KUALA LUMPUR: The 2010 season of the Formula One Grand Prix begins in Bahrain this weekend, and will arrive in Malaysia on April 2. But before KL's most anticipated sporting event is to begin, the STYLO Fashion Grand Prix will commence its festivities.

Now in its third edition, F1's biggest fashion and art event in Malaysia will kick off on March 25 at the Asian Heritage Row and conclude at the KLCC Petronas Tent for the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Bash on April 3, featuring up to 70 designers and 100 artists. Some of the events will be also be held at the National Art Gallery, while a heritage building in an older part of KL will be transformed into a red fortress for some of the black-tie gala events.

The eight-day, multi-location fashion extravaganza is presented by Mercedes-Benz and will feature the participation of fashion bodies like Malaysian Official Designers Association (MODA), Bumiputera Designers Association (BDA) and the Islamic Fashion Festival as well as a slew of independent Malaysian designers. It is one of the official partner events of the KLGP City under the banner of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

This year's theme — Fashion to Art & Art to Fashion: The 7 Deadly Sins — will feature key messages for preservation of the environment. Over 100 artists led by Philip Wong will create 28 giant sculptures measuring 2.4m to 6m, each weighing up to 100kg of recyclable waste to line prominent tourist locations within the capital city. The seven deadly sins representing the decadence of mankind which have contributed to the decay of the earth will be translated into seven fashion items by recycling fabric, cardboard, plastic bottles and bags, newspapers, magazines and tin cans in its process.

The first sculpture was unveiled at a press conference in Pavilion KL on Thursday, March 11 — a red dress made entirely from recycled newspapers. A total of seven such sculptures will be displayed in Pavilion KL, while the remaining 21 will be placed in various tourist spots across the city.

Commenting on the theme this year, STYLO president and CEO Datuk Nancy Yeoh said: "With the issues of global warming and other natural catastrophes brought on by our neglect to Mother Earth, we felt that is was important that his issue be raised at every avenue possible. Therefore it seemed like a good opportunity for us to spread the message via this festival, hence the theme Fashion to Art, Art to Fashion."

On the fashion side, the 2010 edition of STYLO has arranged for a lavish array of up-and-coming avant garde designers in its line-up. Fresh from London Fashion Week's Ones to Watch show, avant garde designer Marko Mitanovski will be presenting his collection. His show, which will be held on the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 bash on April 3, is themed Lady Macbeth and will include items designed for American musician Lady Gaga's Monster Ball world tour.

In a bid to train attention of a new pool of talent, the finalists from the inaugural Mercedes-Benz STYLO Emerging designer of the Year 2010 will make their final presentations of their avant garde creations during one of the events.

Also featured with great prominence at this year's STYLO is the hair-styling industry. The Hair Couture Gala presented by Visa will feature the works of three of the country's top hairstylists — Winnie Loo, Lois Lee and Andy Ho — and will be the first event of its kind in Malaysia. Also making its debut during STYLO is veteran designer Michael Ong's ready-to-wear line and ex-model and beauty queen Kavita Kaur's resort wear collection.

The Edge is one of the media partners of STYLO 2010 and will be co-hosting the Mercedes-Benz Stylo Fashion Awards night on April 2.