09/09/2025

TUESDAY | SEPT 9, 2025

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EDUCATION NEWS

Graduation Fashion Show 2025 delivered an extraordinary runway experience with 18 rising fashion designers. They presented 74 distinctive garments, debuting their unique collection before an audience of fashion enthusiasts, family, friends, and guests, marking their grand entrance into the world of fashion. They exhibited designs centred on the theme of“Breaking the 4th Wall”— a reference to the famous practice in film and theatre where a character penetrates the invisible line between the world of the performance and the spectator by making direct contact. The class of FD2209 is a collection of unique personalities and backgrounds, encompassing different nationalities, genders, and interests with one-of-a-kind stories to share. The soon-to-graduate students shared three years of hard work come to a final close as they unveiled their personal collection on a runway show for the first time. “The show serves as a vessel for us W INIFRED ANNE DURAISINGAM , 32 yrs, captains the Malaysian national women’s cricket team while working as a full time teacher at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lembah Keramat, Selangor. She teaches geography and physical education, endearing herself to her students as a caring teacher, with a love of sports, especially cricket. As a recognised international cricketer, Winifred is a sports icon, breaking barriers by representing Malaysia for cricket at the age of 14. She is no stranger to fame having won many international tournaments being captain of the national women’s cricket team at the SEA Games in 2017, the Asian Games in 2014 and won player of the year in 2012 at the ACC U 19 Women’s Championship in Kuwait. Also declared player of the match in 2013, at the ACC Women’s Championship in Thailand, with many other triumphs on the world scene. At national level, Winifred continues to win tournament after tournament, in 2022 and 2023 being declared player of the match in tournaments where KL played against Kelantan and Penang. In 2025, this young and ambitious cricketer serves as an inspiration to all young women, seeking a career in sports. When asked what motivates her? “I think it’s because of the love for the game. I am motivated by all the support I receive from family and friends and also from my mentor, my late uncle who taught me everything I needed to know about cricket,” she said. It was Winifred’s late uncle, David Mahadevan who discovered her talent at the age of 10, when the boys in the neighborhood refused to let her join them for cricket. He offered to teach her how to bowl the ball (referring to how the cricket ball is spun through the air). He became Winifred’s coach and urged her to compete in the local clubs, such as the Kemboja Kuala Langat Club, when she was just 12. Ű BY DHARSHINI GANESON

As a women’s icon for cricket, Winifred leads the way for women to join the sport.

Being a teacher allows

Winifred to pass on her skills as a sports woman.

Teacher with a ‘wicket’ aim

serves as assistant coach at Majlis Sukan Sekolah Selangor (MSSS) and realises the only way forward is to train the next generation. “I will continue to play cricket for as long as I can, and represent Malaysia on the international arena but as a teacher I intend to pass on my love of cricket to my students,” she said. “There are no barriers in sports, only the will to succeed ,” she said.

students to take up sports such as badminton and cricket. Among her many achievements as a teacher involved in physical education, was to teach cricket and eventually she formed the first cricket team at her school, which then represented the school at Majlis Sukan Sekolah Daerah (District Schools Sports Council). Currently as a teacher she also

schedule, weekdays at school and fitness training at night and on weekends training, Winifred admits to a life of discipline. Upon completion of her SPM, Winifred did her STPM (Form 6) and completed her degree at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 2020 and in 2022 became a teacher. With three years of teaching under her cap, Winifred hopes to influence her

Banking & Finance After three years of dedication and hard work, their final collections were to break our own 4th walls; the walls between our personal world and the world of the people around us. We are inviting everyone to come inside our world, to experience first-hand our thoughts and feelings, and to understand the clothes we make,” said the group. The fashion show concluded on a celebratory note, with the designers receiving flower bouquets and heartfelt congratulations from their families, friends, and lecturers. During the jury week leading up to the fashion show, these aspiring designers prepared their showcase booths to impress the jury panel composed of well-known designers in the fashion industry – Melinda Looi (fashion designer and founder of Melinda Looi Couture), Ian Loh (Editor in-Chief of GRAZIA Malaysia), Kristy Yong (CEO of Ms. Read), Dickson Lim (fashion designer and founder of DICKSON LIM), and Jamil Juma (Creative Director of Juma Studio). By the age of 21, she was selected to be captain of the senior team and since then has carved out a stellar career at both national and international level. “I was lucky enough to train overseas, in Australia and Sri Lanka and that gave me an edge over the others as I was exposed to techniques used to both bat and bowl,” shared Winifred. While she has a tightly packed

Parisian fashion in KL THE ESMOD Kuala Lumpur

ESMOD 2025 opens up the runway for aspiring fashion designers to showcase their talent.

with invaluable skills. ESMOD Kuala Lumpur is under the umbrella of the world’s first and oldest fashion school in the world with over 180 years of history. For more information, visit www.esmod.edu.my or call +603-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to esmod@toa.edu.my / info@toa.edu.my

classroom, their understanding of market trends and professional standards. Upon graduation, these young designers will enter the fashion world and the show serves as a prelude to their talents and creativity. the experience of organising an entire fashion show from scratch left them deepening

evaluated by icons in the fashion world, the fashion graduates received constructive criticism and praise based on technique, execution, concept, creativity and quality. This one-on-one interaction with seasoned experts allowed the students to gain industry insights beyond the four walls of their

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