By Harper’s Bazaar Singapore Team - published
"A few weeks back, I was watching the Met Gala, to see how the stars interpret its theme of “China: Through the Looking Glass” this year. Finally, Asian fashion is having its time on the world stage. Unfortunately, many Hollywood stars came decked out like pageant queens for the national dress segment of the Miss World competition. I was running out of fingers (and toes) counting the number of cheongsam designs: sheer; lace; black; bejeweled… Also, why did they have to draw on all the beauty clichés of Asia – read red lips, chignon hair, gold fingernails and black winged liner extending from Hollywood to Hong Kong. Was this millennial fashion or a throwback to The World of Suzie Wong?
The evening was crowned with Rihanna in a massive yellow cloak by Chinese designer Guo Pei that made her look more like scrambled eggs than an Empress Dowager. What happened to the creative genius of world-class designers? Does it all boil down to plundering the archives for porcelain prints and Chinese dragon motifs? It made me think back to 2013 when we started the Harper’s BAZAAR Asia New Generation Fashion Designer Award: We weren’t looking for rehashed Asian costumes or national dresses.
This year, many of the 10 regional finalists took inspiration from Asian culture: Turn to page 118 and you will see a mandarin collar or two from Vietnam; a couple of fisherman pants from the Thai designers; and the winner of this year’s regional award, Singapore’s Silvia Teh, and her Indonesian and Japanese references, which she mixes into an interesting mélange of enlarged batik prints and tonal blues. It’s all contemporary fashion that you can wear from Singapore to New York.
On page 52, Gerald Tan picks the top 19 Asian designers you must check out the next time you travel to Bangkok, Seoul or Tokyo – fabulous modern fashion in the right fabrics, cuts and sizes for the Asian consumer. Asian fashion today can no longer be about parody. Yes, we can self-reference, but see how Dries Van Noten does it: Beautiful brocade fabrics and ikat prints in easy shapes and contemporary designs, all worn with a healthy nude glow and lightly brushed hair. It’s about looking chic without the clichés.
Read what our cover girl Ayu Gani from Indonesia says about being Asia’s Next Top Model 2015, and representing the look and feel of modern Asia. She does it with strength, empowerment and confidence – without a winged eye liner or kebaya in sight."—Kenneth Goh, Editor-in-Chief