Southeast Asian Fashion Graduation Shows in 2021
LASALLE, NAFA, SoFA, ESMOD Jakarta, Bunka Fashion School and MDIS
An image from ‘Children of the Soil’, Sabrina Elman, 2021. Image courtesy of LASALLE College of the Arts, School of Fashion.
Amidst the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fashion industry has spent the year searching for the new normal. Retailers have explored digital platforms to boost sales and fashion shows have moved online. Graduation shows at fashion schools have also had to migrate online for the most part. We highlight a few from Southeast Asia, and ask how they have put them up in response to measures against the spread of COVID-19.
A New Light
LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
Image for ‘A New Light’, 2021. Image courtesy of LASALLE College of the Arts, School of Fashion.
The School of Fashion at LASALLE College of the Arts celebrate their graduates from the BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles, BA (Hons) Fashion Media and Industries and Diploma in Fashion programmes as part of the college-wide The LASALLE Show graduation exhibition, which can be seen on campus from 21 May to 20 June 2020, and will continue to exist online after its physical run.
An example of the ‘spaghetti cutting’ technique, Joshua Ng, 2021. Image courtesy of LASALLE College of the Arts, School of Fashion.
'A New Light' showcases the work of 10 graduates from the BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles programme in a video ‘A New Light’, which builds on a question posed by scholars Alexandra Warwick and Dani Cavallaro, “Where does the body end and where does dress begin?” Graduate Joshua Ng uses his 'spaghetti cutting' technique to simplify manufacturing and reduce waste in the fashion industry, for example.
An image from ‘SELF-HOME’, Haeun Stemple, 2021. Image courtesy of LASALLE College of the Arts, School of Fashion.
From the BA (Hons) Fashion Media and Industries programme, graduate Sabrina Elman’s ‘Children of the Soil’ explores the sine qua non of identity and the narrating of cultural presence with an art film. And Haeun Stemple, who is graduating with a Diploma in Fashion, uses ‘SELF-HOME’ to question how fashion might act as a wearable home, and how conceptualisations of self-defence is a new normal.
More works from LASALLE’s School of Fashion can be found here. More on ‘The LASALLE Show Exhibition’ here, which has been extended till 20 June 2021.
The Grad Expectations 2021
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore
Image for ‘The Grad Expectations’, 2021. Image courtesy of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
The Grad Expectations 2021 is a similarly physical and virtual exhibition for the ‘Generation Pandemic’ graduands from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). From the School of Art & Design (SOAD) students, NAFA is presenting a virtual fashion show showcasing the work of graduates from the Diploma in Fashion Design, Diploma in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing, BA (Hons) Fashion Design and BA (Hons) Fashion and Marketing programmes, in the Fashion Studies department on 10 June 2021.
‘BUNGLON’, Marianne Priscilla, 2021. Image courtesy of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
A highlight is the final-year collection ‘BUNGLON’ by Marianne Priscilla, a graduate student from the Diploma in Fashion Design programme, draws inspiration from the panther chameleon and challenges wearers to be different every day.
More works from NAFA’s Fashion Studies graduates will be available here from 10 June 2021.
Graduate Profiles
ESMOD Jakarta and SoFA Design Institute, Makati, Philippines
Image from Rejina Tang, ‘Wild Floretta’ Spring/Summer 21/22 Collection, Regina Fellicia Allen. Image taken from @rejinatang Instagram page.
Social media has allowed organisations, like educational institutes, to have more control over the pacing of their content. ESMOD Jakarta has been actively showcasing the work of its graduating and alumni cohorts through short-form videos and posts across various platforms like Instagram and YouTube, in addition to their website. One such example is the work of Regina Fellicia Allen, whose brand Rejina Tang has launched its ‘Wild Floretta’ Spring/Summer 21/22 collection. A fashion presentation ‘Fashion Feast 2020’, which was streamed on ESMOD’s Youtube channel last year, highlighted the work of 64 designers from the institution.
See more work from ESMOD Jakarta on their YouTube channel and website.
Image from ‘Michael Rosero Studio’, 2021, Michael Rosero. Image taken from SoFA Design Institute Instagram page.
SoFA Design Institute in the Philippines will be holding their official graduation show later this year but the works of previous batches have consistently been highlighted through the Instagram channel of the institution. One of the featured profiles is alumnus Michael Rosero, who recently launched a new diffusion line for his brand after graduating from SoFA.
See SoFA’s website and students’ works here.
Archive of Graduation Projects
Bunka Fashion School, Thailand
Image from ‘Ancient Amazonian’, 2020, Sirikarn Rattanaudomsawatt. Image taken from Bunka Fashion School website.
An advantage of online platforms is that the longevity of information may be increased exponentially, free from the constraints of physical presentations. Bunka Fashion School in Thailand keeps an archive of all their previous Graduation Projects on their website, well-documented with the names of the works and the corresponding graduating student. A project that stands out is ‘Ancient Amazonian’, a collection of brightly-coloured garments inspired by the Amazon rainforest, from Sirikarn Rattanaudomsawatt from the class of 2020.
More graduation projects from Bunka Fashion School here.
In light of the Covid-19 situation in Southeast Asia, some institutes have indefinitely postponed their graduation shows. One example is Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). FAM spoke to Kae Hana, a fashion educator at MDIS, through an episode of ‘In The Vitrine’, where she shares the organic materials she and her students have been experimenting with to make "fabric", including nettle and banana peel.
Watch the two-part episode of ‘In The Vitrine’ with Kae Hana here.
Budding fashion practitioners -- and their lecturers -- have put together the best graduation shows under trying circumstances. These presentations and repositories are a display of the resilience and adaptability of the graduating cohort as they formally enter the fashion industry.