From The Straits Times    |
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The fashion label Ong Shunmugam by Priscilla Shunmugam needs no introduction from us.

Many of you would be familiar with Ong Shunmugam for its bold cheongsam designs with a modern twist as well as nine years of making waves locally, what with the label’s designer winning the Grand Award at the Design For Asia Awards 2013 and for being appointed as a jury member at 2015’s Cannes Lions Awards.

And the designer behind it is none other than Priscilla Shunmugam, who was also Her World’s Young Woman Achiever in 2015, is embarking on something slightly different this year. She has launched a diffusion label, OM, a deliberate departure from what Ong Shunmugam is about. 

OM is dedicated to helping women build their own fashion vocabulary of beauty, power, and gender. And it does so by offering simplified and modular solutions for working women seeking to grow their professional wardrobe. “OM complements another corner of your wardrobe – the corner which your Ong Shunmugam pieces wouldn’t naturally fit in. If Ong Shunmugam serves your Saturday to Sunday, OM takes care of Monday to Friday,” shares Priscilla. 

 

Photo: OM

 

With this raison d’etre in mind, OM’s designs are driven by what working women need and want. The collections are purposeful in all aspects – silhouettes, colour palette, fabrications, versatility, and upkeep. Each and every carefully produced piece caters to how these elements really matter to the busy career woman as impressions count and there is no room for shortcuts. 

 

She had started exploring a diffusion line four years ago when she realised that customers were always interested in what she wore on weekdays. The questions would never cease, even when it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing Ong Shunmugam.

 

The debut collection of OM features 23 styles in a colour palette of neutrals with generous doses of both warm and cool tones. It boasts of pieces that are made for the woman who wants a low maintenance wardrobe that allows her to be constantly on the go; what with having synthetic blends for minimal creasing, high spandex counts on all fitted pieces and breathability where it counts.

 

Being a diffused version of the main line, Priscilla describes OM as a process of distillation. “We (took) cuts, shapes, silhouettes that Ong Shunmugam has painstakingly developed in house over the years, and then we strip away the print, the batik, the textures, the clashes, (and) the lace.” Befittingly, she took the words ‘Ong Shunmugam’ and stripped away all the letters in between to whittle it down to OM. And with the term being one of Hinduism’s most sacred mantras with such positive connotations, it felt right to her.

 

OM has our seal of approval with its evergreen, stylish pieces that will fit your work wear wardrobe to a ‘T’. And these are the reasons you need to snatch up OM pieces, quick.

 

OM by Ong Shunmugam is now exclusively available at Atelier Ong Shunmugam at #01-76 43 Jalan Merah Saga, Singapore 278115.

 

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