Divonista
"Never underestimate the Asian power. Be heard. Be proud. Be strong." – Divonista
"I came to conquer" – Divonista
Before October arrives, I would like to introduce a new segment for my site which is called "Behind closed door" A segment where I reach out to different people coming from different walks of life where they have set themselves on a specific path in their life and have worked hard to get what they want or just to be able to do what they are doing. These individuals are the people that I deemed as strong individuals. Here hoping that their stories will be able to reach out and inspire those walking in the same path as them. You are not alone.
Moving on, to kick-start this segment I am thrilled to be writing about Azawi also known as Divonista. A little bit more about Azawi is that he is definitely not a new blood when it comes to being a Fashion Stylist. He has 12 years of experience in the fashion industry. His motto is very simple, living life to the fullest each day.
As I sat down, having my dinner at Kith restaurant alongside Muzakkir Hallif and Yongyi Chua after a private event, Azawi shared his stories with us which I grew to learn that he has always been into fashion since he was very young. He has started playing dress-up as young as 9 years old. His mum likes to dress him up since little and adding to that, he also had a talented uncle who is remarkably gifted to custom-made leather into a lot of things. He actually had his own customized leather jacket and a bag when he was still very young, courtesy of his talented uncle. Azawi started from learning how to give styling tips to consumers and learning the mass market from being a boutique assistant at a local boutique. Not long after, Azawi realized that he wasn't meant to work as just a boutique assistant as he really enjoyed styling people as much as he loves to style himself. That's where he latterly became a personal stylist to many.
After years of being in the fashion industry and knowing different people from different walks of life, he noticed that not many people are supportive of local talents. In his opinion, in order for a country to grow in the fashion industry, the country's influencers should be wearing local brands to promote Singapore's branding. That way people from other countries will recognize Singapore in the fashion industry. With that being said, he then started to research on all of the local designers and after researching he started a network of clients and also friends coming from all walks of life. Hence, what makes Azawi different from the rest is that he is a true local warrior. He stays strong on his stand when he says that he supports the local talents.
Subsequently, he started to style his clients with in-house labels and regional Asian Designers. Brands like Zalora, Vikas Dayal, Depression, Chi Chi by Lisa Von Tang, Joel De Shang, and the list goes on. Azawi is now highly regarded in the field of fashion.
The following photos are styling done by Divonista:
First up, this photo was taken for the brand Joel De Shang
Taken by Adrian Jiun founder and photographer of Black Pixion Studio
The model is styled by Divonista.
Next up, this photo was taken for the brand Vikas Dayal
Styled for Singapore Audi Fashion Festival
The celebrity couples are styled by Divonista.
Thirdly, this photo was taken for the brand Foreword and Kae Hana
Taken by photographer Kah Ying Gan
The model is styled by Divonista.
When asked who are the people that supported and helped him to be the person that he is today, Azawi replied, "Everybody that I have met throughout, you know the first time when I started in the industry, everyone brings in different things." After which, he mentioned the 3 key people that have been constant and made a difference in his life.
First up, we have Val, who opened up to him about the industry, the market, and how to form connections. She also shared with him about styling, how to communicate with people, and most importantly embracing himself as an individual. She is friendly, very outgoing and she is very comfortable with herself. While figuring out this new path with her, he figured out more about himself too. He said, "People will love you only when you're being true to yourself and if they don't then those are the people that you shouldn't keep around as they are either a hypocrite or a hater." Not only that, he mentioned that people will normally bring down their walls around genuine people.
Secondly, Nora Rahman has been his true friend since the beginning. She has always reminded him how kind and talented he is. Azawi has forever been the person that just loves to help everyone and this is where Nora comes in, she would just remind him casually how he should be wary of the people that he chooses to help or work with because from a third-person point of view she could tell easily whether a person is genuine or not.
The third prominent figure in Azawi's life is Adrian Jiun. He has always been one of the few people that has complete faith in Azawi. He trusts Azawi to source out every detail whenever they work together. They have this mutual trust with each other that makes it easy for them to work with one another. So these are the three key people that believe in his work and made Azawi the Divonista that he is today.
He then continued to elaborate more on friendships. Friends are the biggest influence on you. They support, motivate, and believe in you. Hence, you feel calm around them and have no doubts about your worth and he said: "True friends will accept who you are as a person even your occupation or what you are wearing." To add to that, he said life is funny as people always want the shortcut, the fastest way. Not many are willing to know more about you but once they have heard that you are someone with a status they instantly want to be your BFFs cause they know that they need you in their network. Thus, you should know that they are not your true friends. He emphasized more on going through the struggles of learning the process of networking with others genuinely as it will make you become a better person. Be in a circle where the people around you genuinely support you and motivate you. He ended off by telling us to focus on our work ethic as it is the second essential attribute for a person to be recognized by others.
Back in July 2017, I attended my first Zalora event thanks to a friend of mine, Muzakkir Hallif. I was new to the scene then but I was lucky enough to be guided along the way by him for my first event. At the end of that event, we met Azawi and spoke to the icon himself and he took the time to share a little insider of the fashion industry. We kept in touch after that and I joined him in some of the private events that he was invited to. During all of those events, Azawi guided me on what to do and things just escalated from that day onwards. His willingness to share and look out for others is what makes me feel that he is truly deserving of being the first person that I kick start my new segment off with.
"Having him as a friend, I know I have someone that I can truly rely on when I need a piece of advice. He just wants to build others even when he is still building himself as he believes in karma. Which I believe, good things will happen to those who help each other out." – Lenny Sumarni
