From paper dolls to ethnic chic

By G. Sharmila

BritishIndia founder and group chief executive officer Pat Liew began an illustrious career in fashion by making outfits for her paper dolls. Here she tells KINIBIZ how she started premium clothing brand BritishIndia and shares the trials and tribulations she encountered along the way.

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Pat Liew’s interest in fashion began when she was a young girl.

“I come from a family of textile owners. When I was a child, I used to make paper dolls with outfits. I’d also take leftover fabric from the store and design my own clothes,” she recalled.

Even so, she said her foray into the world of fashion was incidental, not pre-planned.

“Whilst at college, as a student trying to make ends meet, I worked as a sales assistant in a retail shop on Oxford Street. I enjoyed the fast-moving, high-energy pulse of the fashion scene of the 1960s. In fact, I throve so well that I was soon promoted to run the store – an unusual feat for a Malaysian girl then,” she told KINIBIZ in a recent interview.

She dubbed the 1960s a “very colourful era”.

“Everybody smoked pot but I didn’t,” she recalled with a laugh.

How did she get the idea for a clothing brand?

“I wanted to be involved in a national product, I wanted to create something more friendly to the tropical weather here. I didn’t want to copy the West, I find Eastern ideas and fashion sexy. I wanted a brand to appeal to all ethnic groups, but at the same time was global,” she said.

However, she decided to cut her teeth by working in the retail world before proceeding with her dream. She started by working in Metrojaya in Kuala Lumpur in the 70s and was, in fact, responsible for bringing the brand Esprit to Malaysia.

“The retail industry in Malaysia during the 70s and 80s was really underdeveloped, so was the distribution industry. The number of suppliers and distributors were rather limited – the wholesale and retail ratios were very much distorted ie we were in a period of ‘non-availability’, hence consumers had very few choices.

“This gap effectively presented an opportunity for me to create a tropical line. I decided the time was right to create a line which drew its inspiration from our country’s rich history and culture in combination with Western fashion influence,” she said of her decision to start her own business.

“The business (BritishIndia) was born out of circumstances, rather than by design. It was difficult at the age of 43 to walk away from a well-loved job. I was the merchandising and fashion director of a major department store at the time,” she recalled.

Liew said that 1994 was the turning point in her life.

“There was a change of management (at the department store) and the new employers were rather insensitive and callous. In an odd way, this outrage energised me. It was the passion of our job that provided us the determination to succeed, but under our own terms and philosophy,” she said of that time.

What was her mission for the business at the outset?

Liew explained that when she founded BritishIndia in 1994, it started out as a trading company in the fashion retail industry.

“It soon evolved into a lifestyle statement, and before we realised it, we were actually in the branding business!” she said.

She added that starting her own business “wasn’t just about making money”.

“I wanted my brand to endure, to stand the test of time and be able to compete with other established international brands; to be able to stand on my own. We had to produce quality merchandise with our own distinctive look. The BritishIndia brand was born encompassing cool, tropical fabrics, quality workmanship, and handcrafted embellishments on the garments,” she explained.

How did the name ‘BritishIndia’ come about?

According to Liew, the name was inspired by the British colonial rule in India.

“I knew many consumers in both West and Asia held a nostalgic idealism about the days of the British Raj. My inspiration for my lifestyle tropical brand comes from an era of privileged lifestyle, in a less-hurried era with a bygone romantic idealism,” she said.

She added she also began thinking about exporting from the very beginning.

“It is tough to build a brand out of nothing in Malaysia because, as a small country, the market is small. To truly grow, the business needs to export. And to be able to do that, you really have to put in the quality and standards needed to be able to compete in the global or international arena,” she said.

How did she obtain funding for her business when she started out?

From the get go, Liew said she had investors who believed in her capabilities, hence they were her partners and still remain company shareholders.

“Personally, I needed to mortgage my house to raise some seed money. We also received funds from family members,” she said.

What were the early days of starting the clothing brand like?

Liew said that her five early BritishIndia staff members, started work with her dressed in T-shirts and shorts in a makeshift office that was her house.

“The house was in the process of being completed at the time. The work was unending, a continuous series of setting goals and meeting deadlines. We were too busy to feel sorry for ourselves,” she recalled.

Despite the odds stacked against them, Liew and her team persevered.

“With my wonderful team and a ‘crazy’ architect, we accomplished the impossible. We opened eight outlets in four months; four in Malaysia and another four in Singapore. It was absolutely about doing whatever needed to be done, including painting stores late into the night,” she said.

To a question on how she grew the business, Liew’s reply was that developing a brand out of nothing takes tremendous commitment to nurture its growth.

“It is a long journey; it takes time to nurture its culture and build its tradition.

“I like working with people who have passion and commitment. To know more, one needs to struggle deeper – this field holds no more surprises for me. I’m always prepared. Anything can happen during production and we have to act almost instantly as the fashion industry waits for no one. It’s a challenge that we face all the time,” she added.

“Turning a vision into reality, needs undivided support from those around you – and they were all there for me. My husband, with his unquestioning belief, and a whole array of friends, kept me focused on my journey. In particular, I have the deepest gratitude to the late Yasmin Ahmad, who produced the first BritishIndia advertisements, which went on to win international industry awards.

“All these incredible, wonderful people, too many to name, kept me going. Their belief in me was both energising and uplifting. It sustained me,” she concluded.

In our next article, Liew shares some of the more recent challenges she has experienced as an entrepreneur and her plans for BritishIndia.

Tomorrow: Creating an international presence