singapore architecture

We Travelled Around Singapore For The Best #SGArchitecture For This Fashion Story

by Keng Yang Shuen   /   August 5, 2022

The eye has to travel.


For his first-ever fashion editorial, the Singapore-based architectural photographer and artist Finbarr Fallon takes the Fall/Winter 2022 collections on an off-the-beaten track tour of our island-city to explore the notions of home. “The locations I chose represent different moments in the home-building process: the materiality of homes-in-progress; the infrastructure keeping our homes running; the need for constant urban renewal as the prevailing narrative of what makes a good city and possibly a liveable home,” he says.

“I’m very interested in the in-between spaces to be found within cities, especially one that is as well-curated and planned as Singapore. Even if these spaces don’t come to mind first when we think about home, they’re integral to the continual – and often unruly – process of making and maintaining the city as a ‘home’.”


THE ROOFTOP OF PEOPLE’S PARK FOOD CENTRE

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

Kaigin wears silk cropped top, embroidered lace skirt, tulle lingerie set, lace gloves, polyamide tights and leather platform sandals, with Diana large top-handle bag, Gucci. (Right) Diya wears polyamide dress and Knife polyamide pantaleggings, with Crush large leather shoulder bag, Balenciaga

He says: “I am fascinated by the infrastructure that keeps our homes running. While they are usually concealed, giant extractor pipes here appear to be bursting from within, entangling the building itself.”


THE EDGE OF AN INDUSTRIAL SITE IN THE PIONEER DISTRICT

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Left) Kaigin wears Fantasy tweed skirt suit and rubber boots. (Right) Diya wears Fantasy tweed coat dress and rubber boots. All Chanel

He says: “An unexpected find on one of my weekend walks around one of the lesser-visited industrial areas in western Singapore. The exact function of the green trusses remains unknown, but they appear stacked in temporary storage in beautiful form.”


THE WHAMPOA DEW ESTATE LOCATED ON LORONG LIMAU

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Left) Diya wears silk knit romper, technical silk knit gaiters and suede calfskin boots. (Right) Kaigin wears lambskin dress, technical silk knit jumper, technical silk knit gaiters and suede calfskin boots. All Hermes

He says: “I was immediately struck by the scale of these recently built public housing blocks. While they are monumental, their subtle white and blue hues lend a certain softness and they almost blend into the sky.”


UNDERPASS NEAR THE SINGAPORE FLYER

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Left) Diya wears embroidered silk dress with sequins and knitted tights, with Garavani Roman stud mini leather clutch. (Right) Kaigin wears silk bralette, matching skirt and Garavani Tan-Go leather platform boots. All Valentino

He says: “The inadvertent ‘City in a Garden’ where giant concrete viaducts are fully ‘reclaimed’ by creeping plants.”


OLD GRAIN SILOS ON JALAN BESUT

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Far left) Diya wears wool dress, cotton socks, and Dior 62-22 neoprene and patent leather pumps, with Dior Book Tote medium canvas bag. (Left) Kaigin wears wool jacket and skirt, cotton socks, and Dior 62-22 wool and neoprene pumps, with Lady D-Lite canvas top-handle bag. All Dior

He says: “These towering structures have a certain raw beauty and were another unlikely find as I had stumbled upon them. The green field in front makes the setting seem almost rural – as if one has stepped back in time.”


FIELD NEAR NICOLL HIGHWAY

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Left) Diya wears silk blouse and cotton pants. (Right) Kaigin wears technical fabric parka, cotton jumpsuit, leather necklace and oxfords. All Salvatore Ferragamo 

He says: “There is a surreal juxtaposition about this location, with the distant skyscrapers around Suntec City bounded by a sweep of green and an open field in the foreground. It is a site in transition: an in-between space that will soon be lost to development.”


THE BACK OF BALESTIER POINT

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Both) Crepe plaid dress and patent leather Mary Jane pumps, Coach

He says: “I personally love the modernist style of buildings from this era (the ’80s) as they are often very experimental in design and form, as opposed to the more standardised developments of today. This is an unusual angle of the building from a vantage point that became accessible only recently.”


GOLDEN MILE COMPLEX

singapore architecture
Credit:Finbarr Fallon

(Far left) Diya wears embroidered nylon mesh dress, cotton tank top and Mary Jane pumps, with calf leather top-handle bag. Shorts, her own. (Left) Kaigin wears cotton tank top, embroidered leather skirt with nylon and metal mesh, and Mary Jane pumps, with calf leather top-handle bag. All Prada unless otherwise stated

He says: “An apartment in the building – captured here from its rear to show its unruly facade – is featured in my book UNIT. a glimpse into Singapore’s 1970s–’80s private apartments. The complex was recently awarded conservation status. However much will change when it is redeveloped over the coming years.”


Photography Finbarr Fallon Photography Assistant Claire Goh Styling Damian Huang Styling Assistants Annalisa Espino Lim & Pang Jia Wei Film Direction Athirah Annissa Film Editing Pang Jia Wei Coordination Keng Yang Shuen Hair Sean Ang Makeup Sarah Tan Models Kaigin Yong/Now Model Management & Diya Prabhakar/Looque


This article first appeared in the August 2022 Home Edition of FEMALE