An edited version of these interviews appeared in the August 2020 Home Edition of FEMALE.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
1.5°C is a project that’s meant to draw attention to how close we are to a global disaster – such a seemingly small rise in global temperature can, in fact, trigger significant and lasting changes. My inspiration came from coral bleaching, an event that occurs due to global warming and the effect of rising ocean temperatures that can destroy the entire global coral reef ecosystem.
The designs are based on the structure and texture of the corals and its many stages of death. Using white as the dominant colour, I employed advanced textile applications to create solar/UV reactive pigments that depict the signalling of help for change – certain garments can transform from white to intense blue, purple or yellow under natural or UV light.
This act of using biomimicry is one of the most powerful and vibrant warnings in nature, which is also considered nature’s most beautiful death. To mimic the structure of coral skeletons, I manipulated crochet, macrame, knits and embroidery, adding Swarovski crystals to elevate these textures and give another dimension to the garment.
The collection is also made up of two main fabrics: denim and mixed polyester/nylon organza which have the properties of opacity and translucence that fit with the appearance of the bleached corals. Denim and synthetic fabrics are commonly used in the fashion industry especially in fast fashion but I want to bring home the fact that everyone’s connected to this crisis by using these materials. The garments are produced in a more conscious way with a slow fashion-making process of low-zero waste.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
There is a limitation of access to resources and materials. Sourcing for materials in Singapore is tedious when I need to look for something that is more unique and special. Also, materials are generally costly in Singapore. On the bright side, these challenges have trained me to be more resourceful.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
Sustainability is a big issue that the fashion industry needs to address; often people are unaware of or overlook the problem. Fashion education definitely makes positive changes with teaching us to come up with solutions such as zero-waste, the use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials and approaches that help to reduce the impact on the environment.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My collection was inspired by the Japanese art philosophy of ‘ma’, which focuses on the importance of negative space. It explores the in-between spaces, the ‘openings’ between skin and fabric, creating a wider dimension.
I wanted the garments to provide modern individuals with the flexibility in donning the clothing. The main construction techniques I explored were gohei and felting, with references to Zen culture and Shinto practices.
Gohei started off as a rectangular piece of paper before being cut in a certain way to be folded into a zigzag formation. The paper created slits, hence, creating ‘ma’. These flat strips of paper remind me of the ones hanging on the entrances to shrines and many spaces. I used mainly fabrics composed of wool to avoid less fraying on the edges of the garments which incorporated many slits and folding origami-like techniques.
Another technique I used was the method of felting. I was focused on creating a new textile achieved by fusing natural materials such as silk and wool together. The end result was this opaque, crumpled and wrinkled textured effect.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
Fashion education in Singapore has equipped with me a lot of basic knowledge and skills. I feel that having a fashion education is very important as we enter the working environment. I also feel that the criticism a designer faces in the fashion industry can be hurtful and we should always be kind and help one another, and less of a competition.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I feel that the fashion industry here lacks quality and takes fast fashion a business model that feeds an unhealthy appetite for mass consumerism which results in endless fabric wastage. Brands produce designs that follow trends rather than developing a conceptualised collection. My learning experience in school has taught me ways to make full use of our assets in sustainable ways such creating multiple ways of wearing long-lasting garments.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
I found this vintage ’90s balloon sculpting instructional book for children while clearing out my work space and just thought it’d make fab sculptural elements on the body. As always, the method to my madness that followed was a mixture of collaging and draping. Something that I haven’t talked about much is how I have an archive of random loose articles like weird shiny packaging that I collect to form collages.
However, this collection also drove me to a point of realness: What I’ve created feels more genuine; this idea of unpolished rawness juxtaposed with very polished outcomes. I also made a conscious effort to do more experimentation with textiles, which I think oddly enough, sets a path for how my accompanying work in digital graphics will evolve.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I think there is a lack of transparency and truth towards fashion education locally. There needs to be less delusion towards how students are being taught and introduced to fashion, because right now I just feel like schools create this bubble that enables unrealistic fantasies to manifest.
