Teen models eager to promote kebaya to the world

Two young models 18-year-old Sharifah Haneesya and 19-year-old Shafiera Jahn, both from Kuala Lumpur are trying their luck in the Miss Malaysia Kebaya 2018 pageant.

They were among the hopefuls who turned out at the first audition of Miss & Mrs Malaysia Kebaya 2018 on 1 July 2018 at Summit USJ in Subang Jaya.

In an interview with Citizen Journalists Malaysia (CJMY) after the audition, Haneesya Hanee (as she wants to be called) who started modelling as a young teen gave her reasons for joining Miss Malaysia Kebaya.

“I want to become the next Miss Malaysia Kebaya because it would give me the opportunity to show people that this is a good platform for Malay girls to get great exposure in a great beauty pageant!

“Besides, I also want to prove to all the judgemental people out there not to judge other people on the basis of race, skin color and sizes. Beauty comes in many ways and beauty is not just about being perfect and comfortable with yourself but it is also about how you would make things perfect and make people feel comfortable with you,” she said.

Haneesya said if she won the Miss Malaysia Kebaya title, she was eager to promote the beauty of kebaya to the world.

“If I win Miss Malaysia Kebaya, I believe it is not hard for me to introduce kebaya to the world since I model and meet lot of designers in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia who can help design great kebayas for me. Besides, I’d worked with local and international make up artists from Singapore and London, and we can create communication networking opportunities with people across the country or even around the world using social media where nothing is impossible to show in this world.

“Kebaya dress will always remain popular as it can be worn in traditional way or we can improvise in a modern way such as wearing it as a blouse with jeans or skirt and everyone can wear it at anytime anywhere in any country,” she said.

Accompanied by her mother, the 170 cm (5‘ 6.9”) tall lass who sat for SPM last year is into full time modeling and acting.

“I started modelling when I was 15 years old, and I walked down the runway for the very first time with zero knowledge of catwalk. It started with small competitions and the trust given to me by designers, and I soon became known as a teenage tanned skin model to the MUA’s and photographers. I’d won in a few competitions in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Pahang and Singapore,” she said.

As a modelling newcomer, Haneesya’s stunning looks in her exotic skin tone gravitated her to the spotlight and became a highly sought after model. She has achieved a lot of milestones in the industry being featured in fashion magazines such as GLAM and EH! Magazine, as well as Remaja, URTV, Jelita and local newspapers such as Utusan Malaysia. She has also acted in several TV dramas like Mencintaimu, Cinta Roller Coaster, Tirai Keinsafan and Stailo Ke Tidak?

“My main aim in life is to be known to the world as a successful tanned skin Malay woman and to give back what people have been giving me financial support and opportunities,” she said.

Haneesya gets deeply engaged in singing when she is stressed out and her interests include reading novels and swimming

For freelance model Shafiera Jahn, the reason she wanted to be in pageant was because this was one of her hobbies and one thing she wanted in her life.

“I like to try something new and I know this is my talent. I want to be a good influence on traditional Malay dress like the kebaya,” said Shafiera who stands at 171 cm (5’ 7.3”) tall.

“If I win the Miss Malaysia Kebaya title, I would use the internet social media to promote the beauty of kebaya to the world, and I will wear it on special occasions and at important events,” she said.

‘I started modeling when I was 16 years old. I tried runway modelling for the first time donning dinner dresses and was chosen as a Top 5 newcomer. That got me a lot of attention and made me really want to continue with this career. I also do a lot of photo shoots for local brands and model for promotional events,” she said.

Shafiera, who had modelled for Julia Ziegler’s dinner dress runway show, however, is confident of achieving what she sets out to do.

“I want to become someone people know me about. I want to be a good modeller,” she said.

Shafiera enjoys trying out something new and challenging for her. Aside from trying new makeup tricks, Shafiera also tries belly dance and Bollywood dance all of these make her look and feel more gorgeous than ever.