A Living Tapestry

Seven communities inspire new cheongsam designs

- Gin Tay

Growing up in the Philippines of mixed Filipino and Chinese heritage, Mr Acosta Peh did not have much exposure to Chinese traditions.

But when the Year 3 fashion design student at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) was tasked with designing a cheongsam to showcase local Hainanese culture in 2025, he got to dive deeply into it.

He sought inspiration from the Da Gat Lau, a traditional Hainanese kueh offered by married daughters to their parents as a symbol of love, respect and longevity.

"Its pyramid shape, representing Fu (fortune), Lu (prosperity), Shou (longevity) became a central symbol in my design," he said.

As part of Qixi Fest 2025 — a local festival celebrating heritage, creativity and community — the Nafa School of Fashion Studies worked on a student-designed fashion collection that reimagined the cheongsam through the storied lens of seven communities — Peranakan, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese and Shanghainese.

Mr Peh's garment features honeycomb smocking that echoed the pyramid form of Da Gat Lau. Red beads were embedded into the smocking, reflecting the symbolic red dots marked on the kueh to represent blessings and good fortune.

The 21-year-old was also inspired by local coffee shop culture, which the Hainanese helped establish across South-east Asia. He used silk brocade fabric with floral motifs inspired by the Nanyang coffee cups found in kopitiams.

"The silhouette is kept simple yet symbolic, a quiet tribute to the Hainanese community's enduring legacy in Singapore," he said. "Every detail is intentional and designed to honour their stories while incorporating my own design voice."