The people we’ve gathered here love fashion; see it as a form of empowerment and expression; or quite simply find joy in the act – and art – of dressing up. Fashion may come across as frivolous, especially in these troubled times, but it can also be a source of power or comfort, as we’ve seen in the recent Balenciaga show. Here, they tell us what it means to them.
Cheong is the founder and designer of Closet Children, a label specialising in “fantasy hardwear and softwear body adornments”. She’s pictured here with Miao – dancer, fashion design and textiles student, and her assistant – who’s into big skirts and dresses for the dramatic movement they create, and for making her feel “dainty”. What one wears, she reminds, can be used to reveal or hide.
How would you describe your style?
Rachael: “Quiet village maiden who is secretly a love magic cult leader.”
Miao: “I think I look like the flamboyant rich aunty who never got married.”
What goes through your mind when putting together an outfit?
Rachael: “I think of what character I want to be, what I have to get done during the day and how practical I have to be.”
Miao: “Is it hot outside today and am I meeting hot people?”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
Rachael: “I’ve always been introverted and shy. As a child and pre-teen, it gave me anxiety just to order food at McDonald’s, for example. Dressing up became a way of expressing myself without words.”
What’s the biggest reaction you ever had to an outfit?
Rachael: “It wasn’t so much about an outfit but rather a fashion choice to jazz up my school uniform. We were allowed to accessorise in school so I chose to wear a large red bow that my friends made because I was obsessed with Rima from the anime Shugo Chara!. During a drawing masterclass with an artist, he looked at me, pointed to my ribbon and said, ‘You’ve got to be crazy to draw like that!’ The negative reaction to this was that the teachers told me my bow was blocking the other students during assembly so I wasn’t allowed to wear it anymore.”
Your most memorable outfit?
Rachael: “Prom night. I wore a strappy black vintage dress and a sheer sequined shawl and jewellery on my head. It was my best Stevie Nicks cosplay.”
Miao: “A floral lace top, hot pink lace skirt and a huge black lace cape. I felt so invincible.”
What influences your dressing?
Rachael: “I think a lot of my influences come from music, films and TV shows. Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kera (a Japanese fashion magazine), visual kei, Stevie Nicks and Courtney Love were my biggest inspirations at the beginning of my fashion journey.”
Miao: “I like to scroll through @rustcakes (which posts fantastical cake creations) on Instagram, choose a random cake and that will decide my colours for the day!”
What are your favourite places or labels to shop at?
Rachael: “I love vintage, I am usually on Etsy and eBay looking out for the perfect Laura Ashley and Gunne Sax dress. Aside from vintage, I will always support small independent brands. I have been eyeing bras from R & M Leathers for a long time. They have great kinky pieces for layering or for wearing on their own. I am also into ethically made basics from AYM Studio. The quality is great and everything is so comfy and flattering.”
Miao: “I love labels like Yoshuyuki and Eyeellike on Taobao! They’re colourful, fun, eclectic and priced quite fairly!”
Cheong wears her own Closet Children choker, bra and garter set; Skims bodysuit; Comme des Garcons skirt; headband sourced from Taobao; and Funtasma boots from American footwear brand Pleaser Shoes. Miao wears her own H&M x Simone Rocha dress, self-made bonnet, and socks and shoes sourced from Taobao. Jewellery on both, Closet Children
Farah is a fashion design student majoring in creative pattern cutting
How would you describe your style?
“I’d describe my style as two-minute DIY solutions and toilet inconvenience-core.”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
“I use fashion as a creative release, whether it’s through the process of crafting a garment or simply by putting together an outfit that feels right for the moment, although some days I don’t feel the need to don a good outfit.”
What’s a clothing item or outfit that makes you feel most liberated?
“My counterfeit Adidas shorts paired with gigantic boots.”
How much do other people’s opinions affect or play a role in deciding what to wear?
“They don’t really matter to me, what I wear only depends on my mood and the occasion.. most times I may not even want to dress up at all.”
Farah wears her own thrifted and self-modified top, tights and shawl; and a top from Depop worn as a wrap skirt
What influences your dressing?
“My looks are greatly influenced by the notions of DIY and the random over-layering, deconstructed aesthetic. I really dig (fashion stylist) @ranxellesoria on Instagram. The content is fresh and pushed my creativity in the way that allowed me to craft out my looks out of spontaneity with about anything I can find in my room.”
What are your dressing quirks?
