How the Malaysian duo behind Ghostboy turned their hobby into a brand
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
What started as a DIY job for late-night parties quickly evolved into a brand of creative youth culture for the kids of Kuala Lumpur.
NAME CYII CHENG, DAVID HAN of GHOSTBOY
AGE 22, 23
LOCATION Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
STAR SIGN Libra, Cancer
Pravin Nair: What were the initial inspirations that brought you to forming GHOSTBOY?
Cyii Cheng: Forming a brand wasn’t really our intention; it kind of just happened to us. In the beginning I was only picking up sewing from David as a hobby. The first items we made together were these crop tops up-cycled from stuff I found at the thrift store. Once we learned that people were interested in buying the pieces we were making for fun, David suggested we make a business out of it and here we are.
David Han: Around the time before and during the start of Ghostboy, I would make outfits for Cheng to wear out to parties and events, so I guess you could say that was the initial inspiration.
PN: How did the name of the brand come about?
CC: It’s a song by ROBOTAKI that held a lot of meaning for me at the time (I was going through a break-up haha). It was the first name I pitched to David and he instantly went, “yeah sounds good.”
PN: Could you describe the typical Ghostboy customer in three words?
DH: She’s the moment.
PN: What app are you obsessed with?
CC: Instagram.
DH: Grabfood, Malaysia’s UberEats equivalent.
PN: Top three designers of the moment?
CC: DIDU, KID SUPER, DOM SEBASTIAN.
DH: MUGLER, RAVE REVIEW, WINDOWSEN.
PN: Apple Music or Spotify?
CC: Spotify.
DH: Apple Music.
PN: What song do you have on repeat right now?
CC: Doorman by SLOWTHAI.
DH: Bipp by SOPHIE.
PN: How would you describe the relationship between fashion and music? Does one influence the other?
CC: Music influenced fashion for centuries and will continue to forever.
DH: Agreed, fashion can’t exist without music.
PN: Favourite piece of clothing you own?
CC: Nodaleto Bulla Babies.
DH: Bicolor Pants by SHAOFEN.
PN: Favourite Ghostboy piece?
CC: Chaps.
DH: Sinh Leather Skirt.
PN: Where do you think fashion will be in 10 years time?
CC: I think digital fashion is an exciting future to think about; designs being sold as NFT’s and people building virtual closets for their online personas. I just hope in 10 years we’d have heavily reduced the environmental impact of fashion and be at peak body and gender-inclusivity.
“I don’t believe in faux pas. Girl, go, wear your socks with crocs. The uglier the better!”
DH: Fashion and technology will intertwine and merge completely, and never at the expense of creativity.
PN: What advice would you give other designers who are starting out?
CC: If you’re too afraid to make mistakes then you’ll never get anything done.
DH: Trust your instincts.
PN: Do you have any regrets?
Both: No.
PN: What’s your biggest fashion faux pas?
CC: I don’t believe in faux pas. Girl, go, wear your socks with crocs. The uglier the better!
DH: Only thing I couldn’t stand is stick-thin models perpetuated as the beauty standard.
PN: What’s next for Ghostboy?
DH: Still figuring it out. Enjoying the learning process while we’re at it.
CC: What he said.