We need true visionaries at the helm that will push students out the nest. I miss the tough love way of teaching. Back in the day I had a graphic lecturer, Gnanamary, she’d serve it to you straight up. I would spend a whole week designing fonts and she’d just knock me down in five seconds telling me she could find whatever I did with a simple Google search.
I’d love to see a lecturer come intone day and just go like ‘Oops sorry everyone, you chose the worst degree to pursue, but let me show you how to survive. I think then and only then, by removing all this fluff, can we truly thrive as creatives.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I think we are lacking support within our own industry. All facets of the industry share the blame. It’s only been in recent years we’ve seen a shift in the way local models have been shot and featured in editorials and covers, Female is of course of one these great examples.
I’m not even going to dive into the fact that I have never seen local designs featured on covers, or mixed in with other brands. I’m sure there actually are, but point is, there just isn’t enough. You see Thai magazines featuring Thai designers, Chinese magazines featuring Chinese designers – I don’t see that enough here.
I think the fashion education system has hope in the sense that more and more students share the same sentiments. I guess it all depends on how resilient we are and how students are being introduced to these issues by the people that teach them.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My collection, Blurred Bodies, was inspired by the dialogue shared between the garment and the body within it. The visuals of my concept were inspired by paintings and installations of fine artists such as Glenn Brown, Nikos Gyftakis and Daisy Collingride. These art pieces explored the concepts of questioning the body form, exaggerating proportions and rendering realism abstractly, which are all concepts prominent in my collection.
While I gathered inspiration from art, I also based my collection upon the personal relationship that I share with my grandmother. I found beauty in her morphed form with skin drooping and sagging, along with the pathos of memories engraved within all her creases, wrinkles and veins.”
My prints are interpretations of skin forms and lines rendered in an abstract manner with colours derived from our bodies, ranging from deep blue, dull turquoise, warm peach and finally to a cool red. Textural and surface details within the collection make strong connections to digitally magnified skin cells as well. The language of morphed bodies continues into the silhouettes of the lineup, creating bulbous garments and those that challenge the fall of the body it holds within.
To retain the strong shape and form, a significant fabric choice was neoprene, with textural applications applied to it. These applications include quilting-based embroidery using the tension of the ruffles footer, heat-bonding of adjacent neoprene panels to provide an illusion of depth and laser cutting various colours of neoprene and utilising parallel seam lines to create organic surfaces.
My silhouettes were also developed from techniques of plaster casting on the mannequin to exaggerate the bumps. Draping from the modified structure and drawing organic seam lines to produce engineered pattern pieces allowed me to create silk and satin based garments that challenge the wearer’s body.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
As an outsider to the country and the industry, I find that Singapore is the launchpad for fashion in Asia. During my time at Lasalle, I was provided with extensive support and freedom to design the way I wished and explore techniques and applications freely.
However, the only limitation I personally felt was with the availability of materials. While there are some options for trimmings and materials, the necessity to order online sometimes interferes with the timelines of submissions and work.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
While the industry is working towards its goals of becoming more sustainable, we may still be following fast fashion trends and hence overconsuming and overproducing. As a student, being sustainable tends to be more time consuming and expensive.
Therefore, a change that would benefit students is increased consciousness towards sustainability, by applying methods of reusing, digitally placing cutting patterns, and providing access to the technology that aids in the process.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My graduate collection Palpitate was based on my health diagnosis Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a heart complication that causes the heart to have palpitation episodes at any point in time. It is definitely a very personal collection… I tried to recall all the episodes I’ve experienced – what actually happened, the emotions I went through, and how my body reacted – and translated all of that into scribbles that inspired the silhouettes in my collection.
I used ruching to interpret these scribbles as sculptural gathers. I also traced my ECG scans onto organza fabric and laser-cut them into strips that I then sewed on closely together, creating a distressed effect. This is meant to represent the feeling of chaos and of being overwhelmed whenever I get these heart attacks.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I feel that the state of fashion education in Singapore teaches us technical techniques well. But compared to top fashion schools like Central Saint Martin, Parsons, and Royal Academy of Fine Arts, we can see a vast difference in terms of collections produced there and the ones produced here. We need to push on our creativity and not box things up for what and how fashion should be; it’s more about what fashion can be.”
