The participants and the winners together with the organizer from the Malaysia Footwear Manufacturers Association(MFMA),Ms Irene Tan and Associate Professor Dr Irene Tan Ai Lian from UCSI University.

One of the showcases presented by the participants in the "Miniature Shoes" category.

One of the showcases presented by the participants in the "Miniature Shoes" category.

Kuala Lumpur, 8 May, 2012 - Students from the Fashion and 3D Animation Design programmes under the Faculty of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts at UCSI University had participated in the International Shoe Festival 2012 recently. This festival was successfully held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on 29^th March 2012. Officiated by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah, this is an annual event organized by the Malaysia Footwear Manufacturers Association (MFMA) and The Tourism Board of Malaysia; initiated by YB Dato' Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Dato' Jimmy Choo.

The purpose of this festival is to share with the young generation, the latest technology available and to discover new talents for the fashion industry. During the event, the students had the chance to showcase their creation to the audience. This event also aims to enhance new skills which cannot be learned in the classrooms. The most essential skill would be communication skills; how the students interact with market practitioners and their ability to describe their creation. Besides that, it also aims to develop team spirit amongst the students and further hone their leadership skills.

"Students are creative and able to execute projects. However, the set back here is the lack of exposure. Being original is not easy at this point of time. Students will need to understand the meaning of being passionate with regards to their work and creations. Both miniature and creative arts entries from UCSI University students are very artistic in terms of creativity and execution", said the Mercedes Benz Stylo Designer of the year (2012), Mr Bill Keith.

As part of this event; there were two categories introduced for the creative design competitions. The first one being "Creative Arts" where students were assigned to design apparels and a pair of shoes by using recycled items and elements, strictly without the use of any fabric or such materials, with no sewing as well.

Mr Lucas who is the lecturer and supervisor of the Creative Arts category said, "This is a very new experience for the students in allowing them to learn and to perform their creativity in the real fashion design. The students have done an excellent job in terms of experimenting with materials based on the rules and regulations set by the organizer."

Another category introduced in the competition was "Miniature Shoes" where students were tasked to design a series of shoes of at least 6 designs using their own creativity through various approaches and techniques with the measurement limit of 3-5 inches for each shoe. In creating the design, students were required to create the backdrop and the stage as part of their showcase presentation.

Participants from UCSI University consisted of four groups from the Fashion Design and also 3D Animation Design programmes. All the groups managed to win four consolation prizes, two for each category. The titles of their showcases were "Summer in the Garden" and "The Opera" from the Creative Arts category. On the other hand, the titles for the Miniature Shoes Design category were "The Gothic" and "The Dream".

According to one of the participants; Foong Sze Wei, BA Hons 3D Animation Design says, "The competition has helped us to learn and develop new skills in fashion design. Although this was our first time joining the competition, we are proud to represent our University and have done our best to compete with other institutions that are well experienced. We have had the opportunity to observe their creations and techniques that would help us develop our skills in the future too."

Another participant; Teoh Sim Tee, BA Hons Fashion Design with Marketing says, "We took almost 2-3 months to develop our shoe designs and during the process of designing, I've experienced how to manage time between the competition and also my studies. Time management is very essential as it teaches you how to perform many tasks within a limited time. It was also a good learning experience on how to communicate and develop good team work to coherently present our designs."

The festival benefitted the students in many aspects including how they could use their communication skills to deliver the message of their showcase, which is an important skill to nurture them towards becoming successful designers in the future.

Ms Irene Tan, lecturer from the Faculty of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts added, "It is always good to see students participating in any competition which allows them to evaluate what they have learnt from the classroom and also to learn the strengths of other participants."