“I’ve a habit of wearing garments in ways that they aren’t supposed to be worn. A shirt could be a skirt. In fact, when I’m making clothes, I don’t really know how to label what I’m making.”
What are your favourite places or labels to shop at and what draws you to them?
“Carousell or secondhand stores. I love the unpredictability and thrill of finding unique styles of clothing that can progressively expand the range of my available wardrobe options. My favourite purchase recently was a vintage pair of boots by Marithe + François Girbaud.”
Farah wears her own Zara dress and her mother’s scarf as a choker. On both pages: a deconstructed sleeve that she designed, her own platform mules from Malaysian label Motoguo, and other thrift store finds adapted into garments and accessories
Tan is a stylist and self-proclaimed “secret fashion weapon for the performers in the military’s Music and Drama Company”
How would you describe your style?
“Flamboyant with the intention to always provoke the narrow-minded.”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
“It really is a reflection of who you are and the environment surrounding you. I think the most basic example is just me having to balance being comfortable but still fashion-y because when you tell people (especially clients) that you’re a stylist, they tend to expect a certain image but at the same time, you need to be able to run around, squat, bend over backwards.”
What’s a clothing item or outfit that makes you feel most liberated?
“I feel most liberated when I’m in my Buffalo sneakers that sit on 10cm-tall platform soles, so much so that I have them in three colours. The boost in height empowers me. They also make such a great ice-breaker or conversation starter. People are often so curious about them and there have even been those who are brave enough to ask if they can try them on, which I’m not opposed to.”
What’s the biggest reaction you ever had to an outfit?
“When I was in Rome, I was decked out in my usual looks and I distinctly remember I had a bag with tinkling bells attached (it was very annoying). While walking past a group of old ladies, one of them muttered under her breath: ‘Diablo’, which my friend caught. The whole experience was so amusing we could only giggle and smile at them.”
What are your favourite places or labels to shop at and what draws you to them?
“Locally I like to shop from Super Freak Boutique or Sects Shop because they carry unique street styles that I gravitate towards. Otherwise, my go-to online stores range from Farfetch to Asos. I shop everywhere because when you’re not fixated on a brand, it’s more fun discovering unique pieces that you would’ve never found because of certain biases.”
Tan wears his own Asos X Christian Cowan puffer jacket, Zara turtleneck top, Asos jogger pants, Visual Mass sunglasses, Parts of Four rings and Buffalo platform sneakers
Asmira is a designer, tailoring consultant and style adviser, while her husband Iyaad is a video editor and fellow anime fiend
How would you describe your style?
Asmira: “I don’t have a definitive style but I do love blazers and anything oversized.”
Iyaad: “Anything oversized.”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
Asmira: “I switch up my outfits according to how I feel at that moment; I can be more dressed up or more androgynous. I think that as long as you feel confident in what you wear, you should just work it.”
How much do other people’s opinions affect or play a role in deciding what to wear?
Asmira: “I don’t dismiss opinions, but it depends on the occasion. Usually no one can talk me out of an outfit once I’ve made up my mind.”
What influences your dressing?
Asmira: “I live for cottagecore and Victorian fashion. Oh and my undying love for anime – we are both big fans.”
Tell us more about this obsession with anime.
Asmira: “We both love cosplaying and see it as a form of expression, not only because the characters whom we are trying to emulate resonate with us, but also as the style is just not something one encounters every day. I’d love to see more cosplayers on our streets… It’s never wrong to dress up as much as you want. Sure, you’ll get stares, but that’s okay.”
Iyaad wears his own custom three-piece CYC suit, boater hat sourced from Carousell and boots sourced from eBay. Asmira wears her own vintage kebaya and skirt suit, Asos headband, earrings sourced from Taobao, assorted rings and Charles & Keith sock boots
Long is a freelance writer, charity fundraiser, and fashion and food enthusiast
What goes through your mind when putting together an outfit?
“The context! What’s the activity? Am I running errands? Am I meeting a friend? Is it a catch-up or is it an event? Where’s the venue? Does it have a dress code? If I’m meeting someone, has the person seen me in that outfit? If yes, when was the last time he/she has seen it?”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
“I see fashion as a blank canvas for us to express our individuality and personality; a tool for self-expression and a stage for ‘performance’, channelling our message and story.”
What’s a clothing item or outfit that makes you feel most liberated?