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
Fashion is still categorised in a binary way, falling under the womenswear or menswear category. While there have been fashion brands that are pushing for gender fluidity, there is still a lack of this in the industry.
Throughout my time in Lasalle, I have been dabbling with gender fluidity in my designs and also making sure that my graduation collection is gender fluid. What schools can do is to encourage more students to question and challenge gender norms.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
I’ve always enjoyed the fusion of fashion and art. I have thus reinterpreted an idea from remix culture – an art form that mixes two new or existing ideas into one. This collection took inspiration from both the imagery and fashion culture of the 21st century and the Renaissance with the cut-and-paste technique being in its design.
This was translated through purposeful slits and segmented pieces that are detachable – a reference to the slashing of garments during the Renaissance. Logo branding was heavily used throughout as decorative details while prints were done in a graffiti style for a contemporary element. Plush fabrics like velvet and satin were paired with more casual ones such as denim and for a seamless blend of the two periods, I kept silhouettes oversized and worked exclusively with varying shades.”
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
There is a lack of opportunities and collaborations between schools and big fashion companies, either locally and abroad, that provide well-paid internships and opportunities for us to gain real-life working experiences. Additionally, I would love to see more platforms to showcase aspiring designers’ works.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
By shining the light on diversity; there has to be more acknowledgment for BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of colour) creatives. Brands can also benefit from innovative methods for designing and advertising fashion like 3D technology.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My collection is based on the Malaysian traditional kite, the wau. While studying abroad in Singapore, I started seeking familiarity by going back to my Malaysian roots, so I looked at various kite motifs as well as local batik techniques. I was also inspired by Southeast Asian designers who showcase their cultural heritage in their work, including using local materials.
Zero-waste pattern cutting was the foundation of the entire project, in which I used the visual of the wau as the cutting pattern. So the literal shape of the wau is printed onto fabric, cut out, and along with the leftover fabric, is draped into garments. The print features a painted effect to reflect hand brushed batik and stippling as details. The textile is digitally printed on natural fibers including viscose rayon and various weights of cotton by an Indonesian company that specialises in eco-production.
Due to its unconventional shapes, the outcome of the garments has a dimension that unpacks various looks when viewed from different angles. I think it draws a nice parallel in that both zero-waste pattern cutting and the wau can be considered age-old, but are now revived into contemporary fashion.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I’m quite satisfied with the education I’ve received at Lasalle. While I’m happy it encouraged non-conventional ways of working, including designing by making; more importantly, it touched on the bigger picture of current issues related to working ethics and sustainability. I think it’s getting more important for the industry to be grounded and use more humane production methods, so I hope that fashion schools will continue to tread in this direction.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
While there is a growing rise in smaller brands that promote ethical production, the majority of the fashion industry is still lacking in those processes, especially big companies. This can include the working conditions and wages of its textile or seamstresses, transparency of its production chain. Fashion has the ability to go further than self-indulgence and temporary frivolousness, but it doesn’t seem to be discussed enough, especially with its consumers.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
(I was inspired) by a being in the virtual world. Referencing Japanese anime and the notion of cyber spaces during the creative process, I ultimately hoped to come up with an alternate body that allows one to cross over to the virtual realm.
During the initial stage of developing the collection, I experimented a lot with electronic textiles to create animated garments that would allow the wearer a surrealistic experience. Due to inadequate engineering knowledge though, I ended up basing my collection on the outcome of these experiments. For example, I contoured a woven pattern to accentuate the 3D form of the human body, creating an illusion of a different figure – an alternate “body”.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I believe fashion education in Singapore should also slowly incorporate more technological-induced programmes to keep up with the times and also keep with up with the pace of a fast-moving generation. Technological software like Clo3D simulate cutting patterns into 3D garments in an instant: this might help clients and students alike to visualise the final product faster, clearer and easier. We could also share the 3D simulation online to reach the market faster.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
The fashion industry is slowly entering the cyber world the way labels like Carlings and Tribute Brand have come up with digital garments to feed the social media hungry generation. More virtual technology being introduced to fashion education could help with the advancement of digital clothes.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
By using science and technology know-how, I tried to create a collection that integrates both areas into fashion for a new take on modernism. In this collection, biomimicry (the practice of imitating sy tems and elements found in nature to solve human problems) was used as a methodology to rethink fashion and create garments with a temperature-regulating function as a reaction to climate change.
