For Immediate Release!
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| Top, COS |
KUALA LUMPUR, 17 NOVEMBER 2017 ― Shaiful’s love for fashion and the
finest things in life is not a secret anymore. In fact, it never was!
A
passionate fashion lover and observer since time can tell, a fashion blogger
and writer since 2006, Kuala Lumpur born and raised Shaiful Nizam Mukhelas or
amicably known as Shaiful has been purveying Malaysian cyber scene with what’s
now and what’s passé in the fashion and beauty sphere via his blog Fashion Heaven Rants.
“At first, I named the blog Shopaholics Anonymous as I was deeply inspired by Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling novel ‘Confessions of a Shopaholics’,” Shaiful recalls. “But later on, I started to have this guilty feeling as Shopaholic Anonymous is supposed to be an equivalent of Alcoholic Anonymous where it is meant to cure shopaholics from their addiction with shopping instead of worsening the addiction.”
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| Kimono neck knitted top and straight leg jeans, all by COS |
In the first few years, Shopaholics Anonymous Malaysia was as “anonymous”
as its name. The response was lukewarm and pageviews has never been above a
thousand – sometimes, less.
“Initially I was not serious about blogging since I could only do it during
the weekends or free time back in my college days,” he recalls, “but soon, I
realised that fashion writing is my fated vocation and blogging is the only way
I could break into the fashion industry.”
Being an anonymous blogger too means having restricted access to sources
for news. For fashion news and runway images, he relied heavily on news and
images published by global fashion sites such as now-defunct Style.com. Thanks
to a freelance writing gig for a local fashion and lifestyle magazine, he began
to learn how journalists and editors source their news.
“I learned a lot from my gig as a contributing writer,” he says. “In
fact, it was a first-hand experience that I bet money could not buy. I learned
how to liaise with the Public Relations people on how to request for press kits
and high resolution visuals as well as loaning samples for fashion spread
photoshoots. And for the first time, I get to attend fashion events!”
With all appropriate skills were acquired, Shaiful strived to
propel Shopaholics Anonymous Malaysia to a higher level, which he did within a
couple of years. Streams of press releases aside, he also received a number enquiries
from international fashion labels on how to break into the Malaysian market.
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| Top, COS |
“For some time, I felt like I am the fashion retail godmother as the
enquiry emails came through,” he laughed.
Albeit Shopaholics Anonymous Malaysia gained a strong following from
fashionistas around the world as well as recognition by fashion marketing and
PR practitioners alike, Shaiful decided to rename the blog to Fashion Heaven Rants as he deemed it
more appropriate and unique.
“I like the word rants because
I want my content to capture immediate attention ― like a pandemonium but in a
positive way,” he explains. “As most blogs tend to be casual in terms of tone
and manner, I wanted mine to have a tinge of professionalism – writings written
from a fashion who’s who outlook. Think Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar or Womenswear
Daily (WWD).”
Now in its 11th year, Fashion
Heaven Rants has successfully garnered a staggering viewership of close to
two million, despite its two-year hiatus.
And thanks to the global popularity
enjoyed by Fashion heaven Rants, Shaiful has been able to give his avid readers
a first-hand experience on events such as new store openings, collection
previews and high-profile events such as the Pradasphere exhibition by Italian
fashion maison Prada, held in Hong Kong back in 2014.
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| Sweater, COS; Sunglasses, Reaction by Kenneth Cole |
“Swift is the key to its appeal,” he reason out. “I always try to be
ahead of others. Furthermore, being a blogger gives me a greater advantage over
traditional print media such as magazines and newspapers since they usually
require at least two months in advance to work on a single issue.
“There are times when I would reach out to the press bureaus within the
principal offices headquartered in Paris, London, Milan and New York to source
out my news rather than waiting for the local PRs to email me the much-needed
bytes,” he continues. “Though I know some might be irritated by the fact that I
skip the hierarchy – if there is any – I guess the only way for me to be ahead
in this rat race is to cut all the invisible red tapes.”
When he is not updating Fashion Heaven Rants, Shaiful would be working
on advertisement copies and campaigns for multinational entities or household
names. As a copywriter, occasional Public Relations practitioner and translator,
his 10 years of working experience within the expansive media and publishing sphere
has purveyed him the opportunity to work with a roster of notable clients transcending
diverse industrial backgrounds and countries.
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About
Fashion Heaven Rants
A fashion and
lifestyle blog ran by a passionate Kuala Lumpur born and raised bloke, Fashion Heaven Rants aims to raise the
bar of Malaysian fashion blog scene with news and collection reviews from
fashion journalistic point of view – straight from its source! With close to 2
million viewership and counting, Fashion
Heaven Rants is frequented by avid male and female fashionistas with medium
to high disposable income, aged between 25 and 65 and have strong predilection
for both high street styles and high end fashion. Now in its 11th year, Fashion Heaven Rants will continuously strive
to be the premier destination for up to date fashion and lifestyle stories.
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