THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BRAND

Public attention to FashionValet’s alleged mismanagement can also be attributed to the founder’s presence on social media; Ms. Vivy, a blogger-turned-entrepreneur, has more than 1.8 million followers on Instagram.

Ms Vivy, 36, was FashionValet’s creative director, while her husband was chief executive. Both resigned from their positions as of November 1.

A leading figure in Malaysia’s fashion and business industry, Ms. Vivy starred in the reality television series Love,Vivy and is the author of the book “The First Decade: My Journey from Blogger to Entrepreneur”, published in 2022.

He has also been awarded many awards, including being named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia list and Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Asean@50 Achievement Awards in 2017.

Miss Vivy’s lavish and luxurious lifestyle comes under the spotlight as the collapse of her business venture becomes a nationwide scandal.

Social media posts (since deleted) of Ms. Vivy’s luxury bag and shoe collection, which she has shared in the past under the hashtags “#crazybaglady” and “#eachofthemhasastory”, have gone viral on social media.

Some netizens expressed criticism against Ms. Vivy for portraying a luxurious lifestyle even though her company is not doing well.

“Vivy has SIX Dior saddle bags worth RM19,000 each, at least SIX Lady Dior bags priced between RM28,000 to RM30,000 each… For Hermes (bags), she has a Hermes Constance worth RM60,000 and TWO Herbags A netizen with the username var @frhhh8989 posted on X on November 3 for $3,050 each. The post has garnered over 7,900 reshares and 15,000 likes as of November 8.

But this public figure is not new to controversy in Malaysia.

A 2021 research paper by linguistics lecturers at the International Islamic University Malaysia analyzing Ms Vivy’s use of “low-brow language” was also spread on social media.

And in 2018, it was reported in local media that Ms Vivy had come under fire for a post on her Instagram story regarding the use of fake Duck prayer clothes, or telekung, used by Muslims.

“We wear hijab for religion, we are good Muslims and we don’t support fake rip-off products, I can’t even imagine how people can buy fake telekung to pray,” she said along with a photo showing off her fake products. luxury lifestyle brand Duck.

Ms. Vivy clarified her stance by stating that she does not criticize those who use cheap products for prayer, but opposes those who support fake products.

But aside from the controversies, Ms Vivy had also done a number of notable philanthropic works to help frontline people and the less privileged.

In 2020, the crowdfunding initiative – FV COVID19 Support Fund for medical frontliners fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia – raised RM1.14 million.