Full view of my Evening Gown Masterpiece!

A shot of my Killer Back as I would like to call it. This was the only photo from my camera that was actually clear enough to be posted! Surprisingly I have been getting tons of compliments from a lot of people including the judges on how much they love it!

In the end of the competition, if you haven't read my previous post, 

Mei May won 2nd Runner Up for Sabah Model of The Year Season 4 

as well as another subsidiary title for The Best Catwalk!

The gorgeous Mei May with her awards. Congratulations gal!

Just feel so blessed! It is indeed a step up from not winning anything at all at the last Golden Designers Competition. Amen to that!

Anyhow I have compiled a special collage of all Top 3 Winners in each design category for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think in the comments section below!

Round Two - Creative Cheongsam Design

Round Three - Evening Gown Design

So we've come to the end of my post & I hope you guys enjoy reading everything that I posted.Congratulations once again to Mei May on your achievements! I couldn't have had a better model to showcase my masterpieces. Thank you also to Baby for helping me out in completing my creations. 

It really means a lot to me!

Until next season, see you again SMOTY! I am most certainly excited about the theme for next year!

Stay tuned to my next post as I will be doing my first ever BEAUTY REVIEW!

Till then,