Much more photos and complete story by the end of this page.
What I wore to Bali, Indonesia. (Shop Similar)
What I wore during a weekend in KL, Malaysia. (Shop Similar)
What I wore during a weekend in KL, Malaysia. Part II (Shop Similar)
What I wore during a weekend in KL, Malaysia. Part III (Shop Similar)
What I wore to Singapore. (Shop Similar)
What I wore during a weekend in KL, Malaysia. Part IV (Shop Similar)
What I wore during a weekend in KL, Malaysia. Part V (Shop Similar)
Dear Friends of Second Kulture,
I wish I had a thousand reasons that I felt worthy enough to answer all your questions, as to why I have left this space dormant for quite some time. It has been a full long year since I have last updated Second Kulture, mainly due to the lack of time and the diversion of my passion to advance my personal career progression which eventually gave way to sacrifice my time spent on this space.
2017 has not been one of my most successful years, in fact it is one of the worst that I have experience in the entire decade, I am simply short of luck. It all started in autumn 2015, when I left the mall management business to pursuit a life yearn opportunity to rebuild and start-up a troubling entry-level luxury menswear brand for a renowned tailoring company in Malaysia. It was like a dream come true, I took the title as a brand manager and was given a challenge as the mastermind to turn around and relaunch the company’s ineffective ready-to-wear line within a short period of time. Every day working for the company was like clockwork, I had every idea in my mind that was possible to piece together like a missing jigsaw puzzle. I never felt so fulfilled in my entire career path, it was going all well.
My vision for the company was to reposition the brand as the “Hugo Boss” of tomorrow, we were offering similar products and experiences at a competitive edge. Quality fabrics from renowned mills, in-house refined workmanship, contemporary style, tailoring heritage, high end retail experience, and at great value. It was the perfect retail and business model mix to conquer the local menswear division and to mark our excellence against international competitors, but sadly to say it was after all a shortfall.
By the end of the project, I soon realised that my vision and the company’s were looking at two different directions. They were leaning towards their behavioural tactics and were acting on decisions not up to standards of decency, internally and externally. I fought hard for what I believed was a great cause for the company longevity based on facts of research and brand development, but sadly they could not foresee the vision that I have paved ahead. I soon lost my will to further the progression. The brand and store was successfully delivered in year two, but looking back at all my effort that I have contributed till today, the brand is where at what I want it to be, but how it is offered, managed, and marketed is questionable. I have took this experience as a lifelong lesson and learnt many things in life the hard way through.
Today as I am writing from Second Kulture, where my natural affinity for the love of luxury menswear aspired me to become who I am today. I found myself questioning what it is I want to create now and what it is I want to say on this platform. At the very beginning, it started as a way to document about brands that I love most where majority of the websites and blogs did not emphasis on, mainly Balmain and Givenchy with complimentary leading designer brands aside. Which naturally evolved into product focused reviews, insider trends on key pieces, and relatable personal style journal but without my intention to do so.
After taking up my role in the company, I started to grew tired of the endless chase for high-end designer labels and felt sometimes I am obligated to be committed and initiate key pieces or an updated news entry in order to keep this platform running. And soon later discovered I was truly limited by my very own disposal, that I could not further explore other categories of interest beyond what I was focusing on. After all, I am a one man show.
I remember coming across a few blogger’s entry years ago, where they expressed similar feelings in their passionate trade and I was relieved to know I have not felt the same way as them yet. Perhaps they just needed a much transitory escapade after realising their priorities in life, such as change of interest, or a break from creativity had shifted. And perhaps they needed sometime to re-evaluate their directions, but most of them has now been long gone.
For me, it’s very much the same within the past two years, this feeling has grew upon me stronger and stronger every day and I felt a much needed break to disposition myself from this platform. But I am happy today as we speak to say that I am back in the business, but will now be focusing on more lifestyle centric than key brands initiatives. I guess sometimes, good things take time to develop and I have found a beautiful inspiration in life I never would have imagined before. Regret to have kept all of you waiting, it feels so great to be back. Keep in touch as more updates to come.
Sincerely,
M
