Support Local: Saloni Rathor
Increasingly over the past couple of months, there has been greater support for local designers and it is very heart warming to see that local talent is finally being appreciated. One clear support for local designers has been through Parco and the Parco Next NEXT initiative, where promising young talents are given a small retail space as a stepping stone to further establish their brand. This year’s group of designers and their collections are a mix of edgy, quirky, sophisticated and vibrant designs. Seeing such an interesting mix, I decided to showcase a couple of designers in a series of posts and highlight the experiences of the designers thus far & at the same time, you’ll see a tinge of me in their designs.
The series will start off with Saloni Shrestha of Saloni Rathor!
Hailing from the Himalayas, Saloni Rathor is a brand that encapsulates beauty, power and strong emotions. The collection was conceptualized for the ‘modern woman who is a multi-faceted being and not a one-note beauty’ because the modern woman takes on various roles and responsibilities. Similarly, you’ll notice that the designs also vary from casual to sophisticated elegance because Saloni Rathor wants to reach out to the various lifestyles of today’s women.
When asked what made Saloni decide to become a designer, she succinctly replied that her mother was her biggest inspiration.
My mum was the inspiration that led to my desire for a life in fashion. She always had the best fashion sense, putting together outfits with accessories that made her stand out amongst the crowd. Her fashion sense was quirky and bright. I loved watching her get ready for work and seeing her final ensemble. When she started designing garments for her friends I watched her design process and design aesthetics that was her individual creativity yet suitable for her clients. Textiles that were rich, vibrant and full of details always surrounded me. This made me take dressing up seriously and I used to design my own outfits, buy fabrics and get them tailored to my personal style.I clearly remember the excitement before our school carnivals for which I used to take dressing up very seriously and commit time to designing what I would wear, buy the fabrics and get it tailored. I also used to rally my friends to dress up and even pick out outfits for them sometimes. There was this particular red dress with bell shaped chiffon sleeves I had designed for my final year carnival, it was simple yet chic.
We can say that Singaporeans will generally stick to one look, either edgy, romantic, quirky etc and they will hardly try on another style. Instead, Saloni feels that Singaporeans or rather everyone should live by the following fashion motto, ‘open to experiment’ because we all know that experimentation is always fun!
There are a lot of designers and fewer factories for us all to go to. My costs go up when I travel to different parts of Asia to source the fabrics and trims. If there were many options in Singapore that would have been much more cost effective for my business.
Bling on Bling
Kallang | Singapore
I’ve never seen so much bling on a pair of shoes and these Miu Miu beauties proudly take the trophy. First you see some gold sparkle, then you see some huge shiny gems and oh it doesn’t stop there, you’ll soon notice the glorifying gold plated base.
It’s like a treasure hunt really.
So, would you be brave enough to flaunt that much bling on your feet?
Trust Minimalism
After the (insane) obsession with colours, I thought a little black & white would be ironically refreshing. I guess life can never always be in full colour, there are times when you just need to stick to the classic black and white.
So now that school is out, I’m going to be involved in a couple of projects and I’ll definitely be sprucing this place up a little so keep a lookout for some exciting posts ahead!
Borderless Fashion | Reckless Ericka at MFW ‘12
Remember sometime last year when I wrote about re-defining the gender boundaries of fashion? That was basically on how increasingly you don’t see a clear gender boundary when it comes to clothing for men or women and one good case was men wearing skirts.
So, it was refreshing to see how Reckless Ericka, a Singaporean label, managed to explore that very concept and went ahead with a collection that was so grounded on the idea of ‘sexless fashion’.
The collection was presented at the recent Men’s Fashion Week and it was flawless right down to the execution, especially so in their interesting take on gender reversal with the models.
I don’t know if it is necessarily a good thing that at times you couldn’t tell if the model was a male or female but I guess that is what androgyny entails - there is no typical feminine or masculine feature. Just look at Andrej Pejic and you’ll get an idea.
