Curatorial

In his essay “Fashion Space", Bradley Quinn draws parallels between garments and architecture as three-dimensional entities, both of which are thoughtful and sensual, providing spatial enclosures that combine vision and tactility. Both fashion and architecture are designed around kinetic experiences, mediated by touch, sight, and mobile navigation, thereby inspiring similar patterns of human interaction. This showcase highlights these parallels to showcase how some Singapore designers navigate fashion space using their own language of draping.

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THE DESIGNERS

The ten garment ensembles and six accessory pieces on display speak to the diversity of contemporary fashion design in Singapore. The selected designers include Thomas Wee, Max Tan, Keng How and Kage Chong, and Jon Max Goh – who are based in Singapore; as well as Ashley Isham, Shawna Wu, and Harry Halim, who, while based abroad, have had their fashion vocabularies shaped by their time spent in the city. Emerging designers Lina Osman, Latika Balachander, and Bryan Yeo are also featured in the showcase as representatives of a new generation. Collectively, these designers speak to the fluid nature of fashion, variously rendering the cultures of the global port city that is Singapore.

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The inclusion of accessories in this year’s showcase expands our view of Singapore fashion. In the lineup are the brands CHARLES & KEITH; GINLEE Studio by Gin Lee and Tamir Niv; FIN Crafted Goods by Fahmy Ishak and Erliana Kamiti; Closet Children by Rachael Cheong; Putri Adif; and Joshua Suarez.

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The pieces on display are organised according to their visual similarities, moving from structural shapes to deconstructed silhouettes, and finally breaking out into freeform garments. Tying everything together is the backdrop of a construction site, which frames Singapore’s fashion identity as work in constant progress: generative, evolving, and open to change.