“At the moment, I’m obsessed with body-hugging jumpsuits and anything with cut-outs. Even my workout wear is a jumpsuit and I almost never wear two-piece designs to work out in. I remember asking around why don’t more people wear jumpsuits to work out? The most common feedback is that jumpsuits are perceived as ‘daring and revealing’, which makes one feel self-conscious. That baffles me!
I couldn’t understand why wearing a sports bra and leggings and revealing the midriff is considered ‘less revealing’ than a jumpsuit which covers almost the whole body except for one’s hands and face. Perhaps ‘somethings revealing’ is not just limited to the literal meaning. A skintight outfit which covers up is also ‘revealing’ because it shows the body silhouette in its entirety with no room for hiding. So feeling liberated to me means not feeling self-conscious and I guess my love for skintight jumpsuits and pieces with cut-outs suggests that I don’t feel self-conscious wearing them and that’s liberating!”
Long wears her own Alaia gown and corset belt, Benoit Missolin fascinator, Chanel gloves and Saint Laurent boot
What’s the biggest reaction you ever had to an outfit?
“There was a stranger who commented on an OOTD post on my Instagram account (@applebytesblog), ‘How is this fashionable? It’s attention-seeking.’ I didn’t reply to it because what’s the definition of ‘fashionable’ anyway? To each his or her own. We should always dress to please ourselves and not others.”
What influences your dressing?
“My opinion of my physique influences my looks. I’m sure we all have days of being ‘too harsh on ourselves’, feeling that we ‘don’t look good’ in certain outfits because of a perceived flaw or shortcomings and will choose an outfit that will conceal the physique. In instances when I feel confident of my body, I may choose an outfit that’s body-conscious. Hence I feel that even if it’s at a subliminal level, our confidence in our body image influences our looks.”
What’s your most memorable outfit?
“My YSL antelope (print) dress. Not only because it’s simply a work of art, but it’s also a memento of a Paris Fashion Week trip that happened to be my most memorable fashion experience! It’s always about the stories and experiences, never about the object itself.”
Long wears her own Saint Laurent top and skirt, Chanel boater hat and Moschino platform brogues
Chai is the co-founder of the upcycled clothing label No Label Yet and retail supervisor at multi-label street wear boutique Chamber
What’s the biggest reaction you ever had to an outfit?
“Someone previously messaged me on Instagram, saying that if his son grew up dressing like me, he would drown (his son). I told him everyone has the right to dress in whatever style they want. You might not like their style, but please don’t be so critical of it and respect their choices.”
Tell us about your obsession with Rick Owens.
“I believe that we can know someone’s personality through the way they dress… I wear mostly black, or earth tones. And my favourite label is Rick Owens, for its mystery and avant garde design. Take its Kiss platform boots (worn by Lim here, which boast chunky five-inch heels, are available for men and women, and have become a brand signature that’s regularly updated into even bolder adaptations) – I think they’re a symbol of gender equality and liberation.”
Chai wears his own Rick Owens jacket, tank top, dress, jewellery and platform boots
Goh is a non-binary university student; owner of Seeless, which retails elaborate hand-crafted eyelashes; and drag queen performer Arya Dunn
How would you describe your style?
“It goes through different phases but right now I’m really into recontextualising male garments. Shirts buttoned asymmetrically, cropping blazers and inserting panels and sometimes just shirts draped around my waist as a half skirt over pants. The elements present are all from menswear but I am just wearing them differently. In drag, it gets exaggerated – think much more feminine silhouettes, adding ruffles made from deconstructed shirts onto blazers et cetera. Also, I go back and forth between that and full-on flouncy tulle dresses with a touch of pattern clashing in pastel colours with a whole lot of pink.”
What goes through your mind when putting together an outfit?
“‘Do I have energy today to provoke masculinity?’ is my main thought process when putting together an outfit… Fashion is a form of politics as well as a form of comfort. In my experience as a queer body whose figure isn’t the beauty standard, getting dressed goes beyond expression. It is a statement that my identity is valid and is also an integral part of visibility. When I don’t get to dress the way that I want, I find myself getting really anxious and jittery. My clothes give me comfort – comfort in knowing that what’s on the inside matches what’s on the outside.”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
“I believe that to be true but I would also add on, fashion is a form of politics and a form of comfort. In my experience as a queer body whose body isn’t the beauty standard, getting dressed goes beyond expression. It is a statement that my identity is valid and also an integral part of visibility. I kid you not when I say that I get physically jittery and find myself really anxious when I don’t get to dress the way that I want. My clothing gives me comfort – comfort in knowing that the inside matches the outside.”
