There was a time when scrolling through Kuala Lumpur’s creative girls almost always meant seeing Ghostboy designs somewhere in the feed. Fold-over waist shorts from CS24 Devotion, hooded tanks from FW24 SINK, and strappy bikinis detailed with beads became defining pieces of the city’s rave scene and after-hours dress.

As that scene matured, so did the brand. What began as clothing for nightlife has since expanded into a label that now considers how these girls dress beyond the night, and beyond Kuala Lumpur itself.

Founded in 2020 by model Cyii Cheng and designer Han David, Ghostboy started from a gap they saw in the Malaysian fashionlandscape: clothing that appears playful and visibly sexy, but still grounded in a local point of view with global potential. From its first collection, the brand leant into experimentation. Deconstructed silhouettes, bold prints, and irregular construction formed its early language, and continue to define it today. Cyii Cheng, who often fronted the collections, helped shape that visual identity from the start. In the Spring Summer 2021 debut, she appeared with blue-dyed pixie hair, setting a clear tone for a brand built on difference.

Six years on, Ghostboy has moved beyond its original scene. From a niche following among Kuala Lumpur’s party girls, it has grown into a label that now sits across different parts of their everyday lives, and carried by stockists across the world, including the United States, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

As Ghostboy prepares to enter this next chapter, Men’s Folio speaks to Cyii Cheng and Han about the brand’s evolution and its international expansion.

Ghostboy emerged from a very specific corner of Kuala Lumper’s nightlife scene. In its early years, the brand became closely associated with rave wear and party dressing. Have you always seen the value in building from a subculture rather than pursuing broader commercial appeal?
CYII CHENG: We’ve heard this a lot, from so many people. Someone even said it today — our electrician: “Your brand must be very niche in Malaysia.” And that’s true. But we never saw it as a limitation. From the beginning, the priority was always having a strong point of view rather than trying to appeal to everyone at once. We could’ve made it more commercially safe in the early days, but that would’ve diluted what made it interesting for us. Even then, it was never just “party clothes” in our heads. It was more about how girls in Kuala Lumpur actually wanted to present themselves — the colours, silhouettes, and tension between feeling louder or softer. So it was always self-expression first. Nightlife was just where it happened to show up.

The brand has clearly moved beyond that original scene. How has Ghostboy evolved with its audience?
HAN DAVID: A good brand naturally evolves with the people wearing it. At the beginning, we were designing directly from nightlife because that reflected our lives at the time. But as the audience grew, we started asking a different question: What does the Ghostboy girl wear during the day? What pieces does she return to? How do these clothes move across different parts of her life? That shift pushed us toward longevity, designing pieces that last beyond a single context.

At what point did you think about scaling the business internationally?
HD: Quite early. In our upcycling days, a large portion of our customers were already from Singapore. Over time, we started seeing the US and Australia come in through Instagram. That changed how we understood scale. What appeared niche in Kuala Lumpur was already being understood elsewhere.

CC: The internet changed our understanding of what “niche” means. In Malaysia, the audience felt small at times, but internationally there were already people who understood the language of the brand immediately. In the bigger picture, the niche isn’t really that niche at all.

Social media clearly accelerated that growth. What have you learnt about building a fashion brand online?
CC: There was never a fixed strategy. It was more trial and error, putting things out and seeing what people responded to. Over time, you start noticing patterns in how people enter the brand. For us, tutorial content worked earlier than expected. Styling videos and multiple ways to wear a piece gave people a direct entry point. Campaigns, on the other hand, are more atmospheric. They are meant to create curiosity rather than explain everything.

Is there something that audiences respond less towards?
CC: People can tell when something feels over-engineered. There is a strong sensitivity to brands trying too hard to appear authentic. We try to keep things open by showing how designs fit, sharing references, and posting things that feel personal. That kind of transparency builds trust.

Community is a major focus in fashion right now. How has that formed Ghostboy?
HD: In hindsight, it has been important, but it was never intentional for us in a strategic way. We never said, “We are building community.” We threw parties because we wanted to dance. We worked with people because we liked what they were doing. The community formed through shared interest. At the end of the day, we are still a clothing brand. The strongest communities form when people connect with the clothes first.

The “cool girl” archetype has shifted over the last few years. Has that changed the way you approach silhouette or styling?
CC: The “cool girl” has always been unstable. It changes depending on the cultural moment and who is being projected onto it. We try not to design around rigid archetypes because they become restrictive very quickly. We’re more interested in creating clothes that different personalities can project themselves onto. Confidence is usually what makes someone a “cool girl”, not whether they fit neatly into one aesthetic category.

A lot of fashion today operates through nostalgia. Ghostboy references the past, but it rarely feels overtly retro. Why is that?
HD: I think we subconsciously reference historical fashion all the time. At this point, the idea of something being completely original feels very blurry anyway. Our Spring/Summer collection, for example, drew from post-war 1950s way of dressing..

CC: I do think that growing up online changes your relationship to nostalgia. The internet compresses time completely. Someone can discover an archival runway image, a Tumblr post from 2014, and a paparazzi photo from 2003 all within the same scroll. So instead of recreating a specific era literally, we’re more interested in taking emotional qualities from different references and making them feel contemporary again.

What excited you about the Malaysian fashion landscape right now?
CC: There’s a lot of creativity here right now. We’ve grown alongside many of our peers, including our friend Caro Chia, and it’s been rewarding watching everyone evolve at the same time. We’re also excited to see what younger designers like Uzair Shoid continue developing.

HD: I think Malaysian fashion becomes strongest when it leans into its own identity instead of trying to imitate larger fashion cities.

At the same time, what do you think the local industry still lacks structurally?
HD: The creative talent absolutely exists here. What’s missing is stronger technical infrastructure. There’s a shortage of skilled pattern cutters, sample machinists, and textile specialists — these are the roles that sustain a fashion industry long-term. Countries with stronger manufacturing ecosystems usually have a deeper relationship between design education and technical craftsmanship.

CC: Without that foundation, it becomes much harder for independent brands to scale sustainably while maintaining quality.

What defines the current chapter of Ghostboy creatively?
HD: There’s definitely a stronger emphasis on longevity now. Earlier on, we were probably more focused on immediacy and visual impact. Today, we think more carefully about how pieces continue living in someone’s wardrobe over time. We’ve also shifted toward releasing smaller, more focused collections instead of large seasonal drops. It gives us more room to experiment without overwhelming people. What interests us now is balance — creating clothes that still is expressive and exciting, while also becoming pieces people genuinely live in.

Once you are done with this story, click here to catch up with our June/July 2026 issue.