Forget over-hyped Western fashion franchises – we are Team Singapore all the way.
While more prominent home-grown brands such as Love Bonito and Benjamin Barker have made their mark on an international level, there are several up-and-coming local brands that we feel are incredibly deserving in their rights.
Besides donning on wearable art such as those from Ying The Label, and timeless clothing made sustainably and ethically from Esse, we also take you through other wardrobe must-haves, such as thrifted vintage jewellery from Go Margaux and functional yet beautiful lingerie pieces from SUSY + BAE.
STYLEGUIDE talks to 4 local fashion entrepreneurs to gain more in-depth insight into the fashion scene in Singapore, and their respective journeys in conceiving their labels.
Ying The Label
Li Ying (@yingthelabel)
Why and how did you start your label?
I started Ying The Label due to my immense passion for painting. With so many art pieces to showcase and zero clue on what to do with them, I was lost! My mother had also injected in me the belief that artists often only gain fame after they’ve passed on, which I then thought to myself – no, I better not become an artist!
On one occasion, I had the opportunity to print my artworks digitally on fabrics, which after some experimenting, led to the creation of Ying The Label! With a lack of wearable art labels in Singapore marked with fun colours and painterly prints that looked good when worn, I was committed to producing pieces that allowed people to feel elegant, graceful and confident when wearing them. Besides, I feel that the unique floral designs make great conversation starters for those wearing them.
What makes your brand stand out?
As one of the first movers in the wearable art scene in Singapore, I believe what makes Ying The Label truly special is the idiosyncratic quality of the designs produced. To me, hand-painted art pieces are often hard to replicate, as compared to digital prints, and this is what makes the apparels created truly unique. No artist, including myself, can recreate that unique art piece generated in that specific moment!
Limitless Dress, SGD$309
Favourite launch so far?
My favourite collection has got to be my “Steady Heart” collection, which was created in celebration of my 3rd anniversary. That collection consisted of designs that were bold and abstract.
Challenges faced?
I found Singapore’s retail scene less vibrant when contrasted to other countries. As a result, it is indeed hard for the other local brands and me to scale our businesses. I then decided to pull out of departmental stores as I could not see the value that a physical store could bring to my brand.
One advice to your younger self?
Make even more mistakes, because that gives you the ability to learn, to grow and become stronger, sharper and wiser. There’s no other way to learn than really putting yourself out there and letting your passion take you somewhere.
SUSY + BAE
Sheryl (@susyandbae)
Why and how did you start your label?
SUSY + BAE is a local lingerie and loungewear label. Our brand is a small team of two – with me managing the brand’s marketing and the entire designing process!
I started SUSY + BAE due to my love for lingerie and my belief that a good inner-wear helps transform the way you feel. There’s something oddly special and unfathomable about wearing beautiful and fitting lingerie – just like how a right outfit makes you feel confident! I hope that through my designs, customers are able to celebrate their bodies and appreciate their own beauty.
In coming up with the concept of my brand, I was largely motivated by my personal experience. As a petite-sized woman, I found it really hard to find lingerie pieces that fit well and made me feel good about my body. Sizes are often limited in Singapore and many at times, I found myself wearing the wrong sizes simply because smaller band sizes weren’t easily available.
In this sense, I feel that lingerie should never be an afterthought and that as female patrons, we should always choose the designs that make us feel our best. When I wear a bra that fits well, I feel in me a great sense of empowerment and confidence, which is a feeling that I hope to bring across to my customers when they put on our creations. I also understand that as petites, variety is hard to come by – I don’t always want to be wearing either T-shirt bras or something too extravagant! Thus SUSY + BAE – a brand which brings the perfect balance of functionality and beauty!
What makes your brand stand out?
Besides the practicality of our products, we also aim to produce designs that are one-of-its-kind. We do own substantial control over the collections that we put out in this sense, since they are designed in Singapore and manufactured in a small family workshop based in Taiwan thereafter. Beyond curating the designs and selecting the resources personally, we also begin our planning process by considering the feedback given from previous collections. Our designs are hence catered to the needs of our shoppers!
Challenges faced?
I think my biggest challenge thus far is overcoming the steep learning curve required for running a business. Because you have to be everything at once, a lot of planning is needed to make everything just right! I have gone through months where my store is practically empty because of the buffer period between the previous sales and incoming collection. It can be a little nerve-racking when you have a store with nothing to sell.
Porcelain, SGD$69
Favourite launch so far?
It has got to be this Porcelain bralette set! Launched earlier this year as part of an exclusive collection, this design truly reminds me of the beautiful Ming vases and delftware from ancient China. When I saw this design on a sourcing trip, I was ecstatic because rarely do I encounter such styles. I immediately thought of incorporating this lace design into our lingerie sets! I’m also equally excited that the customers love this as much as I do, which I did continue to restock due to overwhelming requests to bring them back!
One advice to your younger self?
It’s easy to start a business but difficult to sustain a business! Always good to go in with a plan and remember to bring a great deal of positive energy with you. You don't always get second chances!
Go Margaux
Brenda (@gomargaux)
Why and how did you start your label?
Go Margaux is an online-only store featuring a mercurial mix of both vintage and contemporary jewellery (for now – something’s coming!).
