SANS & SANS
Founder Wendy See, in her early 30s, started the Sans & Sans label in July last year. The womenswear brand can be found at 02-342 Marina Square and 02-04 Orchard Central, as well as Kuala Lumpur's One Utama mall.
How did the name of your brand come about?
I wanted a name that allowed for good brand recall and easy recognition.
We also started toying with names that the Chinese could relate to as we have plans to penetrate the greater China market in the future.
Through sessions of brainstorming, the team came up with Sans & Sans (based on the characters for "fashionable wear" in Chinese), where we used a similar sounding rhyme to come up with the English name.
How would you describe the brand's style?
I wanted to develop womenswear that is accessible and timeless.
The style of the brand is womenswear with strong tailoring, immaculately cut with in-season detailing and luxe fabrics. What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Whenever our customers say they are surprised that we are a Singapore label and one they truly appreciate and support. What have you found most frustrating or challenging?
It's definitely when we have wonderful designs that we want to introduce to our customers but have to reconsider the wearability of our designs because of the Singapore weather.
Is there a style icon whom you admire?
Recently, Fan Bingbing has really caught my attention. When attending international events, she dresses with a nod to her Chinese heritage, with details like silk material and mandarin collars.
What does Orchard Road mean to you?
Orchard Road is where all international labels and aspiring fashion labels need to be. It's the first place tourist or locals go to for a variety of their fashion needs.
ELOHIM BY SABRINA GOH
Designer Sabrina Goh, 29, started the label featuring asymmetrical cuts and draping in January 2009. It is stocked at 02-11 Orchard Central, Isetan Scotts Restyle Level 2, Tangs Orchard Level 2, Robinsons Orchard level 3, and Robinsons Jem level 2.
How did the name of your brand come about?
Elohim means God of Creativity in Hebrew. It touches upon my faith and beliefs.
Why did you decide to start a fashion brand?
It was my dream to set up a fashion brand but I never knew if it would come to pass. After designing for several brands, I decided to start my label and showcase the designs I love and believe in.
How would you describe the brand's style?
It is structural and minimal, sculpted and strong, yet with a sensuous silhouette that celebrates confidence in the wearer from inside out.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
We were invited last year by the Thai Ministry of Culture to do several Thai silk collaborations at Vogue Fashion's Night Out Bangkok and ASEAN+3 Showcase. It was a chance for us to learn about the craftsmanship of Thai silk and enabled us to explore new materials. We will be launching our Thai silk capsule collection soon.
This month, we showed at the Asia Fashion Federation Showcase in Bangkok with designers from countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
What have you found most frustrating or challenging?
We do not have the manufacturers and material resources of other regions. For instance, we always have to travel to look for new materials and factories that are able to support our production in terms of design, quality and quantity.
The ever-increasing competition from high-street fashion brands and attractively priced blog shops is challenging too. And we are in a country with ever increasing rental and non-stop sales.
Is there a style icon whom you admire?
Queen Sirikit of Thailand. She believes in Thai silk textiles and its culture.
Whenever she visits other countries, she insists on wearing Thai silk. Her persistence has provided a living to her people and the culture and skill of making Thai silk has more support now than 50 years ago.
What does Orchard Road mean to you?
Shopping heaven in Singapore.
RECKLESS ERICKA
Designer Afton Chen, 28, launched Reckless Ericka in April 2009 at the Audi Fashion Festival's Blueprint tradeshow with co-founder Louis Koh, 32. She has since introduced diffusion lines Odds and Still as well. Reckless Ericka is available at The Reckless Shop at 02-08 Orchard Central, as well as multi-label spaces W.E at Westgate Mall, Level 2 Isetan Scotts and Level 3 Robinsons Orchard.
How did the name of your brand come about?
We were inspired by a fictional character, Erica, from a book by Paul Arden called Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite. In the short story, Erica is very free-spirited, not afraid to be wrong, and we would like to capture that in our designs. Undaunted by boundaries and unfazed by risks ahead, Erica does what feels recklessly right.
Why did you decide to start a fashion brand?
It has been my passion to create a fashion brand that is designed, produced, sold and marketed mainly in Singapore.
How would you describe the brand's style?
Reckless Ericka focuses on balancing classic tailoring with edgy silhouettes and colours.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
I feel a deep sense of satisfaction when I see my designs on the streets - and I'm grateful this has been a frequent occurrence. And I feel appreciated when customers tell me they love the designs.
What have you found most frustrating or challenging?
The No. 1 challenge is manpower. The second is perception.
I'm hoping people will be less apathetic towards Singapore labels.
It's not easy to be an independent designer in Singapore and to handle the business on your own. There has always been a slight stigma that Singaporean labels aren't as good as brands found overseas and that isn't completely true.
We have many great Singapore designers from all creative fields and we should be aware of our own talents and give support to our own industry.
Is there a style icon whom you admire?
Tilda Swinton, because just like her acting, her style is avant-garde, brilliant and compellingly bizarre.
She never fails to command attention, even when she was sleeping in The Maybe, a performance art piece at the Museum of Modern Art in New York last year.
I feel that her beauty is out of this world and I admire that her style is wholly her own.
What does Orchard Road mean to you?
The Reckless Shop has been in Orchard Central for nearly four years now. We have had a pop-up counter in Tangs and been part of a Singapore designers collective Workshop Element in Wisma Atria. We currently have a counter in Isetan Scotts and in the new Robinsons Orchard.
To say that Orchard Road has been our home in our journey is an understatement.
This article was published on April 4 in Urban, The Straits Times.
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