The perspiration mechanism in human skin inspired the textiles and led me to experiment with unconventional materials. For example, I combined PVC with hydrogel, which traps water, to create what I call Hydropuff – a quilted fabric that facilitates the absorption of sweat and in turn helps keep the skin cool. The silhouettes are inspired by the idea of invisible body extensions and led me to contrast rigid materials with more fluid ones as well as played with transparency – a reference to the term “second skin”.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
Fashion education in Singapore is great in teaching basic skills, handwork skills, and the design process. However, there could be more push towards more practical skills that can be used to navigate the current state of the fashion industry state such as technical manufacturing to equip students to be more ready for the working environment.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I believe fashion design education can help put more emphasis on the branding of a brand. This would allow designers to be more daring in releasing a brand that’s not cookie-cutter and following the template used by other successful local labels. Doing so can contribute to making options here more diverse. I hope that in the future, I can see more variations in terms of the aesthetic of a Singapore brand.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
The inspiration for my textile designs emerged primarily from the motifs of antique Peranakan tiles. These finely crafted and colorful tiles caught my attention when I first arrived in Singapore and I was eager to learn more about them. I visited Victor Lim at the Peranakan Tiles Gallery where I was amazed by the collection of tiles and learned about Peranakan heritage.
In addition to the inspiration of the Peranakan tiles, my collection also explores vegan fashion. My collection aims to be produced in a cruelty-free manner and seeks to raise awareness about the impact of animal-produced goods on our environment. One of these impacts is the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest caused by cattle ranching. I chose to incorporate the motif of the red-throated brilliant hummingbird to symbolise this problem because it will soon become extinct due to the destruction of its natural habitat.
My collection is very print heavy because I wanted to incorporate the pastel colors of the Peranakan houses and my illustrations inspired by the tiles. The use of embroidery in Peranakan garments led me to explore this technique as well. I chose to feature the red-throated brilliant hummingbird as a vibrant embroidery on the pastel printed fabric. Embroidered tiles on organza are used to create different layering effects on top of printed fabric.
To give my designs even more depth, I cut out certain tiles patterns and embellished them with Swarovski Pendants. Furthermore, I created my own lace using the tile designs and I hand pleated my fabric to resemble the Peranakan hand fan.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I like that Lasalle is teaching a lot about sustainability because I think it is clearly the way to go and as a designer, we have to be aware of our actions towards the environment. This is a current problem because fashion is reportedly the second most polluting industry in the world.
What could be changed, however, is to also give us the necessary resources to implement these sustainable elements into our work, like the possibility to print on natural fibers at school. But I understand the financial limitations do not always make these changes possible to be implemented.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I think every designer has a voice, which can be used to raise awareness about problems in today’s society. Oftentimes, fashion brands do not make use of their voice and just try to commercialise their products. At fashion school, we are encouraged to give meaning to our projects and stand up for our point of view, which shapes our minds as future designers.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
I was inspired by the abstract and muddled calligraphy works of Nanyang artist Lim Tze Peng. While the calligraphic inspiration and the choice of medium (Chinese ink) is traditional, his techniques are modern and not steeped in the past.
The focus on form and technique rather than content is employed in the design process and reflected in the outcome of this collection. The art of calligraphy is inspected and explored in its entire entity – respecting negative space, movement and tension of brush strokes, a sharp monochromatic palette and a harmonious result.
I also took the opportunity to express Chinoiserie without a single mandarin collar in sight. Ethnic cuts and influence sans the presence of stereotypical heritage prints as cultural signifiers.
A Chinese idiom expresses that “clothes made in heaven are without seams”. In Oriental cultures, a taste for unstructured and transformable clothing is apparent, considering the pareo, sari and sarong and other forms in which a piece of cloth becomes a garment in no time. Often draped out of geometric patterns, the space between the wearer and the garments is considered and respected. The construction of the garments mimics the movement of the brush strokes to achieve a “seamless” appearance. Geometric pattern pieces wrap the bodice in a left to right motion, trails in a vertical manner before extending downwards into draped handkerchief hems.
