Christian Dada Opens New Flagship Store In Singapore

Christian Dada is a Japanese label founded by Masanori Morikawa in 2010. The name is a portmanteau of Morikawa's grandfather forename "Christian" and "Dada" in short for the art movement Dadaism. Influenced by his grandfather (who worked as an embroiderer), the art of embroidery is a signature accent of the house. One that Morikawa wields to mark his collections with a distinct individuality. The principle of individualism (and the pursuit of it) is the conceptual thread in Morikawa's clothes that ties it to dadaism. The clothes are designed to be different—out of the mainstream—and  thus, to fully appreciate your purchase and the label, question it's integrity. When you visit the store, ask about the "hows" and "whys".

Likewise, the new Christian Dada flagship store on 268 Orchard Road itself is a 1700 square foot narrative. Designed by +ft+/Fumiko Takahama Architects, the store is the first outside Tokyo and the store's futuristic facade is perhaps a wink to the band's plans for global expansion. Inside, the clothes are neatly spaced along silver rails, under a roof of white beams which casts the fluorescent lighting. There are also rock-like seats, intersected throughout the middle section of the store which akin to those found in a Japanese rock garden (a key inspiration for the store). Each "rock" is an origami masterpiece: formed by the folding of black perforated metal sheets, and such intertwining of modern materials and techniques with traditional art forms is the genius of Morikawa contemporary offerings to fashion.

All in all, the new Christian Dada store is a refreshing inclusion along the bustling street and its originality—amongst the crowd of luxury brands—is truly an earnest salute to the norm-bending intuition of the Dadaism movement.

By James Lennon Tan