5 Standout Designers To Look Out For From The Raffles Design 2025 Graduation Fashion Show

Fresh vision was on full display at Raffles Design Singapore’s Class of 2025 fashion show. We shine the spotlight on five standout looks, and the rising talents who brought them to life.

Photo: Courtesy of Raffles College of Higher Education

By Tenki Teh - published 30 Jun 2025

This year’s Raffles Graduation Ceremony, Exhibition and Fashion Show marked a significant milestone: 35 years of Raffles Design Singapore shaping young designers who think critically and create with intent. The showcase was more than a celebration of form or technique. It revealed how fashion can express emotion and respond to the world with clarity at the same time.

Each graduating collection told its own story, whether it was shaped by lived experience, cultural reflection or imaging futures. What stood out to us was not just the skill on display, but the depth of thought behind each look. From fabric choices to silhouettes, the designers demonstrated a sensitivity to the times they live in and the values they carry forward.

In a school known for its commitment to industry relevance and creative experimentation, this year’s cohort showed they were ready to lead conversations, not just follow trends. These five collections were among the most arresting on the runway, not only for how they looked, but also for what they asked us to consider. Read on to find more.

1. Aurelia Carissa

Aurelia Carissa’s “The Garden” blooms in defiance of fast fashion and AI-generated design. Rooted in the Arts and Crafts Movement and subcultural aesthetics, her collection champions the imperfect and the handmade. It imagines fashion not just as adornment, but as a form of resistance, where each garment is cultivated like a garden; intentional and alive. Graduating with First-Class Honours, Aurelia is also the first Raffles College recipient of the Singapore Fashion Council Scholarship.

From blush-pink florals embroidered over black to mossy greens paired with utility boots, “The Garden” reclaims prettiness as power. Beading and embellishments feel tender, not decorative; conscious acts of care in an increasingly automated world, along with each individual cross-stitch.

2. Gwendolyn Yam Oi Yi

Gwendolyn Yam’s collection is a study in contrasts, bringing together the tactile richness of traditional craftsmanship with the precision of modern technology. “Between the Threads” questions how fashion can bridge the old and the new, without losing the integrity of either.

Saturated colours and sculptural flourishes gave each look a clear sense of intent; there was nothing timid here. Florals came fragmented and layered, while satin jackets featured ribbon loop fastenings reworked with a contemporary edge. Every piece invited a closer look, revealing thoughtful construction beneath visual intricacies. Gwendolyn was awarded the Tutor’s Prize for her strong academic performance and growth across her time at Raffles, and her collection reflects that journey.

3. Kim Joon Hee

“Reconstructed Realities” reflects on how beauty is reshaped under social pressure. In a world governed by images, Kim Joon Hee’s menswear collection draws from the aesthetics of cosmetic surgery to explore how identity is altered, masked, and refitted to meet cultural ideals of perfection.

The monochrome garments appeared sculpted rather than sewn. Pleating and texture ran across the surfaces like surgical grafts, while fabric masks erased the face entirely. The pieces question who we become when the desire to be seen turns into pressure to conform. There was a sense of anonymity in the collection that made each look more haunting, making it feel distant but deeply intimate.

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4. Li Ruoyi

Li Ruoyi’s “Wear the Burden” collection looks at the physical and emotional cost of overwork in city life. It distorts the familiar codes of workwear, layering sheer fabrics over crushed textures to create garments that feel fragile and fatigued. Suits are reimagined with translucent panels, wrinkled finishes, and uneven silhouettes that pull and hang in unexpected ways.

Shirting is deconstructed, with the sleeves gauzy and limp while trousers and shorts shimmer with a worn sheen. The palette stays restrained: blacks, greys, and whites, broken only by a red-lit object like a beating heart—an external symbol of something usually hidden. Every piece seems weighed down or stretched thin, echoing the exhaustion written into their form.

5. Min Khant Kyaw

Min Khant Kyaw’s collection draws from sleep paralysis and mythology, treating fear not as something to silence, but as a source of creativity. “Intertwined” reimagines the moment between control and surrender, where body and mind are caught in limbo, and something invisible always pulls you back.

A full-length gown paired sharp tailoring with translucent lace and a pooling satin skirt, exuding both elegance and unease. Another look featured black features erupting from a crimson jacket’s seams, like something organic pushing its way out. The silhouettes were commanding, with black and blood-red dominating the palette, high collars, corsetted bodices, and sheer sleeves.