Laichan Goh was the godfather of modern cheongsam

Renowned Singaporean fashion designer Laichan Goh, best known for his elegant and modern interpretations of cheongsam, died on April 14 at the age of 62.

- Louisa Lim

He died peacefully at Assisi Hospice after a seven-year battle with brain cancer, which he had kept private.

His older sister, retired jewellery designer Michelle Goh, told The Straits Times that Goh—the 13th of 15 siblings—was surrounded by 30 to 40 loved ones at his bedside when he took his final breath.

Hailed as the nation's godfather of the modern cheongsam, the veteran couturier opened his first boutique, The Dress Shop, in the now-demolished Liang Court shopping centre in the 1980s. In 1991, he moved to Raffles Hotel Arcade, where he spent 25 years.

His eponymous atelier Laichan, previously at Paragon, is now at Mandarin Gallery in Orchard Road.

Though he had no formal training in fashion, the Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate management graduate's signature designs—figure-skimming cheongsam that honoured tradition while embracing contemporary silhouettes—quickly earned him a following.