What’s the biggest reaction you ever had to an outfit?
“Singaporeans aren’t the most expressive individuals but you can always sense a lingering stare that disappears when you look in that direction. However, the best reaction I had was for this dress made by me that I wore to my relative’s house for the Lunar New Year and my cousin was gushing about it non-stop while all the elders were giving me the side-eye. I felt seen and honestly, I can’t blame them, I looked great.”
And how did you respond to that?
“I ate. It was Lunar New Year, there was a lot of food.”
What’s a personal dressing quirk?
“I always wear socks, I don’t like feet, I think they should be covered at all times. Also, it gives me a little spring in my step (literally) when they have suggestive words or symbols on them. A little peak of disobedience really speaks to me.”
Goh wears their own self-made vest, sleeves and shirtdress; earrings sourced from Aliexpress; Gumball Poodle socks; and boots sourced from Taobao
Chia is a multidisciplinary designer with a background in interior design, founder of multi-use art and exhibition space Supper House, and creative director of the non-profit performing arts company SAtheCollective, while Lim is the “now-on-Covid-sabbatical” gallerist of contemporary art gallery Lee Ban Lu
How would you describe your style?
Lim: “I’m not really sure, I hear avant garde, quirky a bit. I like to be classic sometimes, and girly the next – hopefully with a bit of edgy.”
Chiam: “Monochromatic with big shapes that conceals and confuse.”
People always say fashion is a form of expression – how true is that in your own experience?
Lim: “I think of fashion as having humour and giving joy to the wearer and the observer. People should not conform to society’s narrow perspective of what beauty is. There should be more diverse points of view of style and fashion.”
Chiam: “(Fashion) reflects a lot of the wearer’s psyche and mentality. Also about how they view themselves and others.”
What’s a clothing item or outfit that makes you feel most liberated?
Lim: “My tennis skirt; it’s swingy and short, comes with a really comfortable pair of built-in shorts that allows me to run and chase after the ball that my coach loves to send to the opposite end of the court.”
Chiam: “Pleated skirts. Liberation in movement, and style.”
Chiam wears his own Comme des Garcons Homme Plus trench coat, hoodie dress and socks, Comme des Garcons sneakers, and Chanel and self-designed rings. Lim wears her own Comme des Garcons jacket and Chiam’s Comme des Garcons skirt, her own rings from Pomellato and Saint Laurent; and Rick Owens platform sandals
What’s a personal style quirk you have?
Lim: “I’ll never wear body-conscious (clothes).”
Chiam: “I love lace, volume, white, and sadomasochistic) elements. However, in my daily wear, I consciously make a deliberate choice to omit those elements. I don’t really have any clothing pieces that I must have on my person, as my mentality is constantly in flux; I truly believe impermanence is the only constant. Having said that, I have a particular fetish towards French period costumes. For reasons still unknown to me.”
Most memorable outfit?
Lim: “I’m attracted to the boldness and playfulness of the brilliant mind that is Rei Kawakubo… I’ve this super padded velvet dress from Comme with no armholes, for example. When I wore it to an event, I could not have a sip of drink or snack, or visit the bathroom independently. It was nice being waited upon hand and foot, but it was massively and memorably inconvenient.”
What are your favourite places or labels to shop at?
Chiam: “My favourite places to shop at are Comme des Garcons and Uniqlo. They might seem polarising to each other, but I think they actually run parallel. The irony of Comme is that once you break through the mental barrier that its designs are complicated, it’s surprisingly easy to wear – almost as easy as Uniqlo, but with more freedom of movement and expression.”
Chiam (right) wears his own Comme des Garcons shirt, dress as skirt, headdress and harness, Comme des Garcons sneakers, and Chanel and self-designed rings. Lim wears her own Comme des Garcons coat and skirt, her own rings from Pomellato and Saint Laurent; and Rick Owens platform sandals
Photography Phyllicia Wang Art Direction Jonathan Chia Hair for Ashley Chiam, Lim Ju-Lynn, Wendy Long, Eric Chai, Gabriel Tan & Farah Sudiro Tan Eng Chong/Kizuki+Lim Hair for Rachael Cheong, Miao, Asmira Haryati & Iyaad Salleh Sarah Tan Makeup Beno Lim, using Nars
A version of this article first appeared in the March 2022 Liberation edition of FEMALE