Tag: asia fashion

Traditional with a Pop twist: Korean sustainable fashion brand Danha

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I’ve never been shy about my love for Kpop … yes, I’m a YG stan from way back! Which is why I gleefully watched the latest video from the entertainment company’s girl group BlackPink with eyes wide open to spot the latest Korean fashion trends. 

Korean sustainable fashion brand Danha 5

And there, front and center were some fabulous traditional Hanbok-with-a-twist garments. I recognised the fabrics, prints and decorative details from all those Kdramas we all watch, but teamed with boots, short-shorts and minis, this was definitely not something Queen Seondeok would wear!

I was already following a number of other Korean brands that were working with traditional fabrics and clothing shapes on Instagram, but these garments were a cut above with the attention to detailing and how modern they looked. Eventually I tracked down the brand behind the looks and discovered Danha. 

Danha is not only a brand that is focused on creating a modern version of traditional Korean clothing, it is also a sustainable and ethical fashion brand – not something that is common in the Korean fashion industry. 

The brand describes itself as “sustainable ethical ‘slow fashion’ rather than ‘fast fashion’ that causes global warming, [and] will contribute to improving the world’s environmental problems”. 

Named after the designer Danha, the brand has always been about two things – celebrating traditional garment heritage in Korea, and being environmentally responsible. The brand works with organic and recycled fabrics, upcycles fabric offcuts – it creates gorgeous foldable shopping totes – and using the traditional flat-cut method of Korean garment design, actively reduces fabric waste. Danha also produces limited runs of stock and will create made-to-measure garments.

WATCH THE VIDEO: 

Designer Danha discusses how her clothes ended up on BlackPink

The garments are mostly created out of organic cotton, and eco-fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles. Silk and an eco-friendly tweed is also used for some items, and the brand continues to experiment with creating new sustainable fabrics. Their organic cotton complies with GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), and is grown in a three year process with no chemical fertilizers, plus only natural starch and wax are used during the spinning process. 

Like many brands these days, Danha also uses recycled and biodegradable packaging, and is in the process of trialing an upcycled paper shipping box made of recycled materials.

Another part of the brand’s ethos is its ethical production methods, describing its sewists as “free workers who can choose what they want to do”, in a collegiate workshop environment where all the garments are handmade, “working comfortably together, respecting each other”.

From the customers’ perspective Danha is also remarkably inclusive unlike other Korean fashion brands which historically have had issues with sizing, creating only small sizes and with little consideration of non-tiny shoppers. Danha, on the other hand, is quite inclusive. The brand’s ‘free size’ ranges from Korean sizes 44 to 66 (that’s XS to M on the international size chart), wrap skirts go up to a 35in waist. Garments also come in sizes that are equal to an international L, and the brand will also customise garments to order in any size you like.

Those are all the sustainable and ethical requirements on the current hit list, but what about the clothes? 

Danha’s aesthetic fits neatly into the growing #cottagecore movement of light layers, ruffles, soft voluminous shapes and an ethereal, fairy vibe. Think drifting around in the moonlight waiting for your prince to arrive while simultaneously discovering a herbal cure for cancer, but in Seoul. These are pretty, pretty clothes with a distinctly Asian traditional take. 

Should you wear them if you aren’t Korean, or Asian? Yes! If you love the look it doesn’t matter where you come from, just make sure you don’t do something stupid like add ‘yellow face’ makeup or hair.  

Shop Danha online at en.danhaseoul.com

WATCH THE BLACKPINK VIDEO THAT STARTED IT ALL …

I want every piece of the new Carrie K. fine jewellery Modern Heirloom collection

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I’m in love with the new Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection from Singapore artisan jeweller Carrie K.

Everyone who knows me even a little bit knows I love rings, and more recently, earrings. Likewise, they know that one of my favourite places to buy jewellery brands is from Singapore artisan jeweller, Carrie K.

So you can imagine my joy when I saw the first pieces of its newest collection, Modern Heirlooms.

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The Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection. Image: Carrie K.

The thing that makes Carolyn Kan – the founder and designer of Carrie K – such an interesting jeweller, is her dedication to creating pieces that are somehow attached to her Singapore heritage but that look nothing like an obvious recreation.

There is always a certain consideration that Carolyn applies when she designs; she doesn’t take the most obvious route towards referencing ‘local flavour’, and generally designs first from a point of genuine interest and love for the things that make Singapore special. She also has a quirky sense of humour.

