Memory In Fashion

With a revived interest in archival fashion that grew steadily in recent years, we invited the co-founders of milieu, Kai Jun Leong, Alfred Bong and Leon Lim to talk about the importance of archival clothing in the new generation, the history preserved and narratives documented, and how the resurgence of archival fashion proves to be an almanac of influence.

- Tok Wei Lun

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT MILIEU?

Leong: milieu is where we house a unique curation of clothing. Ultimately, we want the space to be a very educational platform for everyone to learn by sharing bite-sized information about what the clothing represents and the brand or the designer’s ideology of a particular time. We want to highlight these unique ideas that weren’t as predominant as before.

Bong: Even if it was big back then, it’s important for us to keep it so it won’t be lost in history. For example, Hedi Slimane’s Dior Homme was one of the key moments with his introduction of the new slim silhouette for menswear.

WHY IS ARCHIVING IMPORTANT AND WHAT QUALIFIES AS AN ARCHIVAL PIECE?

Leong: I think it’s important to have a tangible piece of a particular era or moment in fashion. Essentially this allows people to be transported back to a moment in the past rather than viewing images on social media. What we are trying to do here at milieu is to curate garments and ideas that are important to us.

Bong: Typically when you think about archive pieces, it has to be five to 10 years old and we came to the conclusion that it also needs to have some sort of relevance in the sense of its impact and influence on how people dress. Therefore it’s not really time-sensitive but rather time is essential in the process of making a garment an archival piece. The influence of the article of clothing transcends past the runway.

WHY IS THIS SENSE OF OWNERSHIP, CURATION, AND RESPONSIBILITY IMPORTANT TO YOU?