From The Straits Times    |
Singapore designer files: Street style by local fashion designers

In celebration of Singapore’s National Day, we’re now down to our final week of the Singapore designer files.

From snazzy digital prints to sleek monochrome looks, we’ve seen what the creative minds of top Singapore fashion labels and emerging local designers have worn.

This week, we feature the creative minds behind Chalk, Foon Foono, Mash-Up, Sabrina Goh, Saturday, Weekend Sundries and WSDM wearing their labels and more stylish threads.

The designers share what they’re wearing, as well as their favourite hangouts, food and more things that they love about Singapore.

CHALK
Fashion designer Priscilla Tan wears a dress from Chalk Spring Summer 2013, a Mango cardigan and shoes from Heatwave. She carries a Prada bag and wears a gamut of accessories, including a vintage necklace, Calvin Klein ring and her wedding ring.

Her fondest memory of National Day was in 1997, when her parents had participated in the National Day parade. “I was twelve then,” remembers Priscilla. “And I saw every rehearsal that year and all the behind-the-scenes buzz.” She names The Living Cafe as her current favourite restaurant for the healthy, yummy raw food; “I’d just turned vegetarian,” shares the designer.
Images by Wesley Kow

FOON FOONO
Foon, the designer and creative mind behind Singapore accessories label Foon Foono, wears a tee from his upcoming Foon Foono Autumn Winter 2013 menswear collection; also his first-ever fashion line. He pairs it with a pair of jeans bought in Hong Kong, shoes from Paul Smith and a bag form Foon Foono Spring Summer 2013.
This Singapore-based visual artist and accessory designer loves the Holland Village area, where he’d used to live. Foon’s been living in Singapore for the past seven years, and his favourite hangout is the kopitiam beside the curb in Holland Village, “where I chill out with friends, over beers.”
Images by Wesley Kow

MASH-UP
Nathanael Ng (left) and Shaf Amis’aabudin (right) are two of three designers and co-founders of Singapore fashion label Mash-Up. Nathanael wears a Mash-Up tee from Autumn Winter 2013, an ASOS paisley shirt, jeans from Mash-Up Spring Summer 2013 and Lazy Oaf x Kickers shoes. His hat is from OS, while his glasses were bought at Peninsula Plaza. Shaf is wearing a tee and jeans from Mash-Up Spring Summer 2013, together with Converse shoes and an anklet from India; he can’t remember where his socks are from.

Both designers profess a love for vintage finds. Nat loves shopping at the Sungei Road Thieves’ Market for sixties’ vintage photos and “a lot more hidden gems”. Shaf frequents flea markets held by the Salvation Army, as well as thrift stores in Singapore. But he “can’t tell” where they are, so that he keeps them as his style secrets.
Images by Wesley Kow

SABRINA GOH
Designer Sabrina Goh is wearing a jacket and a pair of jeans from her Elohim by Sabrina Goh label. Her top is from Topshop and her shoes were bought online.

She prefers to dress simply, with “a pair of comfortable shoes that you’ll want to walk in, everywhere”. Sabrina, like most of the designers we’ve interviewed, loves how “stable, clean and safe” Singapore is.
Images by Wesley Kow

SATURDAY
Saturday designer Nic Wong is photographed here with his good friend (and fan) Shermaine Soh, a fashion buyer who is his model for the day. Shermaine’s wearing a dress from Cruise by Saturday Autumn Winter 2013, Melissa shoes and is carrying a bag from Chloe. Nic is wearing a top from COS, with jeans and shoes from Muji and a watch from Seiko.

Singapore street style: Singapore designer of Saturday

When quizzed on what he loves most about Singapore, Nic cites the old shophouses and colonial houses – he says these “represent a different side of the country”, quite unlike the glass facades and hi-rise buildings that we see everywhere else.
Images by Wesley Kow

WEEKEND SUNDRIES
Designer Michelle Chan is wearing a tunic from Weekend Sundries Pre-fall 2013 with an old pair of leggings and shoes from Bimba & Lola. Her Casio watch and a vintage pin are her accessories for the day.

“I love how diversity and contradictions coexist side by side on this little island,” says Michelle. “Be it the culture, architecture to fashion, you name it.” Michelle’s must-have wardrobe item: a basic shirt dress, as she finds it “very versatile and weather-appropriate” for Singapore.
Images by Wesley Kow

WSDM
WSDM designer Abel Lim wears a WSDM shirt, Uniqlo tee and jeans with a pair of New Balance sneakers. His bag is from Porter International.

“I love the diversity and energy of our city,” says Abel. “You get to experience and interact with so many different cultures. Singapore is like a hub where you can experience both eastern & western culture at the same time.” The Old Kallang Stadium used to be his favourite place in Singapore. “Even though it’s now gone, I still remember my childhood days when I would watch football matches at the old stadium,” says the designer. He recalls the atmosphere fondly: “The matches were exciting and the Kallang roar (loud cheers from the stadium) back then was really really loud.”
Images by Wesley Kow

Look back at the herworldPLUS Singapore designer files here:
Singapore street style: The Designer Files Part 1
Singapore street style: The Designer Files Part 2
Singapore street style: The Designer Files Part 3