VJG Niche Notes

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" Bernard 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.

In the IndustryAfter 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. "I believe in myself. If my heart feels right then I will go with what it says"

"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 "He has a great spirit".

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 ChandranEstelle notably wore a striking 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.

Musical goddess, Tori Amos chose to wear a stunning 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.