echo
Written by: Sabha Sareer
Edited by: Supriya Sivabalan
23:59 Fashion Drama was an event formed by Sunway University’s year three Communication students specializing under Public Relations. The event’s purpose was to combine fashion and drama in order to send a strong message about global warming and it’s irreversible consequences. In fact, even the name of the event, 23:59, symbolizes that we are reaching the end and therefore must “reset the clock” before the next minute strikes.
The night began with light refreshments as guests headed into the Level 1 Art Gallery, which had been elegantly transformed into an authentic fashion show set up, complete with dazzling lights framing the entrance of the runway. After everyone was seated, the 23:59 promotional video, which hinted at the premise of the drama, was uniquely projected onto the ceiling and changed the atmosphere of the room immediately.
The project director, Ngu Hui You, gave a speech that introduced the event and further explained its intent. Through his speech, we learned that the students who created 23:59 were originally inspired by their former seniors who also held a fashion show event. However, he explained that 23:59 is still one of a kind as it is Sunway’s first event that combined both fashion and drama. Ngu Hui You concluded the speech by acknowledging and thanking the sheer number of people—the event’s department workers and volunteers alike—that had to come together to turn this event into a reality.
This speech was followed by a speech from Professor Bradley Freeman (Head of the Department of Communications), who highlighted the significance of understanding the effects of your carbon footprint and trying to consciously reduce it. He also shared that he was extremely proud of the students and their creativity in creating this event.
The synopsis of the drama followed the story of three main titans: Mother Terra, Goddess Ocean, and Lady Skye—who all worked harmoniously to create the world and maintain order. Eventually, however, humans arrived with rifles, plastics, and factories and thus, caused chaos in the natural order of the planet. With the planet dying, the three titans came together once more and took vengeance on the humans, killing them all.
In order to demonstrate this story, 23:59 initially focused on the titans separately, bringing them out one by one and showing us the animals they created. These animals consisted of bats, butterflies, deer, and fish. Then they portrayed the humans (hunters, fishers, etc..) who came around and ruined the natural habitat of the animals. But though the drama’s premise was intriguing on its own, the message of the show was ultimately driven home through fashion!
With the story being spoken out in the background, the audience was immediately immersed as they watched talented model-actors strut on stage, depicting different characters while simultaneously showing off their elaborate, striking looks. These looks, styled by Josh Lee and Iman Nabila, were thoroughly fleshed out and demonstrated the characters clearly. Some especially notable looks that had the audience reaching for their phones were Mother Terra’s ensemble, the plastic inspired outfits, and the makeup done on the butterflies.
The show also included a short musical and dance segment that was especially captivating. Yap Siak Foong sang with deep emotion as Christie Cheah (Lady Skye) twirled around in a white flowy dress, that appropriately matched her titan’s free spirit.
The night commenced with a raffle where lucky draw winners won gifts provided by sponsors such as Althea and Peebsey Florist! Guests were also given goodie bags full of miscellaneous items, including vouchers from other sponsors, such as Inside Scoop, Burger Lab, My Pizza Lab, and etc.
Overall, the amount of work that went into producing the 23:59 event reveals the dedication the students had for the show as well as conveyed the message on the current state of our planet’s climate. The event also effectively imprint a message in the minds of the audience members too and show them that we are running out of time to #resettheclock. Kudos to the organising committee! We hope to see more creative events as such in the future.
