Fashion is all about passion and we can see that in Malaysia’s homegrown talents, particularly with Rizman Ruzaini when their amazing work went global. The label’s presentation during the Dubai Fashion Week caught international attention after renowned model Naomi Campbell walked down the runway in their design.
In a recent episode of the “Apa Cerita” podcast hosted by Asyraf Khalid and Ishraq Kamaruddin, Rizman, the co-founder of RR by Rizman Ruzaini, revealed the hardship of booking the world-famous supermodel to walk the runway in the duo’s design. The designer also shared he almost got scammed by her management, who charged him a whooping RM4 million ringgit.
In the latest episode, the local designer recalled how their Dubai Fashion Week show came to be, in addition to getting Naomi Campbell onboard for the show. The dressmaker had reached out to Naomi’s agency but failed to receive an answer. Restless, he asked his team if anyone knew how to contact the model personally. Luckily, one of his staff is acquainted with the model’s childhood friend, who happened to be in Milan with Naomi at the time.
The first thing Naomi requested from Rizman Ruzaini was to see the dress they had prepared. The superstar was pleased with the design and agreed to model for his show. Following that, Elite World Group reached out to his team with a list of conditions, including the fee of USD$350,000 (RM1.6 million). However, the designer claimed that Naomi’s agency decided to raise the price to almost RM4 million.
“We almost cancelled it but I was still hopeful. I really wanted Naomi (for the show). So, I told my team to ignore the agency and discussed it with Naomi herself,” he said. When Naomi heard of this dealing behind her back, the supermodel was apparently enraged. Thankfully, she was able to iron things out with Rizman’s team to pay the original amount as per agreed.
“I believe you have to be brave. This is a learning process. You cannot get bullied and show them you’re an easy target,” he advised. The hard work paid off and they successfully pulled off their Spring Summer 2024 collection with Naomi Campbell adorning a stunning diamond studded dress. This caused a huge buzz among Malaysian netizens with pride swelling upon the designer’s international success.
Check out the podcast below or skip to 1:15:00 for the full Naomi Campbell story:
Source: You Tube
Ariani Soraya contributed to this article.
