IT is just about dusk on a Tuesday evening in Singapore and curious passers-by outside the Esplanade are staring at two girls posing in front of a camera.

One is clad in a casual grey dress with leggings and the other, in a black tutu outfit with a strange 'hat' on her head.

The girl in grey is Reckless Ericka designer Afton Chen, who designed the black dress and headpiece.

Her inspiration? Singapore's architecture, due to her love for structural things.

The tutu skirt, modelled by Jasmine Tuan - owner of the boutique Blackmarket which stocks Reckless Ericka - is made up of a rojak mixture of pleats and folded pleats that look like ruffles.

The idea is to reflect the eclectic - 'a bit of the new and old' - architecture in Singapore, says Chen.

The piece de resistance, however, is the striking headpiece made out of individual pieces of fabric painstakingly stitched together to resemble the Esplanade theatre.

'Our first and current boutique, The Reckless Shop, is located at Stamford House and everytime I walk around the vicinity, one of the most striking pieces of architecture that catches my eye is the Esplanade,' explains Chen.

'It is probably the most iconic building in Singapore right now.'

This article was first published in The Business Times.