Photography by Felly Loi #FellyloixCT
A batch of fashion design students stands before me, but who will make the cut?
It’s that time of the year again: the season when hopefuls from the final year of fashion degree programmes in Singapore begin churning out their graduating collections and showcasing them on the runway. These collections are a display of all the skills and techniques they have learnt so far, while communicating their identity as designers through creativity, of course.
Be it through their selection of fabrics, textile treatments, manipulation in flat patternmaking and draping, or even a crossover between menswear and womenswear — very much on trend in recent years — these elements are often topped off with an interesting, if not boundary-breaking, concept aimed at shaking up the status quo. These are, without a doubt, the very things that make or break a budding fashion designer.
Despite the seemingly clear-cut formula though, it is definitely not as straightforward as it appears.
You see, one major problem that plagues students every year is the dilemma between taking a safer, more wearable approach, or going all out with over-the-top showstopper looks.
While the former will most certainly land you future jobs, the latter proves more effective for design students who wish to start their own labels and garner as much media attention as possible.
As they say, school is indeed the place to find your voice and experiment to your heart’s delight, so what better way to do so than through a final-year collection
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The Couture Troopers team was invited to the LASALLE x TANGS show, jointly presented by Singapore Fashion Week on Thursday, 5 May 2016, to witness the works of the graduating cohort from LASALLE College of the Arts’ Fashion Design BA (Hons) Degree programme.
Here are our top 10 picks:
Consistent, well-executed, and by far our favourite collection of the night, it was clear that a great deal of thought and consideration had gone into the creation of these designs.
Poised to channel the style of film actress Marlene Dietrich and her “Trousers Craze” in the 1930s, Esther Choy’s collection incorporated the beauty of menswear tailoring into womenswear silhouettes.
From boxy shapes and rolled turtleneck collars, perpetuated through a palette of red, black, white and grey, to dramatic curved hemlines with dropped backs, and even a masterful handling of knitted fabrics — notoriously difficult to sew due to their stretchability and curling edges — the designer remained faithful to both her concept and her craft in garment-making.
Seriously, if Singapore’s weather were kinder, we would wear this collection in a heartbeat.
UNTO TEE by Lionel Low
With an eponymous womenswear brand already under his belt, alongside years of experience as one half of now-defunct fashion label Lion Earl, Lionel Low is certainly no rookie designer. And with that, of course, comes expectations.
Like everyone else in the audience, I was looking forward to his collection. After all, he was the second runner-up at the Harper’s Bazaar Asia New Generation Fashion Designer Award in 2015 and was known for his genre-defying designs.
Despite the high hopes, several disappointing looks emerged. The polarising doses of black mesh amidst the flaming-red draped garments looked disarrayed and irrelevant.
The above look, however, was no doubt the saving grace of the collection: an off-the-shoulder, knee-grazing toga dress with pinched folds and waterfall drapes, topped with an inner high-neck cutaway mesh bodice in deep red.
According to Low, the collection was an experimental attempt to fuse sculpting techniques with the Neo-Japanese concept of “wabi sabi”, while portraying the serene state of a painter at work.
TIK ANYAR by Cheryl Teo + Agnes Citto
Just as tradition needs preservation, design needs innovation.
What worked for this collection was the designer duo’s adept skill in giving beautiful Southeast Asian Batik motifs, most notably from Java, Indonesia, a contemporary spin, translating them into abstract silk-screen prints and an array of macramé knots.
The infusion of modern cuts such as wrap skirts, pencil skirts, cropped tops and flared pants in contrasting shades of orange and blue elevated the pieces into covetable territory, with most looking perfectly suited for Singapore’s weather.
No wonder “Tik Anyar” was one of the collections selected for the LASALLE x TANGS Pop-Up Store.
PRETTY UGLY by Valerie Chan
This is one collection that should not be taken literally.
For starters, Valerie Chan’s creations bore no resemblance to the Elephant Man — the designer’s inspiration and the disfigured resident of a 19th-century London circus freak show.
As for the oxymoronic title “Pretty Ugly”, there was certainly more than met the eye.
