Inside Joe Kean's Journey From BAZAAR NewGen To Charles & Keith

CHARLES & KEITH is probably one of the most well-known and well-loved Singapore brands with a truly global presence. Specialising in footwear, handbags and fashion accessories, the brand boasts over 640 stores in 35 retail markets, along with 55 online markets. To design and create for CHARLES & KEITH means that a young designer has a chance to not only learn from established designers and a large and successful company, but also to possibly make their design imprint on a global scale. 

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For Joe Kean, one of the six finalists for the BAZAAR NewGen 2022 edition, the chance to do a six month internship with the brand was an unparalleled learning opportunity. Kean, a Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts graduate, was the crowd favourite in the NewGen competition. He won the BAZAAR Academy Choice Award 2022 (as voted for by the BAZAAR Academy) with his collection, “Shapes Of Human, Human Of Shapes,” which took inspiration from the human form. Says Kean on his internship, “The experience has been amazing. It has opened up my knowledge about the industry by being exposed to a new part of fashion—shoe design.” Another important skill he picked up was the importance of marrying functionality with design aesthetics. “It is important to keep the target consumer in mind while designing,” shares Kean. We spoke to Kean as well as his mentor, Fredie Stevens, director of design at CHARLES & KEITH, to find out more about this opportunity, what he has learnt along the way and how working with a global fashion brand has changed his mindset.

What have you most enjoyed about your internship so far?

Joe Kean (JK): My internship placement has been with the CHARLES & KEITH shoe design department, and I would say designing and sketching shoes is something that I have enjoyed the most. I incorporated the design language that I applied on my garments onto shoes, and it has been a joy being able to explore my creativity in a different way.

What has this design education meant to you as an aspiring designer?

JK: It means a lot for a young designer like me to be able to access materials, technology, as well as having mentorship. Having the opportunity to be placed in an internationally known company and learn from designers who have been in the industry for years has opened up how I look at fashion, from both the design and the business aspects.

What are some of your aspirations?

JK: I aspire to have a fashion label in the future. I am planning on a collective fashion label with a few designers, but I want to push myself as far as possible in the fashion industry, and eventually have my own label.

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Tell us about this mentorship programme with Joe Kean. What was the path set for him?

Fredie Stevens (FS): Since starting his internship at CHARLES & KEITH in March, Joe has become a well-loved member of the shoe design department and has shadowed different designers within the team during this time. We wanted to make sure he takes away a very holistic experience of how it is like working in our studios and curated a hands-on programme that ensures he learns the real-world processes when it comes to shoe design— from concept, to sketch, sampling to the actualisation of the final shoe.

What kind of access was the brand able to grant him?

FS: At CHARLES & KEITH, we develop our own materials and colours for the collections, and we wanted to make sure that Joe was privy to this side of design and production. Joe came on board whilst we were designing the Summer line—always the most fun collection to work on— and assisted with the execution of prints ideas and an intricate material for the season. It was probably meaningful for him to understand firsthand what happens when a design that looks great on screen gets confronted with technical constraints and how to work towards an optimal resolution.

How has Joe contributed as a young designer to the CHARLES & KEITH design studio and family, and what were some of his strongest attributes as a designer?

FS: It’s a pleasure to have Joe around; he doesn’t shy away from getting his hands dirty and has such a positive spirit. I personally love seeing his growth with this mentoring as he actively tries to contribute and now has a specific customer persona or market in mind in his design process—something that is so intrinsic to our business.

What are some of the most important qualities that the brand looks for in aspiring young designers?

FS: The best asset for us in a designer is the combination of creativity and being able to understand what your customer wants—it’s a great advantage when a designer is able to imagine what shoe the woman you are designing for would desire to have in her wardrobe in a year’s time.

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Would CHARLES & KEITH be doing more of such mentorship or internship programmes?

FS: Nurturing and growing talent is my personal passion and as a brand, I know we would love to continue mentorship programmes with interested young talents from design schools as well as those who might come through the doors of incubator projects such as NewGen. 

Photographed By: Lawrence Teo
Styling: Jeffrey Yan