Carolyn is basically the nicest person in the world too. #justsaying

The new Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection has been inspired by Singapore’s Peranakan heritage, in particular the colourful traditional tiles. But unlike just about every fashion student I’ve ever had the misfortune to critique, Carolyn didn’t just go with over-wrought patterns of teal, fuschia and lemon.  

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The Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection. Image: Carrie K.

Although the designs were based on the stylised plants and animals of the traditional tiles that can be found across Singapore from Chinatown to Little India and Geylang Serai, when you look at the geometric and streamlined jewellery pieces the connection does not smack you in the face.

“The Modern Heirloom Collection was designed to create relevant interpretations of important elements of our Singapore Heritage in the hope that these meaningful reminders will be handed down to future generations,” says Carolyn.

There is a very Art Deco feel to the designs overall, including the sharp lines, the pearls and the fact that Carolyn chose to use white gold instead of yellow for the settings. The colours come from rubies, emeralds, blue sapphires and diamonds and well as semi-precious stones such as amethyst, peridot, topaz, and jade.

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The Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection. Image: Carrie K.

As well as the refined, pared-back aesthetic, Carolyn has continued her penchant for mechanical things by fiddling with the designs to include multiple functions. There’s an ‘over ring’ that you wear with the core Heritage Rings; this creates an impressive cocktail ring that you can breakdown into a smaller everyday piece. As with all Carrie K. pieces, the designs come in a number of price points. Starting from only SG$288 for the silver version of the Heritage Outer Ring with topaz, that you pair with a silver and ruby, blue sapphire or emerald Heritage Ring for SG$388. You can also splash out on a luxe version that is made of 9 karat gold with a great emerald for SG$1,288.

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The Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection Heritage Ring. Image: Carrie K.

Another inspiration for Carolyn for the Modern Heirloom collection was Si Dian Jin – usually connected to weddings but actually based on the Chinese concept of ‘four generations under one roof’. You can also see echos of this concept in the architecture of the traditional Chinese four-pointed roof. That concept is where the overall design of the rings comes from – the outer ring with four ‘points’ and the inner ring with four stones that represent the four generations.

singapore jeweller carrie k heritage fine jewellery collection Heritage Ear Drops
The Modern Heirloom fine jewellery collection Heritage Ear Drops. Image: Carrie K.

The rings are obviously my favourite pieces, but the earrings are damn nice too. Like the rings, the earrings are also multifunctional – the Heritage Ear Drops can be worn either as simple studs or with the additional ‘drops’ which you can buy separately. Prices range from $368 to $588 depending on the type of stones you choose. Top of the line is the pair that comes in 9 karat gold with amethyst and London blue topaz or white topaz which cost $1,488. I’m also loving the studs in rhodalite garnet or dark tarvorite garnet for $1,188.

Basically I’m impressed with the whole collection – as if that’s not obvious. I just have to work out how to pay for all the pieces I want.

The Carrie K. Heritage fine jewellery collection is available from the new Carrie K. Fine Jewellery Atelier located at #02-02 National Design Centre. The atelier will feature the custom and bespoke services, and you can shop for the ready-to-wear Carrie K. collection at the Keepers PlayShop at #01-01 National Design Centre.

Why Love Bonito isn’t a fashion brand, and why that’s not a bad thing … also something about the Singapore fashion plagiarism controversy

nikibruce3 Comments

For a long time I’ve had an issue with Singapore media describing certain companies that make clothes as ‘fashion brands’ but which are actually ‘retail’ labels. These brands – Love, Bonito is one of them – are not really ‘fashion brands’; they are companies that make nice clothes, at reasonable prices, with a bit of personal style, for people to wear on a daily basis. These brands are more similar to Topshop and Uniqlo than they are to Dior or Chanel, or even Vetements.

In Singapore there are number of quite successful retail brands that have been making their way into popular shopping memories, but which are not fashion brands per se. Brands like Love, Bonito, By Invite Only, Beyond the Vines and Benjamin Barker, were recently featured at the Singapore Fashion Awards 2017, as part of the ‘marketing’ section, not as part of the design awards. And having been a founding judge for the awards, I know that the reason these brands are featured is because they are popular and much more retail-friendly than many less wearable or conceptual designer brands. Designer brands that are more appropriate to be considered as ‘fashion’ labels.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that more retail-friendly brands are worse than the more fashion-forward labels. What I’m trying to highlight is that these types of clothing companies are not ‘oranges and apples’, they’re more ‘oranges and coffee-smoked buffalo tongue’. The first is something that doesn’t scare the shopper, the second is only for the very adventurous.

