IT’S a simple outfit tucked in an office space in Commonwealth Drive. With concrete floors and industrial-grade fans, it boasts no lavish furnishings.

But it is from this humble 700-sq ft space in Singapore that a close-knit team of eight delivers a brand of streetwear that is highly sought after, even abroad.

The label in question is SBTG, or Sabotage, helmed by home-grown underground sneaker customiser Mark Ong, 30, who spends over nine hours each weekday in his office- cum-production space labouring over design ideas.

He is joined by three other full-time staff: wife Sue-anne Lim, 30, a director; brother Melvin Ong, 25, marketing manager; and production manager Jean Tan, 30. Mr Ong’s remaining staff are interns.

But despite this small set-up – which got its start in 2003, when Mr Ong would work on his hand-painted designs on his father’s kitchen floor in their Bedok Housing Board flat – Mr Ong’s line of custom sneakers can now fetch as much as S$1,379 when items appear on auction site eBay.

First-hand shoes usually start at S$415 and are produced in very limited numbers per design.

Around 90 per cent of his SBTG sneakers are sold in overseas through his website, and are snapped up once a new design is announced for pre-order on his website.

He can even count celebrities such as Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park among his fans.

Mr Ong’s success abroad – which also includes clothing line Royalefam – highlights a trend of Singapore men’s streetwear brands that are going global.

Singapore streetwear label Sup Clothing, for example, began distributing its products in Switzerland just a month after opening its Haji Lane store in February last year.

That same year, it began selling its apparel to British and American stores.

The move has been a success – its overseas sales of its T-shirts, jeans and caps have increased by at least 30 per cent since they started last year, said brand owner and designer Jacky Chia, 23.

Mr Chia attributes his quick expansion to luck – he knew someone in Hong Kong who had connections to a Swiss distributor who agreed to sell the apparel in all his 25 stores in Switzerland.

“We plan to have every country in Asia carry our brand. We want Asians to know about us,” said Mr Chia.

Other brands are taking a more measured approach.

Sifr, which got its start last August in Haji Lane, said that their main focus is the Singapore market. Mr Chris Fussner, 22, co-owner of Sifr, said that overseas ventures will have to wait until the firm starts making a bigger turnover. But that does not mean that the ambition to expand at least regionally is not there.

“We’re looking at Hong Kong, Manila and Jakarta. If the opportunity arises in any of those areas we won’t hesitate to move in,” said Mr Fussner.

Hooked Clothings is one established label that started in 2001 and began overseas distribution in 2004, first to Malaysia and later to Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan and Canada.

Mr Alex Koh, 34, designer and owner of the label, said that its overseas ventures seem to be paying off, even though Singapore remains his main market.

While foreign sales have “improved over the years”, “we are getting more stockists and enquiries from overseas”, he said.

Yet another established name, Flesh Imp, started distributing its apparel – from T-shirts to jackets and jeans – abroad for the first time in September, in Brunei.

The nine-year-old brand has plans to expand further in Asia, said Mr Nicholas Cho, 31, co-owner of Flesh Imp, founded by Mr Vincent Q. The goal? To help put Singapore on the world map of street fashion.

But while Singapore labels are going places, Mr Ong thinks men’s streetwear labels here, including his own, still have a long way to go before reaching the status of international players like Japan’s A Bathing Ape or America’s Stussy.

“We still have to work really hard to get there,” he said.

But from success stories of some home-grown labels and sentiments from abroad, it seems that there is much scope for Singapore streetwear fashion in the global arena.

Mr Ong said: “There’s a lot of talk in the West that Asia will be the next fashion leaders in streetwear,” he said, adding that Singapore labels have been seen as being refreshing compared to American brands.

“We have a fresh reinterpretation (of streetwear),” he said.

[email protected]

For more my paper stories click here.