Fluttering yokes and manipulated pattern pieces suggest the ideas of wrapped, pinned-in-place or tied bodices. The form is unstructured, and the garments do not follow the western ideology of assembling the fabric in a certain configuration. Just like how the Indian sari and the Malay sarong can be worn in many ways, it is interesting that this way of dressing includes the wearer’s skill and preference – an expression of individuality sans technology.
Taking cues from the simple pattern pieces of Southeast Asian garments, the construction of the garments in this collection is made from a minimal number of pattern pieces where fabric falls, and movement is the emphasis.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore? What could be changed?
In the age of customisation, I think the current state of fashion education in Singapore is very different compared to 14 years ago when I graduated with a Diploma. The fashion education system in NAFA has allowed students to be freer in their pathway choices with a wide selection of the modules that they can learn from. We students, however, could do with more exposure to the industry, but that entirely depends on the support from industry partners.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I think the fashion industry in the context of Singapore lacks a style or design methodologies that are distinct to us. Identity forming is a long process and therefore a discussion on how to develop design methodologies using heritage influences needs to be initiated. Rather than replicating or updating heritage garments, how can a Singaporean fashion designer find a unique voice, as compared to how Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake design contemporary collections with a distinctive Japanese bent without merely replicating kimonos or creating memorabilia garments?
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My inspiration came from various channels, including Frankenstein, the 1818 book by Mary Shelley. In the book, the protagonist scientist constructs a human body with the claim of bettering mankind. Fascinated by this, I thought, “Why not use fabrics to represent this idea of modification”? For example, I used goose feather duvets as stuffing to create sculptural forms that give the human body a new dimension when worn.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore? What could be changed?
I guess fashion education in Singapore allows us to understand the process and equips us with the basic techniques needed to be a fashion designer. As for changes, fashion education should work even more closely with its industry, allowing students to anticipate and be ready for the industry.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
The study of fashion still does not have the standing and significance in society. Perhaps, if people could understand and are informed more about what we do, I believe that would help to boost the importance of studying design.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
Taking inspiration from utilitarian elements, the collection explores the functionality of utility workwear as well as the CC41 Utility Clothing Scheme (to ration fabrics) introduced in England during World War II. The collection translates its designs into an updated and elevated play on classic shapes while also toying with the idea of restraint. It studies the practical function of these details, tears them apart and reconstructs them into key layering pieces, allowing for varied styling options. The collection combines workwear suiting fabrics donated by the defunct uniform factory Patterns and pairs them with dressier, less structured materials like silk chiffon, crinkled chiffon and cotton nylon blends.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
Inclusivity is missing in the fashion industry right now. Fashion education could encourage more ways to challenge the traditional systems that the legacy of fashion has set in place.
How can people assist young designers and students?
By offering professional training or advice in the aspects of business and marketing. These can help young designers and students tide through these tough times.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My collection is inspired by the deconstruction and reconstruction of garment engineering by applying contrasting elements: the raw against the refined, translucency against opacity, smooth against rough. Elements that one might not expect to go well together translate into unique and beautiful garments that break away from the stereotype of how deconstructed garments should be.
Nothing about my collection is conventional. I chose canvas interfacing as my main fabrication; it is a material that is typically used in the constructions of menswear jackets. Tulle and raw silk are the secondary fabrics in my collection… I also did a great deal of experimentation before getting down to designing – distorting, reshaping, deconstructing, reconstructing and overlaying garments as a form of draping without being too complex. This created new silhouettes that greatly inspired my designs. The outcome: loosely fitted garments that flatter and give shape to the body, giving women a sense of freedom and a distinct, individualistic style.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
The fashion industry is evolving too fast and has negative effects on the environment. This a huge issue and there should be more proper recycling technologies to help transform old clothes into new garments. I believe fashion education has an important role to play by going in-depth in terms of educating the next generation of designers. This can be achieved by starting conversations on how fashion impacts the environment and how upcycling fashion in new ways could spark more interest for upcycling and sustainable fashion.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduation collection?
It started with a fascination with folklore. It is intangible, and yet also able to embody elements of a culture. Every culture has its own folklore about ghosts and ghouls, and Yokai is the Japanese term of the latter.