Given the overdose of frills and flounces seen on the runway, perhaps the idea behind the collection was to conceal ugliness through guises — layers upon layers of fabric. Or perhaps the designer was aiming for something childlike, à la Toddlers & Tiaras.
While we found some of the excess unnecessary, we did like the above look for its easy-wearing ruffle-sleeved organza shirt and semi-sheer tulle skirt with cerulean gathered frills. I can easily imagine these as separates, paired respectively with a slim-fit black leather skirt and a crisp white shirt.
“Pretty Ugly” is available at the LASALLE x TANGS Pop-Up Store.
PANDORA BOX by Amabel Quek + Alexis Fong
If there was one thing to remember this collection by, it would be fringe — lots of it.
“Pandora Box” was a series of garments inspired by the 1929 silent film of the same name, centred around a woman who grows increasingly powerful and desirable through her beauty and siren-like charms.
And while it may or may not have been a coincidence that the overall feel of the collection — especially the white look above — bore a striking resemblance to Rodarte’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection, the designs were also reminiscent of 1920s flapper dresses and their signature swaying movement.
UNMAPPED TERRITORY by Siti Aishah Binte Shahruddin
Despite the surprising growth of menswear last year — reported to be 24% according to a study conducted by Barclays — the problem plaguing many menswear runway collections still lies in the sensibility, or rather, the lack of it.
How many times have you found yourself cringing at the sight of yet another unmanly collection during Men’s Fashion Week, wondering who on earth would wear that “man dress” — complete with frills and ruffles, no less? Or head-to-toe pink floral ensembles that look better suited to a womenswear wardrobe? Clearly, designers are trying to outdo themselves, but are they missing the point of the MEN in menswear altogether?
This was precisely why I felt slightly afraid for designer Siti Aishah when the first look from her collection appeared on the runway. Composed of vibrant colours and head-to-toe patterns, it initially seemed as though she risked veering into effeminate territory.
Thankfully, that was not the case. As more looks emerged, it became apparent that despite her use of prints inspired by colourful Peranakan tiles, the collection adhered strictly to traditional menswear tailoring while still exuding a dapper and polished sensibility.
The jackets and coats could easily be styled with solid-coloured shirts, and likewise with the patterned trousers. The garments were considerably form-fitting and three-dimensional in cut, while details such as the collars and lapels felt fresh and modern. Clearly, this was a collection designed sensibly with the male wearer in mind.
Most importantly, it was truly genius for the designer to draw upon Straits Chinese tradition in an attempt to revitalise and renew interest in a dying culture.
hrZ?K by Sunny Lim
As with Lionel Low, it was perfectly natural for expectations surrounding Sunny Lim to run high. Despite his student status, he was already an experienced designer. The brainchild behind now-defunct menswear label MILS — which had successfully expanded beyond Singapore into stores such as Wut Berlin in Tokyo and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia in 2012 — Lim was often lauded for his unconventional approach to design and his ability to inject unexpected surprises into his garments.
As someone familiar with the designer’s aesthetics, it was safe to say that “hrZ?K”, with its dark-coloured rocker vibe, felt somewhat predictable. According to Lim, he was attempting to “alter the language of dress by eliminating dress rules and structures” while challenging “accepted notions of what a garment is” through an “opposite, irrational approach in design.”
Perhaps he was trying to create a more innate and intuitive experience for the wearer. The insulation material attached to the foreparts of the jackets suggested an attempt to merge the leather jacket with the down jacket — blending aesthetics with functionality in his own way.
And perhaps his idea of irrationality lay in the deconstruction and reconstruction of tailoring, piecing seemingly random elements together in the spirit of the DADA movement’s displacement technique, such as wool patches and flyaway leather flaps.
He also deliberately lengthened one quilted sleeve while maintaining normality on the other side, creating an offbeat silhouette and questioning the very principle of balance in design.
While the collection was decidedly avant-garde and poetic, with subtle hints of mystery throughout, it ultimately felt more like a game changer than a groundbreaking one.
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The “SEE NOW BUY NOW” straight-to-consumer initiative was made possible by IDA Singapore and Metail, a virtual fitting room startup.
Selected looks from the LASALLE x TANGS show are now available at the pop up store located on level 2 of Tangs Orchard, from 5 May to 26 May 2016.