I have a great deal of respect for Love, Bonito’s founders. They have created a very lucrative business in a fashion retail environment that’s been under a great deal of pressure for the last 2-3 years. The brand knows exactly who their customer is; they know what she wants; and they know how to give it to her in a seamless online-to-offline experience. The brand has a variety of price points, but retains its core directive from its launch, expanding only as much, and as directionally, as is needed to grow the business. Love, Bonito is not a fashion brand swinging on the weird wind of trends and concepts; it’s sailing along smoothly along in a clear direction. And this is not a bad thing.

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Image from Love, Bonito Chinese New Year 2018 capsule collection. Model: Jasmine Sim

While I may not consider Love, Bonito to be a hardcore fashion brand – you can read about the Singapore brands I do consider more ‘fashion’ – the founders have never claimed it is one. They are purposefully creating a business that has long term prospects in the retail market.

Unfortunately, there are a number of so-called fashion brands based in Singapore that claim to be something they’re not. The most obvious is the ‘celebrity’ brand Exhibit by Yoyo Cao. It showed at Singapore Fashion Week 2017, and had some obvious problems. There were distinct issues about plagiarism, so bad in fact that cult fashion Instagram account Diet Prada dedicated an entire post to Yoyo Cao’s label’s knock-offs. Considering that Yoyo is a certified fashionista, it really was remarkably naive to think that no one would notice.

There are a few other Singapore brands that are also not exactly pristine when it comes to plagiarism. Whole9Yards has been cited for knocking off first, Self Portrait – the classic coloured lace dresses of its earliest collections – and now Malaysian designer, Jonathan Liang. Pleatation is obviously a copy of Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please label.

For Pleatation, the concept arose at the same time as micro pleated skirts started flooding Zara and Topshop; the brand cleverly linked up with this trend.

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Image from Jonathan Liang SS17

When Whole9Yards first launched there was not a whole lot to talk about. The design concept was very ‘office lady’. However, after Self Portrait’s iconic lace dresses took off in 2013, Whole9Yards began to specialise in lace dresses the average OL could afford. The lace dress became a staple of its output. And very successful it was too. Although I’ve noticed that the brand has massively increased their prices now that they’re doing items that look like those of Jonathan Liang.

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Image from Whole9Yards AW17

Again, I’m not saying that affordable retail options are an entirely bad thing. What I am saying is that making items that so closely echo the creative work of other designers is not fashion; it is copying. It is the lack of original design coupled with riding a wave of commercial popularity that makes it ‘retail’ and NOT fashion. At least as far as I’m concerned.

As I was quoted in this very flattering story by Adele Chan, the Editor-in-Chief of Nylon Singapore … “As always, I want to remind readers that this is my personal opinion, and as with anything, you can always have your own.”

 

3 best multi-label fashion and accessory stores in Singapore

nikibruce2 Comments

Everyone seems to agree that Singapore has some of the best shopping in the world. You really can buy everything in the shopping city, especially when it comes to fashion, shoes and accessories … There are all the European, American and Asian international brands, as well as some unique Singapore-centric labels as well. For my money, the best places to shop are some of the more eclectic multi-label stores … Sects Shop, Keepers and Biro Shouten.

SECTS SHOP

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

Sects Shop is the store for people who love streetwear, alternative fashion and anything a bit spooky and goth. Founded in 2014 but the two creative minds behind Singapore fashion brand Depression – Kenny Lim and Andrew Loh – this multilabel store located in Orchard Gateway is always at the forefront of the next big trend. Although it’s mainly a menswear store, there’s a strong unisex component to the buy that neatly covers the new Korean streetwear trends of oversize, unisex ‘skirts for boys’ trends as well as generously-cut ‘drapey black goth’ pieces that are definitely female-friendly. Shoes are available in smaller sizes for women, and there are always accessories like bags and jewellery that can be adopted by both sexes.

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

What I love most about Sects Shop is that it’s always got something new – a new label, a new fashion-forward trend – and the staff are extremely knowledgeable about not only the labels in-store, but also about the current trends for styling.

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

The interior consists of various ‘shop-in-shop’ spaces that curate the various looks and trends into different spaces. The furniture pieces have been specially created to match the store’s concrete-industrial-tropical-trash feel and are used to create different spaces. Sects Shop is also home to semi-regular pop-up party events that basically include a runway show of the store’s hardcore fans in their best Sects Shop looks.

