Adapting to the dynamicchanging platforms of fashion, LASALLE Singapore debuts its first digital fashion presentation for its newest graduates.
The coronavirus pandemic has truly taken a toll on several industries, leading some global companies to file for bankruptcy or shut down hundreds of its brick-and-mortar stores. Due to this, brands are obligated to find a new avenue to continue their operations and promotions, which only leads to one platform: the digital sphere.
So, the fashion industry already took the opportunity to utilize the online world. In fact, we’ve been seeing a lot of luxury fashion brands that have been resorting to digitalize their bi-annual runway shows—from Hermes, Dior, to Gucci, and many more.
Although this may be, it’s not only fashion brands that are making use of the live stream feature, because even some top tier educational institutions in the world are doing it now—one of which is LASALLE College of Arts in Singapore.
According to LASALLE’s Head for School of Fashion Circe Henestrosa, “this pandemic alone has ground the world to a halt and increased our online consumption to curb social isolation. To some extent, the change has also arisen out of ongoing conversations about sustainability and the future direction of fashion. [So,] we believe it is more important than ever that our students graduate with a consciousness of these issues and the role of fashion in this changing world.”
Titled Society of the Spectacle, the show is a direct response to French philosopher Guy Debord who in 1967 wrote: “All that was once directly lived has become mere representation.” Through the blurring of boundaries between digital and analog realities, the show offers possibilities beyond the imagination.
“In our constant quest for new experiences, the current situation provides us with an exciting avenue to explore technology, augmented realities, and the limits of our imagination. Society of the Spectacle questions the audience’s embodied presence, asking if our digital lived experiences are as they seem,” LASALLE’s lecturer-in-charge for BA Fashion Design and Textiles Dinu Bodiciu explains.
With the school’s aim to develop its own fashion language and become globally engaged creative thinkers and makers, the graduating batch definitely lived up to their alma mater’s goals. They have proven that regardless of any circumstance that will slow them, they will always rise up to the challenge. And that’s exactly what they showed us: ingenuity, creativity, and adaptability.
Meet the five young designers who caught our attention during the show.
1.5oC by Kwok Minh Yen
“A seemingly small number, 1.5 degrees Celcius may trigger significant and lasting changes for life. Taking a disastrous process such as coral bleaching as the inspiration for the collection, the textiles and details are developed based on the structure and texture of the coral and its skeleton, with white being the core color scheme. The collection is approached critically and conceptually to raise awareness about the current global issue that we are facing—climate change, with sustainability being the crucial matter, especially in the fashion industry.”
FEMBUOYNT! by Samuel Xun
“FEMBUOYANT is that gay boy sitting across from you at every social setting. That b***h is serving you looks, whilst giving you looks. God knows if it’s a he-she-they situation, but it absolutely doesn’t matter. High on helium, miss thing does not clown around, but she’s in on all the jokes. She knows you absolutely LOATHE pink, so she makes it the color of her choice. That big inflated head of hers keeps you at the edge of your cheap seats, always. You don’t know if you entirely get her, but this for certain, you’ll never be on her level.”
Gear18: Saber by Phang Kuan Yi
“In year 4k67, Saber was summoned as a vessel to fight for a periodic war. The vessel itself was a mystery and generally being misunderstood by society. Saber uses the vessel to project its fantasy as a part of its body. Blessed by the mediators, the vessel was given to Saber was nothing but a frame to allow it to take on different identities in order to win the war.”
REPELEBB by Felicia Agatha
“As the impact of climate change becomes ever-more apparent, the action needed to tackle it grows more urgent. REPELEBB explores smart solutions that fuse science and fashion through a collection of activewear-influenced designs with unconventional materials.”
Emove by Adhya Tibrewala
“Emove is the transition of feelings into an emotion, further leading to acceptance. I embraced these ambiguous feelings through the lines I created in my garments. These lines of distorted faces portray my tangled up emotions. The fluidity of grief is expressed by all as an individualistic experience. This personal collection conveys my journey of acceptance through the faces created, colors were chosen and layers of fabric. The abstract art of emotion inculcates a sense of belonging in the wearer leaving them to feel empowered.”
Watch LASALLE College of Art Singapore’s Digital Fashion Presentation for its newest graduands below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x01MJwKATe8&feature=youtu.be
