E : Seremban is our mother’s hometown. We were born there but moved to Kuala Lumpur soon after. Right now we would only head back to Seremban for Raya. It’s quite different now especially when our grandparents are no longer around.
Where did your family came from? And how was it like growing up in your household?
E : Our father is Pakistani. In our household, in terms of language, we would speak mostly in English because of him. He was brought up by his family to converse in English.
R : He used to not be able to speak properly in Malay. So, we end up speaking English at home. It has always been mixed for us. Our mother is Malay but before this she had a bit of a difficulty trying to understand and speak in English. She has picked up more of it now.
What strikes your emotional chord every time you think about your family?
R : The thought of my parents will always be bittersweet because I was quite a rebel and there were times that my parents could not see the reason why I acted that way. It was mostly my father who was particular about specific things. After I got married and finally moved out of the house, I started to realize that I missed both my parents more now and I guess you could say, it took moving out to not take them for granted.
E : Whenever I think about the distant age gap between my sister and I - 8 years. I am 21 years old and she's turning 29 this year - I start to think about how my parents aren't getting any any younger and I may not have much time left to spend with them. That thought always hits me when I'm asked about family.
What were some of your earliest memories when you got to first found out about fashion?
E : It all started with our mother. She used to dress us in different styles when we were younger. However, for kakak she sort of ventured into her own style as she grew.
R : To add to that, I only started to pick up fashion properly after working for the first time with a fashion company. That was when I started to pick up trends, know of the different designer and brand names and got to understand how things work in the industry. Before that, it was simple. Only knowing the industry on the surface level through social media.
E : The other thing to it now is that our mother is the one who frequently purchases new clothes for us. When we were both a little younger, we would get called for castings and photo shoots and our mother would be very supportive of it. Our father did not understood it then but became more accepting of it eventually. She would bring us for castings and take our photos, getting overly excited when she directs us on how to pose for photographs. I guess it was because she used to be a model herself when she was younger.
Describe to us how your annual Raya celebration looks like.
R : It’s not what you would might think with 30 or more people in a house. Nothing like that and it can get quiet because it only consists of our immediate family. The first day of Raya for us begins with morning breakfast at home then we will do the salam raya. We are usually dressed in our normal clothes or sometimes cotton baju kurung.
E : After that, we'll head back to Seremban and visit our grandparents' graveyard. We'll typically leave home by 10am and when we reach, it will be blazing hot in the afternoon. Since our grandparents have left, it has been very different.
R : They were definitely the backbone of our Raya festivities among the family, especially our grandmother.
What is the one thing you always feel nostalgic about when reminiscing about your past Raya celebrations?
E : What's nostalgic for me is when we used to play with the fireworks every time we head back to our kampung in Seremban. It was something I looked forward to. We almost never play it here.
R : Elysha might not have a lot of memories with our grandparents because she was still young then. For me, I had the opportunity to actually stay at our hometown for a longer period during Ramadan. I would go back to Seremban probably a week before the actual day of Raya during the start of the school holiday. The kampung life — being awaken by the loud crowing of the rooster in the morning. Our grandmother used to run a canteen for offices and will begin cooking early in the morning.
What do you both plan on wearing for this year’s Aidilfitri celebration?
E : I think something comfortable is good especially when the weather in Seremban can get extremely hot. I am also gravitating towards pastel colours this time round.
R : Definitely, prioritizing comfort for me too. Taking into consideration that there will be plenty of traveling involved, visiting different places and the people of Seremban dresses simple. You really do not want to end up wearing anything that's over-the-top.
Roselyn wears the Intan in Gold.
Elysha wears the Intan in Burgundy.
Roselyn's baju kurung is from ANAABU.
Find them on Instagram too.
Elysha's baju kurung is from MKita by Mimpikita.
Discover more on their Instagram.
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Photos by Amani
Styling by Haida Yusof
Set by Aida
Background by Miriam
