Antebellum
Preferring lean silhouettes over experimentation, Antebellum designer Chia Wei Choong’s latest collection, Axiom, reworks classic menswear styles to sporty effect. Look out for pieces that reference soccer jerseys, sharpened with high performance fit-lines, as well as more suggestive tone-on-tone colors with topstitched details that mirror the lines of the athletic male form to set the heart racing.
Available from Front Row, #02-08/09 Raffles Hotel Arcade,
328 North Bridge Rd., 6224-5501.
Bedlamite
Playing with versatile zipper functions and detailing, the designers behind Bedlamite—Terry Yeo and Joe Kee—have come up with trendy reversible shirts to go with the theme “Schizophrenia: Split Personality.” But there’s nothing schizophrenic about the collection—the pieces are consistently well-made, especially the checkered shirts that draw elements from more established labels like Comme des GarÇons.
Available from Parco next NEXT, #P2-31 Parco, Millenia Walk,
9 Raffles Blvd., 6595-9118.
Coupe-Couso
For something a little bit safer, try Coupe-Couso by Xie Shangqian and Alex Yeo. Inspired by urban travelers working in concrete jungles (read: PMEBs), the duo use specially-dyed Japanese fabrics in muted colors of khaki, camel, indigo, brown and camouflage to create cool staples with a rugged sensibility and a hint of romanticism that will take you through day to night.
Available from Parco next NEXT, #P2-31 Parco, Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Blvd., 6595-9118.
iamwhoiam
One for the cutting-edge crowd, the always innovative Tan Qiuwen has come up with yet another inspired collection. Drawing influences from British Indian Army troops (but with a twist), Tan presents eye-catching pieces like the cotton twill jodhpurs with curved saddle bag seam lines and pop-out pockets, and oversized over-shirts with utilitarian details such as drawstring elastic ropes and workman pockets on the sleeves (very nice). It’s Tan’s always acute sensitivity to the unpredictable that has kept her designs so interesting since starting out in 2007.
Available from Front Row, #02-08/09 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Rd., 6224-5501.
Sunday
If you’re a fan of Nordic fashion (think clean, minimal design with dashes of cute details), the fairly new local label Sunday by Larry Lam will do the trick. Inspired by the Nordic way of life (think Arctic winds, mountain and valleys), Lam has come up with a very wearable range of vests, sweaters and T-shirts in subtle hues of white, grey and blue—whoever says you need to be loud to look this cool?
Available from Parco next NEXT, #P2-31 Parco, Millenia Walk,
9 Raffles Blvd., 6595-9118; and Beluga, #02-05 The Cathay, 2 Handy Rd., 6735-3573.
WANDERWONDER
Also very wearable is WanderWonder, which takes on more traditional menswear shapes and designs in the form of functional and evergreen shirts, pants and T-shirts that you’ll want to wear time and again. Simple lines and cuts, playing with a different mix of fabrics from cotton to polyester, make this essential for the modern man on the go.
Available from Blackmarket, 19 Jalan Pisang, 6296-8512.
W/A
Channeling American literature of the 50 and 60s from the likes of Robert Frank & Alfred Leslie, specifically from the short film Pull My Daisy, the always leftfield Jonathan Seow (Woods & Woods) brings forth work-shirts, Henley-style inspired knit-tops, dockers-styled trousers and bermudas, and parka-jackets through his diffusion label W/A. There is a dash of cerebral quality in these pieces that are sure to be a hit among the thinking fashion set.
Available from Front Row, #02-08/09 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Rd., 6224-5501.
