KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians may never get to see a white Christmas in this country since it never snows for real, but they can have a sparkling Yuletide at the Pavilion mall.
The 23m tall and 7.5m wide Christmas tree, made of 175,000 Swarovski crystals, in the middle of the centre court is hard to miss.
The grand launch and lighting ceremony took place on Tuesday with guests in swanky suits and elegant red and white dresses.
It has been Pavilion’s tradition to go all out when it comes to festive mall decorations, and its efforts paid off. The mall was awarded a place in the Malaysia Book of Records for being the tallest Swarovski Christmas tree.
It is also the tallest Christmas tree of its kind in Asia, with individual crystals held up by 3,100 pieces of strands measuring 2m each. The tree’s estimated value – about RM3mil.
“Every year, thousands of shoppers look forward to seeing our Christmas celebrations and decorations,” said Pavilion Kuala Lumpur retail chief executive officer Joyce Yap.
Swarovski collaborated with Pavilion on several occasions in the past with festive decorations, such as the crystal kolam made for Deepavali in 2009.
In line with this year’s theme of “Christmas Sparkles”, the team spent six months planning with the designer and architect to make the tree, according to Swarovski South-East Asia consumer goods business managing director Aymeric Lacroix.
“This is truly an exciting moment for Swarovski as it has always been our vision to bring amazing technical innovations and creative collaborations to life.”
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur has a wide range of activities for shoppers throughout November and December, including a mini-train ride and a meet-and-greet session with Santa Claus for children.
One of the highlights will be “snowfall” at the mall’s main Bukit Bintang entrance at 8pm daily from Dec 1.
As it has been with the mall’s other festive occasions, proceeds raised through the Christmas activities will go to charity.
The tree-lighting ceremony was also made lively by an upbeat flash mob performance held around a few floors.
Guests enjoyed their canapes and champagne while listening to festive tunes performed by professional pianist Charmaine Lai and violinist Josh Kua.
Models also stood by at the event, wearing the latest fashion collection by renowned fashion designer Khoon Hooi and pieces from the Swarovski Fall and Winter collection 2015.
