The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| TED turns 30 with new chapter of ‘ideas worth spreading’ Posted: 22 Mar 2014 01:27 AM PDT A conference born in California in 1984 that grew into a global forum for heady "ideas worth spreading" ended yesterday after gazing thoughtfully at the past and looking optimistically ahead. "The platform has gotten more interesting to more people," Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) curator Chris Anderson told AFP. "We are planning on taking every opportunity to go deeper into issues; to present a core idea and add to it with ways to get involved." TED has won a global following for trademark "talks" during which the brilliant, innovative, artistic or accomplished deliver thought-sparking presentations in 18 minutes or less. Broad range of TED topics Topics at the five-day TED gathering ranged from mind-controlling parasites and bionic limbs to intestinal microbes and collective consciousness. Female fashion model Geena Rocero used the TED stage to, for the first time, tell how she was born a boy in the Philippines but become a woman to match her "inner truth." "Some of my neighbours, friends, colleagues, even my agent didn't know about my history," Rocero said on the TED stage. "Not a lot of people can say that their first job was pageant queen for transgender women, but I'll take it." Internet spying and online privacy were hot topics at the gathering, known for attracting Internet entrepreneurs such as founders of Google, Amazon, and Netflix. That debate was set ablaze by the surprise appearance of United States' former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in the form of a robot controlled remotely from his hideaway in Russia. "Doing it by tele-presence really excited him," Anderson said of Snowden showing up in robot form to roam the conference, even stopping for photos with Google co-founder Sergey Brin and others. "He liked the geekiness and the symbolic appeal of the bot." Snowden's virtual visit to TED, and his promise of sensational new revelations to come, prompted the NSA to weigh in via video link a day later to argue that his "arrogance" has put lives at risk and terrorists on guard. "It was an intense experience, it definitely pushed my own margin of comfort to the edge," Anderson said. Anderson saw this year's move from California to Vancouver as symbolic of the gathering's evolution into a global platform for ideas. Anderson and Peter Diamandis of the X PRIZE announced a competition to reward those behind the first artificial intelligence creation that gives a TED talk compelling enough to earn a standing ovation. A 'primal' experience Looks at TED's past and visions of the future were woven through the week, with MIT Media lab founder Nicholas Negroponte predicting by the end of the next three decades, people will ingest knowledge the way they do vitamins. "Ultimately, TED is tapping into something that is quite primal – a circle of humans looking a speaker in the eyes, hearing a story told and feeling what the speaker is feeling in a shared experience," Anderson said. The first TED gathering was a venue for elite thinkers to hear about and discuss new ideas. Since then scientists, political leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and musicians have taken to the stage at the tech-focused gatherings. In 2006, TED began to record talks and post them for free online at their TED.com website. The website was recently upgraded to let viewers delve deeper into ideas and take action. As TED talks were posted in more languages, traffic to the website soared. Talks have spread to television and radio. Captivating TED speakers have become Internet stars. "The dinner party has turned into a global phenomenon – a banquet for the whole world," said Richard Saul Wurman, who started the gatherings that Anderson's non-profit Sapling Foundation has nurtured into the TED of today. – AFP, March 22, 2014 |
| Hijab design takes centre stage at Tokyo Fashion Week Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:31 PM PDT The twice-yearly show, which wraps up today, saw NurZahra roll out its autumn/winter collection "Layers of Fidelity", turning the modest hijab into sophisticated fashion. The label – whose name means "the luminous light" in Arabic and takes from Fatimah Zahra, the daughter of Prophet Mohammed – wanted to prove that the female hair-and-neck-covering wrap, common in the Islamic world, could still take on playful elements. "The modest hijab is not actually a restriction" in fashion, designer Windri Widiesta Dhari told reporters after her stylish designs hit the catwalk. "It's how you cover yourself and look more elegant in a way that has a loose fit." The wearing of the Islamic veil, limited historically to conservative Gulf monarchies, gained ground, including in sports, since the 1979 Iranian revolution and the creation of an Islamic republic. Use of the veil spread quickly as Islamist movements grew in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings. France has outraged many Muslims with a law against full face-covering veils, while the use of the hijab in sport, including football, has sometimes stirred cultural clashes. But Dhari sees the traditional scarf as not just a modesty covering, but also a stylish, comfortable accessory. "We want to inspire people to think that wearing hijab is not something difficult, and could be worn by anyone," she said. Her collection also bucks a contemporary design trend for simplicity and minimalism. Blending cotton or silk into her hijab, she includes natural dye prints that rely on a traditional Japanese tie-dye technique called shibori and the Indonesian batik method. With patterns ranging from mini mandalas to Turkish geometrics, Dhari plays with multiple layers of fabric to freely shape her silhouettes. Another eye-catching element of the collection was a hat that spreads wide in the back, a throwback to the sixties with elements resembling a long-ago royal head piece. "The concept of the hat was actually inspired by the style in one from 1963," Dhari said. "I was looking for vintage hats that could be used to cover your hair and also your neck. "I used that inspiration and then mixed it with a traditional ethnic concept, so it becomes something very unique." Tokyo has long been the centre of cool, renowned the world over for its far-out fashions that see young women donning gothic-inspired "Lolita" outfits and chiseled young men with highly coiffed haircuts. But at the latest Tokyo Fashion Week, it was newcomer brands from several Asian fashion houses outside Japan, such as NurZahra, which breathed fresh air into the show in the Japanese capital. Another Indonesian brand, Major Minor, hit the runway for the first time, showcasing styles incorporating mainly monochrome tones and simple silhouettes. The opener of the event was Thai brand Sretsis – "sisters" in reverse – led by designer Pim Sukhahuta, who works alongside two female siblings. Among their offerings was a cartoon-like print – girls' faces dotting the fabric – that meshed touches of American high-school and Japan's "Lolita" themes. – AFP, March 22, 2014. |
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