By: Murnie Rasyiqah, Nur Rusydina & Sarah Hanissa
Among a sea of colours in the MRT, one particular shade stands out: black. Decked in her favourite colour from head to toe, the monotonous colour scheme together with some edgy choice of accessories turn heads.
Who are they?
Unconventional, bold and striking. If you see these fashion head-turners in the streets, these words would be the closest thing you could think of that would perfectly embody their style. Not shy with patterns, loud colours and quirky accessories, they are the type of strangers that would leave an impression on you because of how they looked.
Dressing up almost every day comes to them like second nature, because it’s really all about having fun with the process and feeling confident with yourself. In this new era where there are no rules in fashion, why not go crazy with it? This mindset is what opens a door of opportunity for them to express who they are through what they wear - and it usually gets heads turning.
Prestige Online, a local luxury magazine, describes the Singapore Fashion scene as ‘practical and smart casual” - and nothing more. So when one is bound to stand out, everyone else will notice.
Styles and Identities
When you fall out of what society considers as the norm, it’s not a shocker that you’d have unnecessary labels placed on you. For 23-year-old Erwinshah, who’s currently serving the nation, it’s something he’s gotten used to because of the way he dresses.
As a huge believer that clothes are genderless, he grew to develop a certain style over the years. So for Erwin, scratch the idea that only women can wear skirts because for him, men can too! And in fact, he does it (and totally rocks it). To him, there are no boundaries as to what he can wear as long as he feels good about it. He stands true to the idea of genderless clothing because "anyone could look great in literally anything they drum up".
Erwinshah wearing an outfit from JACK IS JILL, a genderless clothing brand.
(Photo courtesy: @kerninrek on Instagram)
Surely, this isn’t something that most Singaporeans are used to seeing on a daily basis. But even when he’s dressed up in a way that’s not too out of the ordinary, he still receives some reaction from people. Without trying to hide it, some people would let their stares linger for a good minute or they’d frequently turn their heads away. Whether they were done with positive or negative intentions, Erwin never let these bother him one bit as he believes in living to impress yourself and only yourself.
Although he associates with this particular style, his true identity is not to be confused with it as this is only a form of fashion expression. When it comes to the root of who he is as a person, he does not believe in any labels.
“People might think I’m gender fluid, but I’m not. I see no gender only when it comes to clothing,” he mentioned.
Similar to Erwin, Han does not believe in putting herself in a box either, regardless of what people may assume of her. Her style has frequently caused people to call her an e-girl or a goth girl, but the 18-year-old never once considered herself as those as she “believes in being herself”.
Han in one of her everyday outfits, which are mostly from Taobao. She is wearing her favourite pair of boots from KillStar. [Photo courtesy: Han]
How it all started
If there's one word to describe Sonic Arts student Han's style, it would be 'dark.' From afar, you'd think that she's a goth girl, from her black clothing and heavy accessories. However, her fashion sense is inspired by bits and pieces of different fashion styles. If there’s one subculture she’s heavily influenced by, it would be Harajuku Fashion.
Originating from the land of the Rising Sun, Harajuku Fashion is named after a train station in Tokyo called “Harajuku”. This style was first seen in the early 1980s as a movement against societal rules and the pressure to fit in with everybody. Harajuku kids have been defying mainstream fashion since the dawn of time!
Now, Harajuku Fashion is a mix of different Japanese sub-styles ranging from Sweet Lolita, Gothic Lolita, Cosplay to hardcore punk rock clothing. This style seems to be stretched from both sides of the spectrum, making it versatile almost.
However, Han took to her own accord to form her own unique and authentic fashion style through her inspiration.
“I was partially inspired by Harajuku fashion and from there, I kind of developed it into my own style. Harajuku fashion is mostly colourful, so I took the same concept and made it monotonous,” she shared.
Breaking Stereotypes
Han is no stranger to the fear of dressing up in a way that is true to herself - that is, until she started getting into cosplay at the age of 13. Despite her cool demeanour and confidence, she often thought about what people would think of her back in the days.
This fear did not stick to her for long. Her interest in Harajuku Street Fashion began after attending her first Harajuku fashion walk in Singapore.
“Every 2 months, people who are interested in Harajuku fashion would dress up and walk around town for this fashion walk.”
From there, her circle of friends grew and she began to feel more comfortable with her developed sense of style. Her friends would often even dress up together with her!
A deconstruction of Han's outfit: what she has on and where to get them.
(Photo courtesy: Han. Edited by: Nur Rusydina)
There were times when she felt judged, especially in public transport where they would purposely leave the seats beside her empty to avoid sitting next to her.
“I wasn’t outright discriminated against, but it still feels awkward for me,” she recalled how it was like to be in that situation.
She began to develop a rule when it comes to fashion that if people stare, you are doing it right because you look good and seem confident. If they don’t, you are probably not standing out enough.
Han shares one of the most memorable incidents to her that happened in the streets of Bugis: "We walked past this group of friends and this one girl who had a vintage-y fashion style looked at me and said she loved my outfit. I was so happy at that moment, I can never forget it. I love those kinds of interactions.”
“Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. You will find people who are supportive of you and if they aren’t, then you don’t need them.” - Han
This "don't care about what people think" mindset is also common for Erwin. Although people tend to have different types of perception about him, he still stays true to himself because if he looks good, why should it bother anyone else? The comments do not bring him down because he believes that one should be brave enough to be themselves - especially when it comes to fashion. He also has a loving support system consisting of his mother and friends, which is the extra force that keeps him going.
“Wear what you want, do what you like, be you, be brave and just live in the moment. Don’t ever care about what people have to say because you should only be impressing yourself.” - Erwinshah
So when it comes to dressing up, there should not be any limits as long as it makes you feel good and comfortable: which is the rule freelance visual artist Natasha sticks by. Dolling herself up on Instagram for fun, the 25-year-old enjoys expressing herself through styling and art. Her interest kickstarted when she attended art school at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and from there, she got to work a lot with styling.
A breakdown of where Natasha got her pieces of clothing from.
(Photo courtesy: Natasha Izatil. Edited by: Sarah Hanissa)
The pieces she wear out tend to represent herself the most. As a firm believer that “you should never change yourself for anyone”, she said that being yourself is the best way you can truly know your style. Let the outfit speak for you! After all, fashion is a form of self-expression.
“Cliche but honestly all I can say is just do it! If not now, when? Do it for yourself and not anyone else. It’ll be worth it. Express yourself, go crazy!” – Natasha
She adds that she hopes people can get inspired by her outfits she posts on Instagram frequently.
Besides styling her own clothes, she also designs accessories such as necklaces, earrings and spectacles chains. In fact, she sells them at her Instagram shop, @nika.designs. She described her designs as “quirky and tacky”, just like her art style.
When asked how she came up with the designs, she replied, “To be honest, I get inspiration randomly - sometimes from my drawings, sometimes in my dreams when I sleep and even by looking at art/fashion/nature mood boards.”
She adds that she has gotten inspiration from various things, such as vintage jewellery stores, and joked about how her creativity appears at very weird times.
Handmade necklaces by Natasha with her original design (the NIKA face) painted on them. These were sold on her Instagram store, @nika.designs. [Photo courtesy: Natasha Izatil]
Although there seems to be a few common styles in Singapore, it does not mean that we should judge others for owning their own unique style. Just because something is mainstream, does not mean that is the only way you can do it. You should be able to freely express yourself and experiment with what interests you!
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