Having been passed on through so many generations, the oral tradition struggles with the accuracy of transmission. Each time the story of Yokai is told, each time an artwork is made, a new variation for the folklore is born. My collection is thus the culmination of things I found interesting in the subject; the stories that tell the tale of Yokai, the variations that came with it, and the artworks that translated these oral traditions into imagery.
I really enjoy looking at artworks and decided to use woodblock prints from Edo period as a source of reference. Artists such as Katsushika Hokusai to Utagawa Kuniyoshi inspired my collection with colors and elements of ukiyo-e, woodblock prints, and artworks that depicted the Yokai.
Warm earth tones, blacks, and greys accompanied by tints of reds and greens were common recurring color palettes in these works. I have thus chosen to use similar color scales to convey the ethos of the pieces that narrated Yokai folklore.
Fabric choices explore rural moods with natural and earthly textures. Interpreting the concept of folklore as homely and familiar, I have thus chosen a variety of natural fabrics to ensure that the collection retained the element of nature. Fabrics were mainly cotton-based, chino, or linen for a timeworn earthly aesthetic. Silk organza is used for sheer layers that encapsulated the ghostly nature of Yokai.
I wanted my garment silhouettes to play with shapes and proportions while still being wearable. Garment pieces come with various details that can be adjusted, giving wearers a chance to style the garments to their liking. This comes in the form of drawstrings that alter length and volume, and buttonholes which straps or rope can be inserted and tied. Small adjustable Yokai accessories are also made to accompany the drawstrings present in the design.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I would love to have an education system that encourages students to be free, daring and more open towards the approach on design. At times, student ideas are turned down because it does not follow an ideal methodology and approach.
It might stem from a deeper problem of how art is perceived in Singapore society. There is a lack of value placed in it, and thus works created have to serve a purpose or reflect relevant styles and concepts. One improvement I would suggest is to have an education structure that is more open and accepting of other styles of art and fashion that aren’t commonly seen.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I feel that the fashion industry is facing a lack of demand for graduates. Without a demand for fashion, there is a lack of job openings. In a wider field of view, the art or fashion industry is suffering from a lack of respect for artists and designers.
If this is the case, fashion education is not limited to the people who want to pursue it, but rather public awareness and perceptions that need to be changed. Education can impact how the arts and design industries are seen, we need to educate that art and design jobs are respectable and worthy.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My inspiration for my collection came from the book Cabinets of Curiosities which is akin to an encyclopedic collection of the Renaissance period. The first word people used to refer to this kind of place is “wunderkammer”, which literally means the house of miracles; it represented childhood, desire and fantasy.
As the Cabinet of Curiosities is the product of the Renaissance period, this collection is full of Renaissance influences. The silhouettes came from collages and objects found in the Cabinet of Curiosities. Because shells are common in the Cabinet of curiosities, I combined their curved lines into seams and their curved shapes into oversize collars.
I used digital printing for the whole collection. Inspired by the oil paintings found in the Cabinet of Curiosities, I created many surreal characters for the prints, such as a mouse that can speak, a moving doll, and a deer with plants on its head.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
Generally speaking, it’s not bad. The emphasis on autonomous learning and an international perspective emphasised are very good. And many lecturers are also very professional. We can get very good suggestions and ideas from them.
After completing my internship, I found that there are a lot of software programmes used by the industry that we didn’t use in school. It would be good to set up courses on the application of these software which are needed in the actual working world.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
Developing a unique identity. At present, many brands are too focused on catering to the mass market. Often, the core values of the brand are forgotten. The advantage of a fashion education is that it helps to develop a student’s ability to think independently.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduation collection?
The inspiration behind my graduation collection is the essence of Glossier – the beauty and skincare brand that has a cult following among millennials. Glossier’s branding is minimalist and fresh, however, it also feels fun and youthful. I was inspired by the silhouettes of Glossier’s product packaging and stickers that they produced.