Reckless Ericka has definitely taken their label to a whole new level and it’s exciting to await their future plans. Another thing I loved was seeing so many designs that I could possibly share with my man friends. What joy!
If you’d like to see more pictures from the highly androgynous show (I know you do) then head over to my Facebook page here!
And guys, the question for the day is, will you be sporting any of these looks?
My Precious | Charlene K Jewelry
I recently chanced upon Charlene K Jewelry online and I’ve been drawn to them ever since. The label started with a couple’s love for great design in jewelery and both of them, Teong Kay and his wife Gigi named the label after their daughter, Charlene.
What I was most intrigued by were the gem stones. The whole idea of gem stones and jewelry is absolutely divine, especially those that are not cut to perfection and are instead kept raw and irregularly shaped. It makes you wonder how beautiful these irregularities can be.
Perfection is not always key.
Charlene K does a beautiful job with gem stones in jewelry and it is no wonder that they have recently been picked up by Bloomingdales and various celebrities have already become Charlene K converts. The label is in itself a gem really!
Essentially, the rough cuts of the stones and the lustrous gold setting creates an unusual pairing but works really well. What counts is getting the balance right, with the jewelery and with the whole general outfit.
Word of caution: Don’t overkill your outfit with too many gem stones.
The price range varies for the different stones but the rings are generally between $39 - $50USD while the cuffs go up to $75USD. Pretty reasonable pricing for some amazing pieces.
So embrace those irregularities & get your arm party on with some Charlene K!
By the way, Mother’s Day is round the corner and Charlene K would be an ideal gift! head over to http://charlenekjewelry.com for more options!
Green War.
I’ve been on an (unhealthy) obsession with floral and brightly coloured pants and nope, not stopping anytime soon. They’re too good and they instantly bring some life to an otherwise dull outfit.
I know this post lacks pictures but mind you the heat that day was pretty unbearable. What Shane and I did was to simply click click click and run off before getting a heat stroke. Like sun phobics.
Also, the school semester is finally over so that means more time will be spent right here especially with Men’s Fashion Week coming up! That’s always a treat!
Before I go, could someone get me this python+canvas clutch from Gheradini already, before I die from lust. Thank you.
Double Vanity
Remember my previous post on Vanity Trove? Well, if that hasn’t piqued your interest enough to subscribe to them yet then maybe this will.
For the month of March, Vanity Trove is offering not just one specially curated trove but two! One catering to the beauty junkies and the other catering to the skincare fanatics. Think along the lines of SK-II and Kose for skincare and a spring worthy trove for beauty!
Subscribers will receive either one of the troves but because some of us tend to be a little greedy (we all know who we are), you get the option of getting both troves! Plus, you’ll receive 10 Vanity Trove credits if you decide to get both (That’s equivalent to receiving $10 back)! It’s pretty neat of them to offer two options so it’ll be even more of a surprise if you decide to only get one.
Be sure to subscribe before the 14th of March to enjoy the goodness of double vanity!
Another reason to subscribe in the month of March? Heard of ‘The Vow’?
I know you have and Vanity Trove is very kindly giving away tickets to a lucky March subscriber!
So, this should be reason enough.
Coralized in the Wind.
Image credits to Kristie!
Ever since I got this pair of pants from the recent Zara sale, I’ve been wearing them to death. They have been either colour blocked with other brights or toned down with white/ black. Plus fashion is always fun when you get to play with colours in your wardrobe!
This time I went with a white linen shirt from H&M in an effort to stay cool in the heat. It was blatantly blazing in the afternoon and I was at the Agnès B press event held up high at Ku Dè Ta. Imagine how much closer I was to the relentless sun.
Nevertheless, the view at the sky deck was amazing! It’s the best place to go to get a bird’s eye view of Singapore because you can see literally everything.
It has a great backdrop for photo taking too!
Also head over to my Facebook page for more ‘fashion on the move’.
Pictures are their own novels: 2her.co
It’s only apt to revisit the phrase ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ here.
