ASW Personal Reflection

ASW Personal Reflection: From Architecture to Fashion — Key Takeaways

The author, Nur Syahirah Binti Jaideh, is pursuing an architecture degree at Universiti Malaya and previously earned a Diploma in Architecture from Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah. Her interests span exterior and interior design, emphasizing how form, space, and materials create meaningful experiences. Inspired by Zaha Hadid and drawn to bamboo architecture and natural materials, she develops ideas through concept creation, spatial planning, 3D modeling, and hands-on making. As part of Mula Semula, she joined Universiti Malaya’s fashion team to explore architectural thinking in form, materials, movement, and the human body. (p. N/A)
Why fashion? The Fashion Competition provided a platform to push design beyond traditional architectural methods, enabling translation of architectural ideas such as form, structure, and material into wearable outcomes. It offered a chance to experiment with physical making and to reframe design practice from a new, body-centered perspective. (p. N/A)
Maker-and-designer collaboration and insight: Her role blended making with design development, considering form, material arrangement, and structural improvements during fabrication. The process blurred the lines between designer and maker, demonstrating that making can drive design decisions. The key lesson was to “make early, test early” to ensure constructability, recognizing that design and making are interconnected pursuits aiming to realize a concept. (p. N/A)