The main fabric I used was leather to craft out the shapes of my handbags. It also helps to prolong the product life cycle. PVC, bubble wrap and acrylic are used to relate back to Glossier’s transparent relationships with their customers as well as to their product packaging which often uses transparent materials.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
We’ve been taught that transparency between brands and customers is really important. Brands should not be afraid to share their design and manufacturing processes with their customers as customers want to feel more included when learning more about a brand. Marketing and communication are key to customer loyalty.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
An image of a man staring back at his reflection in the mirror with a plaque above its head, stating “The most dangerous animal in the world”. Humans have always been a topic of interest for me, this collection delves into the unnatural beauty arising from the consequences of our exploits on the environment.
The Anthropocene is the defining theme behind my 2020 collection. This collection was created with the intention to exhibit that even in the most exploited of scenes, there lies unexplainable beauty. I have always liked exploring humans’ intentions. We have always been labeled and ranked the most dangerous animals on earth, but we have never considered ourselves. We are the biggest predator and threat to the ecosystem.
I made references to aerial photographs by Edward Burtynsky of the haunting yet unnerving beauty of our exploits on earth. Industrialisation has given rise to unethical practices like oil bunkering, and lithium and copper extractions have led to acidic colours being produced from chemical reactions. Meanwhile, plots of lands of velvet greens, acidic blues, and browns fill your eye. Nature is the world’s greatest artist. The marriage between synthetic and natural finite materials creates a beautiful visual.
This collection’s main focus was on construction. All the creations were lined, and one was finished at the hem by hand. The dress with a square base was achieved by using glass fibre rods and boning to hold its structure. The challenge was finishing since points are hard to sew. I used the literal idea of a crop circle to design the dress with the circular velvet drape that encircles the hip. The objective was to stimulate that of an aerial view of crop circles.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I think it is ample and effective. I think that there could be more opportunities or space for young designers to showcase their works to the public.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
By encouraging individuality. Education could involve more questioning and reasoning of fashion history to start debates and ideas.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
My collection is a silent applause for those who go through each day struggling mentally; a message to tell them that it is strong to be vulnerable. To capture the minute details of the brain and create different patterns and textures, I took images of brain sections and brain scans and carved them onto lino as well as turned them into etchings.
Using digital manipulation, I then created my own prints, settling on two of them to go onto fabrics. For texture, I manipulated malleable copper filament wires to create subtle embellishments that mimic the look and movement of brain neurons as well as print-press metallic paint onto the fabrics. The result is a collection featuring silhouttes that resemble the shape of the brain, complemented by a play on panelling that alludes to the different facades a highly depressed individual builds up to fit in and hide their suffering.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
My take on fashion education in Singapore today is that it is slowly gaining recognition, though it still has a long way to go if we were to place it alongside prestigious fashion schools overseas. The creative industry has been getting more traction and appreciation in Singapore and more people are supportive of pursuing fashion as a career path. I think with the focus placed on ideation and various technical methods, more interesting collections will surely emerge from our new batches of fashion designers.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
Though more fast-fashion brands are emerging, it is important to recognise that there are also more brands placing importance in responsible sourcing and producing sustainable products. From my experience in school, fashion education is zooming in on sustainability and community contribution as the main focuses. I think it would definitely help to raise awareness of the eco trend in the fashion industry.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduate collection?
Anemone is a collection inspired by the beauty of the sea flower. Despite its floral name, anemones by nature are not outstanding in appearance. However, these understated creatures play an important role in the coral reef ecosystem.
Inspired by the anemone’s ability to thrive freely underwater, I took reference from the patterns of their rhythmic and fluid movements, translating them into linear effects on the collection’s silhouettes and textile prints. Besides a structural yet fluid approach of draping, I incorporated various techniques of digital printing, silkscreen and embossed printing to create looks that are organic, soft yet sculptural.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
There are many different schools offering fashion courses in Singapore, I have been through two different schools if fashion – two years at the Institute of Technical Education and three years at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Design. Each school offers different modules and curriculums.
A small change I would love to see, though, is for different schools to organise a ‘collective’ fashion show to showcase all the graduating works from their students hich will allow us to share and exchange experiences with one another.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
School has taught us about the importance of sustainability. This could bring more awareness and involvement to the topic through projects and industry collaborations.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduation collection?
I based my graduation collection on my relationship with my mother. When I first began the brainstorming session for my collection, my mother received some unfortunate news relating to her health. It made me think about the fleeting nature of life.