Although words are capable of creating a well versed story that encapsulates an entire scene, it is only with pictures that our imagination can be realized. Fashion magazines usually have some amazingly thought provoking editorials in their spreads. However thought-provoking they may be, a successful spread is often one that tells a story, creatively spun by the stylists and photographers.
2her.co took the route less traveled and instead wrote the novel first. The intriguing images were shot later. So in short, 2her’s entire novel is broken down into episodes and the first 3 are already out. To speed things up a little, let me set the scene for you and the novel will unravel itself.
One girl, two guys. Charles is a wealthy and charismatic gentleman while Julian is the fun loving fashion stylist. Charlotte is well, stuck between the two.
Still can’t weave a tale around the pictures? Head over to 2her.co to read the intended episodes and you’d be surprised how wild your imagination can be. Episode 4 launches this Thursday, 2 March!
In addition to simply telling a story, 2her.co allows readers to ‘window shop’ while reading. Mouse over the images on the site and you a pop up will appear giving you the low down on where the item is from. Apparently window shopping while reading is pretty therapeutic too!
Follow them on Facebook for some behind the scenes mystery and of course the good ‘ol tweeting never ends @twoher.
A Chat with Evon Tan of Armoire
Take one look at Evon and you would never imagine she was once a Chemical Engineer. Stereotypes aside, I mean she exudes such an immense amount of flair and passion to her work as a fashion designer that you could never second guess her occupation.
Armoire’s motto, aptly titled, ‘To Engineer the Perfect Dress’ reflects Evon’s nature as an engineer and desire for quality fashion. The designs speak for themselves, tailored exquisitely enough that the fit is unquestionable.
The idea has always been to provide well tailored dresses for the modern woman and I’ve heard that customization services are also available! Imagine Armoire as a specially curated/ tailored armoire (literally) of your own and you’ll get the idea.
How would you describe the Armoire lady?
Confident, sophisticated real lady who enjoys modern simplicity and fine tailoring
Has fashion always been in your blood?
Yes. My mum is a fashionista!
Tell me what do you think about the fashion scene in Singapore?
It is growing! I am so happy that Kien Lee founder of Senatus has been creating amazing fashion weeks in Singapore! Bringing Singapore to a whole new level in terms of fashion, compared to other countries in Asia. Can’t wait to see what will be planned for this year!
If you could have any one lady to represent Armoire, who would it be and why?
Zooey Deschanel! She is sophisticated and so easy to love. You can say that she is the perfect Armoire lady.
We all know designers have obstacles but what has been the easiest thing about fashion designing?
Nothing about fashion designing is easy.
The one thing that I enjoy about it all is the freedom to design anything that I like.
What can we expect from your upcoming collection?
Details! My upcoming collection - Engineered Series is exploding with colours and cuts! While my Spring Summer 2012 collection - Love and constancy brings about the social mores of 1960s! Watch out for them! Both collections bring about 40s, 50s and 60s era to the modern days.
The campaign shoot was carried out in Morocco I believe. How was that like?
It is a project that I am working with Australia photographer, Jackie Tran of Jackie Tran Photography (http://www.jackietran.com.au). He is traveling several countries such as Hong Kong, London, Paris, Rome, Morocco, Vietnam and Cambodia to work on a still cinematic and campaign shoots for Armoire. Jackie is an amazing person with dynamic creative ideas. This campaign and project is all handled by him! Currently the project is still ongoing, so the sneak preview you have seen online are the only ones available for viewing.
Care to share some future plans for the label?
Armoire will be joining Tangs in their March event, welcoming Spring Summer 2012 and also participate in Blueprint this year!
‘To Engineer the Perfect Dress’ – That is the Armoire motto. Why the hunger for perfection?
In engineering, we were taught to troubleshoot a situation till perfection.
It comes in handy!
So what does ‘having style’ mean to you?
Having style means confidence. It is the way you work it.
Lastly, which is your favourite piece from your collections thus far?
Every piece is my favourite! Versatility wise, it would be my engineered dress.
