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PERSONALITY
Dressed
For Success
Bon Zainal
definitely knows a thing or two
about first impressions. His penchant for
gentleman’s dressing has turned him into
one of themost respectedmenswear
designers inMalaysia.
Z
ainal
has always had an
eye for fashion, even as
a young boy growing up in
Terengganu. With a little bit
of hands-on lessons from his
grandmother, who was a tailor,
he experimented with a lot of
DIY projects and eventually began designing
his school’s soccer team jersey and t-shirts.
“I went to high school in Kuala Lumpur in
the Eighties when fashion was at its peak.
I was always wearing something different
from my friends, which always caught
on to become trends that everybody
followed,” says Zainal about his earlier
days.
My name is Bon...
Even his name has a very stylish
ring to it. Surprisingly enough, Bon
Zainal is the designer’s real name. He
has been questioned so often about his
name that there have been times when
he ended up showing his identity card to
prove it. The name Bon was actually derived
from the fictional spy, James Bond. “My dad worked
for a British steel company. They always had gatherings
on weekends where they watched movies and one of them
happened to be the first James Bond movie, Dr.No. My