In this collection, I aimed to capture the memories I have with my mum before they are lost. Memories are never whole; we remember moments in snippets or fragments. As such, I was inspired to create a collection titled Faded Memories. Since my chosen topic was sustainability, I also aimed to create a collection that blends both the theme of faded memories and nature.
To translate the notion of memories remembered in fragments into my work, I incorporated the patchwork technique in my designs. I first bleached old pants and curtain fabric to transform them into a new fabric which is then stitched all over the collection. Parts of the garments are dyed naturally using red and yellow onion peels.
I also used some photographs of my mother to represent the idea of fragmented memories by hand-printing and piecing together the printed photos with patchwork technique. I also took some references from Japanese craftsmanship, such as sashiko and boro stitching and braiding. The silhouettes of the garments are also extracted from the Meiji and Edo periods, in particular that of the samurai.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
Due to the limited sources of materials and fabrics in Singapore, it’s a little hard for students to expand their creations in terms of venturing beyond common or traditional materials and fabrics. Hence, if schools are able to hold a fair to bring fabrics and materials from overseas, it would be very helpful for students.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I don’t feel that the industry lacks anything but I hope to see more brands that focus on bolder ideas built on individualism.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduation collection?
I took inspiration from formal menswear attire, my dislike of gendered clothing, and my desire to use up scrap “waste” fabric.
While I do love the classic nature of men’s suiting, I dislike how limiting formal menswear attire can be and hence I wanted to create something with interesting shapes and silhouettes that are still formal enough to be worn for big events. It is also a gender-neutral collection – as long as the size fits, anyone is free to wear it.
I made the collection almost entirely from scrap fabrics that I sourced from a local menswear company. These fabrics are in perfectly good condition except that they’re in insufficient quantities to create a suit. Instead of landing in a landfill, I turned them into clothes. Since I was working with scrap fabrics, I had to choose the placement of each piece, pin, and stitch it together before I could cut my pattern pieces. This resulted in each garment being unique as the end result was partially dependent on what fabric I had on hand.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
I think it could be more extensive by covering more in-depth areas aside from learning about the basics (though I understand that time definitely plays a huge factor in terms of constraint). I would be glad if we had specialised undergraduate courses where we could choose a category like evening wear, lingerie, et cetera.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I think that the fashion industry does not provide enough information about sustainability. Students are not interested in it as a creative outlet as the common perception about sustainable fashion is that it is only natural materials, muted colors and thus limiting.
But if more could be taught about the different types of sustainability, such as buying vintage, reusing pre-loved clothing, and using sustainably-made or sourced fabric, I think it would become more popular and widespread.
What were your sources of inspiration for your graduation collection?
Prior to the start of my project, I researched about my ancestors and how they arrived at the Singapore River. Hence, I decided to draw inspiration from the Singapore River as it was the river that greeted many early traders who came here in search of a new and better life. I took inspiration from the early trading scenes along the river, the trade routes, the prominent landscapes, et cetera.
My designs are inspired by the organic look of the river. The silhouettes flow elegantly and I incorporated gathers that allowed the fabric to drape like streams of water. I developed prints through digital design by blending old photographs together, and even created prints inspired by the footprints of traders.
As my collection is 100 per cent sustainable, I have created stamps using waste packaging and developed textiles that combined off-cut fabrics in a way that resembled trade routes. One of my fabrics was kindly sponsored by Threadapeutic, an Indonesian brand: I developed a digital print that combined multiple textiles and they helped to develop it using waste materials.
What is your take on the state of fashion education in Singapore?
As the fashion industry is constantly changing, I understand the difficulties in keeping fashion education up-to-date in Singapore. Hence I feel that it’s important to place focus on skills that won’t fall out of date, like drafting, sewing and conceptualisation. Having more industry contacts would be good as well so that students are aware of what is expected of them when they leave school.
How can a fashion education affect the industry at large?
I feel that more measures can be made to push the whole fashion industry to become more sustainable and eco-friendly. Sustainability is the future of our world. If more students are educated on this subject and are inspired by it, it will create future generations of designers pushing for a revolution.