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

Depression has been around for about 10 years now, and has a hardcore, dedicated fan following; and now Sects Shop does too. Some of the brands stocked include in-house Singapore brand Depression (obviously), More Than Dope (Korea), Sleazy Corner (Korea), Killstar (UK), Fangophilia (Tokyo), MasterNumber (Korea), R.Shemiste (Korea), Thrasher (US), Heta (Korea), Drink Beer Save Water (Korea), OY (Korea), Youser (Korea) and Nasty Palm (Korea). You can shop online at sectsshop.com/collections/all.  

I have to admit to being a bit biased about the beauties of Sects Shop. I am a longtime friend of the co-owners 🙂 and also a big-spending customer; I do LOVE Korean fashion brands.

I was also the creative director for the shop’s recent Spring Summer campaign shoot … READ MORE HERE

Sects Shop not only has a great Instagram account that lets you know what’s new in-store, the owners have recently also launched an account called sects.education that’s designed to show Singaporean’s how to be a bit more cutting edge when it comes to their street style looks, and features images from some of the city’s more interesting fashionistas. Well worth following for some interesting Asian fashion inspiration.

Sects Shop is located at Orchard Gateway #04-14, Singapore.

KEEPERS

IMG_3651best multi label fashion accessories shops stores singapore KEEPERS MAIN
All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

If you are looking for genuine Singapore design then you need to check out Keepers in the National Design Centre, which is worth checking out in its own right if you like any sort of design.

Created by one of Singapore’s most prolific and genuine artisans, Carolyn Kan of Carrie K. Artisan Jewellery which also has its studio in the same group of buildings, Keepers has had a number of incarnations, starting as a pop-up store on Orchard Road and ending up with its permanent spot in the Design Centre.

You can read more about her achievements in my round-up of the recent Singapore Fashion Awards 2017.

Carolyn is Singapore’s number one style and design collaborators – Singapore’s godmother of design. She has created numerous opportunities for all sorts of emerging artists and designers to come together to create unique capsule collections, but has also spearheaded the development of space for these artisans to actually SELL their creations. As a multilabel store, Keepers offers everything from jewellery, fashion, furniture and homewares, to unique flavoured teas and chocolates. Keepers is also behind the annual Singapasar fleamarket that features only Singaporean creations.

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Thomas Wee capsule collection at Keepers. All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

So, back to the store. Situated in the front of the ground floor, the store is a free-form space that morphs into different design concepts based on individual brand concepts.

Currently Keepers is holding is a pop-up capsule collection from Singapore’s ‘Dowager Empress’ of fashion, Thomas Wee. This all-white range of beautifully hand-finished, couture-cut fashion pieces are based on Thomas’ all-time best-sellers. The designer himself was there opening night, taking measurements and informing customers that he would tailor various bits and pieces to better suit their body shapes.

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Thomas Wee capsule collection at Keepers. All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

This is the type of personal service that adds to the joy of visiting Keepers. Carolyn and her creative husband/partner Chong can often be found hanging out in the store making useful suggestions to customers over which pieces of jewellery to buy, or which Ling Wu exotic skin bag looks best. Hands down, Keepers is the best place to buy stylish souvenirs from Singapore; and it’s the best place to snap up artistic presents as well.

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Thomas Wee capsule collection at Keepers. All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

Keepers is located at National Design Centre, 111 Middle Road, #01-01, Singapore. Open 12pm to 8pm daily. The National Design Centre is also home to Carrie K. Atelier and super hot dining & cafe spot Tanuki Raw plus another cool multi-brand store Kapok.

BIRO SHOUTEN

best multi label fashion accessories shops stores singapore BIRO MAIN
All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

For shoppers who are more into the extreme hardcore minimalism of very select hand-curate objects and fashion items; or stylistas who are obsessed with the normcore purity of Japanese design, Biro Shouten is the tiny, perfect store for you.

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

Opened by the two very hip brothers, Kenghow and Kage, behind Singapore menswear label Biro – think the most perfect indigo-dyed denim from Japan and the softest hand-loomed cotton t-shirts – Biro Shouten is a gem of a shop.

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

This is where the brothers bring together their concise curration of the very best versions of micro-targeted accessories, homewares, organic home scents, jewellery and clothing, including Mastery handmade small leather goods and Takashi Endo Ceramics.

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All images by Niki Bruce, shot on iPhoneX

The store itself is small, but perfect in layout and design – very Japanese in concept and feel. Although it’s located in a somewhat odd area (a very Singapore heartland shopping mall), it’s directly next to the Lavender MRT stop and well worth making the effort to visit.

Biro Shouten is located at Kitchener Complex, Level 3, 809 French Road, Singapore.