I started Go Margaux when I was studying in New York! During my stint there, I grew a passion for everything vintage and spent almost every day after school exploring various vintage and thrift stores, which allowed me to chance upon a huge selection of beautiful vintage dead-stock jewellery. After hours of just standing there, hovering and sorting through the selection – and garnering well-deserved stares – I emerged with two large bags in hand, an empty wallet and the inventory for the first collection of Go Margaux.
What makes your brand stand out?
Go Margaux is made for the unapologetically chic. We collect and curate a whole collection of unique jewellery spanning in colours, silhouettes, types and eras, and do so in extremely limited quantities (sometimes not even by choice). On top of keeping them wallet-friendly, we also take extra care to package our items in sustainable and recycled materials, because we just don’t feel comfortable doing otherwise. To me, that’s how fashion should be – precious, exciting and nothing but feel-good fulfilling. I wanted to shop at a store exactly like it, and I couldn’t find it in Singapore, so I made it happen!
Favourite collection so far?
One of my absolute favourites and wardrobe staples are the coin necklaces, featuring authentic vintage coins spanning from the 30s-90s from Macau, Argentina, Macedonia etc. With vintage especially, a lot of these pieces come to me as one-of-a-kind, so I find it really hard to give them up once I’ve fallen in love with them! Luckily for these coin necklaces, I’d found a motherlode of them so I can wear my own pieces all day long while recommending you do the same, haha!
Challenges faced?
Oh, for sure it's being too precious about it. I care about every single process so much – from buying, curating, shipping, listing, shooting, editing, PR, etc, I had to do everything all by myself. As I began to grow, I found it difficult to even let go of the reins a little bit, simply because it’s so much of my heart and soul poured into it, and I was so worried my ideas wouldn’t translate in someone else’s hands.
One advice to your younger self?
Just go ahead and do it. Once you've gotten started, you'll begin to wonder what took you so long. I always think about this saying in the back of my mind because it's so relatable – I can be such a procrastinator if I'm feeling down. I always feel better being productive and accomplishing what I set out to do instead of kicking myself for doing things too late or having too little time.
Esse
Alicia (@essethelabel)
Why and how did you start your label?
Esse is a conscious womenswear label in Singapore! My passion for garments started in 2008 when I took up dressmaking classes from a local seamstress. Falling in love with the mastery that goes into creating a piece of clothing, I decided to pursue a career in the fashion industry at luxury fashion retailer, Club 21. In 2017, I quit my full-time job to start Esse. In a way, Esse is a culmination of my personal journey with fashion, and my love for nature.
As a mindless trend-chaser in the past, I grew dismayed at the quality of fast fashion brands over time. I felt like I was devoting way too much space in my wardrobe to purchases that left me feeling empty – I wanted to develop a relationship with the things I was wearing instead of throwing them out when I didn't like them anymore.
I began to research more on the fashion industry upon realizing the negative impacts caused on the environment and thus started my desire to shop more consciously. With a lack of options locally, I was then inspired to create a fashion label that approached the fashion supply chain in a more sustainable and ethical way!
What makes your brand stand out?
As one of the first few conscious labels in Singapore, we are big on creating awareness about the impact fashion has on the environment and garment factory workers in other countries. We hope to remain accountable by being extremely transparent about our practices. The details can be found on our website!
In our efforts to become more environmentally sustainable, we mainly focus on reducing our footprint on the environment. Rather than creating seasonal collections, we prefer to instead launch small capsules with 2 to 3 considered designs every month. Besides creating timeless designs, we also dedicate ourselves to use only sustainable materials. Our fabrics are made from natural fibres, unlike synthetic fibres such as Polyester or Nylon, and they are incredibly breathable and comfortable too!
Most of our clothes are produced in small batches at a studio in Ho Chi Minh City and an atelier in Chiang Mai. This way, we are able to ensure little deadstock and excess inventory from going to waste. We also make it a point to vet all of our producers through a stringent criterion, ensuring that our seamstresses are treated ethically – receiving fair wages, working in safe conditions, reasonable working hours etc. The information of the seamstresses who made these apparels are also available online, to encourage our customers to also appreciate the women who made their clothes!
Favourite collection so far?
Organic Cotton Maxi Dress, SGD$112
This is a tough one because all the pieces that I’d designed have a special place in my heart! All designs go through multiple rounds of editing before making it to the store. But if I had to choose, it would be a toss-up between two of our signature styles – the Relaxed Sheath Dress and Organic Cotton Maxi Dress!
Challenges faced?
Prior to Esse, I had run another business. It was my first foray into entrepreneurship, and I failed spectacularly. With my partner deciding to leave the business to start another company, we had to liquidate everything and go our separate ways. It was the lowest point of my life as I had lost all my life savings and years of hard work. However, on hindsight, it was a business doomed to fail because it lacked a vision since it was a business aimed solely at the pursuit of profits.
In starting Esse, it was different from my previous venture because I was able to do things on my own terms. By this very logic, Esse is very much an extension of myself, and my personal journey with fashion. My vision is to redefine the way people interact with their garments and consider the garment’s lifecycle! Approaching my label with this guiding principle has allowed me to build a company focused on the quality of the product instead of the ‘business’ aspect.
One advice to your younger self?
It might sound cliché, but don’t be afraid to fail. My experiences with failure have taught me that failure is a stepping stone towards success. I think that there is so much one can glean from failing, which I feel is indispensable in one's journey to finding success.
