Riccardo Tisci was in a nostalgic mood. He named this Burberry collection Memories, as a paean to his formative years as a young designer, uprooting from Italy to London where he studied at Central Saint Martins before moving to India after graduation. What’s resulted from that fond trip down memory lane has been more or less a continuation of what he’d been building at the heritage label: numerous options that cut across generations and demographics, globe-trotting sophisticates (uber-luxe coats and suits with copious lashings of faux fur) and streetwear-obsessed youths (endless permutations of the house’s famous checks and tricked-out takes on the humble rugby sweater) alike.
FENDI
Silvia Venturini Fendi has presented a femme fatale that reads as both powerfully sensual and austere in her second solo collection for the brand. Nipped-in waists and a contrasting play on filmy dresses against aggressively voluptuous silhouettes (extremely puffed-up sleeves are a key motif) – all complemented by noirish makeup – neatly charts the dual themes of softness and structure. Continuing that dichotomy is a largely sombre palette of grey spiked with delicate pinks and yellow. Alongside a heady mix of cashmere, fur, leather and lace, it all makes for one visually lush collection.
DIOR
You have to hand it to Maria Grazia Chiuri – once the designer finds something that she believes in, she’s doggedly consistent with following through. Take her pro-women messaging for example, which has been there since she debuted at Dior three years ago. This season’s show set had slogans such as “Consent” and “Patriarchy = C02” (courtesy of the feminist art collective Claire Fontaine). What about the clothes? A parade of elevated everyday pieces of a more relaxed glamour, complete with sportswear and school-boy overtones – inspired by memories of Chiuri’s teenage years in 1970s Rome and guaranteed to delight longtime fans. Paired with combat boots and leather flats, the collection’s overall utilitarian nature can be said to contribute a sense of pragmatism – a subtler nod to feminist values, perhaps?
BALENCIAGA
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IMAN
IMAN FANDI, THE MULTI-HYPHENATE INDUSTRY DARLING WITH BURNING POP STAR AMBITIONS, DROPS HER LONG-ANTICIPATED DEBUT SINGLE IN FEBRUARY. WE CAN’T SHARE ITS NAME JUST YET; DITTO HOW IT SOUNDS, BUT WHAT WE CAN TELL YOU IS THAT – LIKE THE 20-YEAR-OLD STYLE CHAMELEON – IT’S SIZZLING.
LEEHI
THE SOUTH KOREAN SOLO ARTISTE BRINGS A BOLD AND SOPHISTICATED NEW FACE AND SOUND TO THE GENRE THE WORLD KNOWS AS K-POP. NOELLE LOH GETS CHARMED BY HER MAGIC.
Life Is Beautiful
Some might say that the spring/summer 2021 collections are a signal of hope and optimism after a year of social distance and isolation. Key to that: the return of the human touch in more ways than one. Here, an edit of some of the season’s best and most creative craftsmanship that represents the ingenuity of the artisanal hand.
The New School
From an altruistic champion of independent photographers to a fine dining restaurant curating art and music like no other, Keng Yang Shuen curates the people and spaces encouraging new ways of thinking and doing in Singapore’s art scene.
Put Your Best Face Forward This Festive Season
Targeting fine lines and sagging skin, Thermage FLX uses radiofrequency to help boost collagen production to lift and tighten.
How Indie Pop Has Changed And How Celine Autumn Intends To Heat It Up
Celine Autumn, the frontwoman of the beloved Singapore indie band Sobs, has a new solo project and – with that – a new stage name, a new sound and a mesmerising Harajuku girl-gone-sci-fi new image. Putting her own cyber-punk spin on the runway’s ladylike pieces, the charismatic 23-year-old tells noelle loh how indie pop has changed and how she intends to heat it up.
The French Floral Artist Aude Giraud Introduces Her Second Act As A Creative
In 2015, the parisian modern-day Bohemian Aude Giraud uprooted to Singapore then launched the flower-focused lifestyle business ask a French, which helped start the trend for bucolic-chic arrangements and has since become an industry favourite. Last month, she introduced her second act as a creative:
Talking On Miami
Held every December, the international design fair design Miami has always been a heady confluence of fashion and art. For the 2020 edition, fendi – which has been taking part in the show for the past 12 years – roped in new york artist sarah coleman to reinterpret not only its boutique in the city, but also a series of its peekaboo totes. Playing with logos and monograms in her work (fendi’s included), coleman recontextualises the visual language of luxury branding – an approach that gets the thumbs up from silvia venturini fendi. The collaboration is an “opportunity to see how such creativity can evolve”, says the brand’s doyenne. Gordon Ng gets an exclusive from both women on how the relationship between their worlds is more exciting – and important – than ever.
Masters Of Flash
Every year since 2016, the house of Dior has invited a coterie of artists to use its lady dior bag as a blank canvas for painting, sculptural assemblage and all-round imaginative freedom. Despite the circumstances of 2020, this distillation of the maison’s haute couture savoir faire did not stop and this year’s dior lady art has in fact yielded some of the most thoughtful (and fun) interpretations of the tote from the initiative. As these limited-edition pieces hit the brand’s ngee ann city boutique this month, gordon ng zeroes in on the brains behind 13 of them.
A Gritty Pop-Rock Track About How It's Okay To Not Be Okay
A gritty pop-rock track about how it’s okay to not be okay. A throbbing electro-laced tune about finding peace with letting go. A three-part anthology film that’s meant to embody every one of the songs that she’s released since 2019. From mid-January, Narelle Kheng unveils the climax to what she’s been referring to as “the project”, her personal musical endeavour that she started two years ago – and one of the most ambitious and artistic to emerge from the local pop music scene. Noelle Loh gets the famously candid singer- songwriter to share about her creative and emotional journey, and newfound community.
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