Fresh from Paris Fashion Week's trade show Tranoï, local jewellery designer Marilyn Tan will be showcasing her latest collections at fashion trade show Blueprint, which runs from today till Sunday.
One of Singapore's top designers, the 61-year-old has spent more than 20 years designing and creating unique contemporary jewellery pieces by hand.
My Paper catches up with her to find out more about how men can wear pearls, and why local designers will benefit greatly from overseas experiences.
Describe your personal style My favourite designer is Issey Miyake - technically interesting yet timeless with an edge. I'm also a huge fan of Uniqlo, especially its collaboration with Jill Sander.
Some of my favourite local clothing brands include Alldressedup and Raoul.
You launched some of your jewellery collections at the acclaimed Paris Fashion Week's trade show Tranoï this year. How was the experience?
It was great, because I still have so much to learn, even though it's my fourth season. Striking a balance between being too aggressive and just keeping in touch with overseas buyers, for instance, is a fine line to tread.
From my experiences, I also learnt that the language of the fashion business is as unique as it is with any other trade. Fashion, at its heart, is a business with a lot of creative craziness thrown into the mix.
Much of the latest Marilyn Tan Jewellery (MTJ) is inspired by trees, flowers and nature. Could you tell us more about it?
Much of my inspiration actually comes from my travels, which are, mostly, very much in touch with nature. I have trekked in Patagonia in South America and the bamboo forests of Huangshan in China, travelled on an ice-breaker to Antarctica, and cruised the backwaters of Kerala in India on a houseboat.
So I meld that into my designs, coupled with the fact that I'm a foodie. In fact, my new collection features bamboo and gingko nuts, while an earlier one was inspired by the fragrant herbs used in my kitchen, such as mint, coriander and lime.
In the MTJ collection for younger aficionados, you have an unusual collection inspired by a man who wore pearls. How did that happen?
I was wandering around Paris between meetings and I spotted this gentleman who was about 70 years old, with greying hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt (underneath) an unbuttoned black leather jacket, and around his neck was a beautiful grey Baroque South Sea pearl necklace. I was fascinated by the fact that it didn't look feminine at all!
I then made a couple of pearl necklaces for my husband and they looked great. The key to the look, however, is that one must use Baroque pearls, which are all odd-shaped.
What do you think the future holds for local designers?
There is definitely a market for designers in Singapore, and people are becoming more supportive of them.
We're lucky to have support from organisations like the Textile and Fashion Federation, Spring Singapore, International Enterprise Singapore and the DesignSingapore Council. Many designers I've met overseas are envious of the support we get.
However, to grow their brands, Singaporean designers need to go overseas to see the global aspects of this multi-billion- dollar business.
By comparing their works with what is in the international market, they will learn (what's best) to change, refine their production and come up with the infrastructure to support their design visions.
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