“It’s very emotional for me,” says Andrew Gn as he introduces his first-ever retrospective Andrew Gn: Fashioning Singapore and the World at Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).
One can understand why. The exhibition is a celebration of the Paris-based Singaporean fashion designer’s prolific 28-year career and his contributions to contemporary fashion and design.
Standing in front of a select group of media and friends, he says, “I didn’t sleep for three days before I came back [from Paris]. It’s like going back for a high school reunion, seeing all the people you know while you are presenting. I’ve presented my collections to many other people in the world, but it’s the first time that I come back and show them to you. It means a lot to me.”
His humble stance belies his achievements. This is a designer who has dressed some of the most famous and influential women in the world: Lady Gaga, Fan Bing Bing, Maggie Cheung, Emma Stone and even royalty like Queen Rania of Jordan.
He studied Western art and fashion at prestigious institutions in London, New York and Milan, and was an assistant to renowned Parisian couturier Emanuel Ungaro. His label is the first and only one by a Singaporean to show consistently at Paris Fashion Week.
And yet, Asia remains close to his heart. “While my label House of Andrew Gn flourished in France, it is Asia where my story began and where my roots lie,” he says.
Early childhood memories of his merchant father bringing back batik and Chinese silk, and listening to his mother chatting to the tailor in Chinatown helped to kick-start his journey to becoming a fashion designer.
“I was very observant, very obsessed with details,” he recalls. “I saw all the details in my mind, and I always look for information to be inspired. Because I’ll see something, like a movie, and say, oh my, it was wonderful. And a few months later it comes out in my works, unconsciously or subconsciously.”
A cross-cultural journey
The retrospective marks the first time ACM is spotlighting a Singaporean fashion designer. In the five sections showcasing more than 100 archival works, the public will discover Gn’s impact on fashion, his cultural identity as a designer, and learn how his work bridges the dichotomies of East and West, tradition and modernity, and the local and the global.
The sections “In the Global Eye”, “Envisioning Asia” and “Encountering the West” reveal Gn’s diverse sources of inspiration, which include art, literature and film, as well as Chinese, Malay, Indian, Indonesian and Peranakan cultures.
A sleeveless mini dress and jacket, worn by Lily Collins in Emily in Paris, has kerosang-inspired buttons and “pagoda” shoulders; while a ballgown worn by Fan Bing Bing features embroidered floral designs inspired by ceramics produced in the town of Iznik, Turkey from the late 15th to 17th century.
Other highlights include a dramatic silk gown that references a 19th century English lacquer screen; and a printed batik coat with shoulder epaulettes inspired by costumes from Khon, a form of court dancing dating back to Thailand’s Ayutthaya period.
“The Natural World” showcases nature as a major source of inspiration. Butterflies, flowers and corals, which are some of Gn’s key motifs, adorn the outfits. They are elaborately created using beaded clusters of glass, pearls and sequins.
“In The Studio” gives visitors the opportunity to take a closer look at the technical processes and decorative techniques used to create each Andrew Gn work. His creations are designed almost entirely in-house, from the lace and buttons to the trimmings and hand-made embellishments.
While Gn reminds us that his clothes are not haute couture but “luxury ready-to-wear”, it is still fascinating to see his approach to quality and fabrication, and his experimentation with materials and techniques.
Finally, there are a host of exhibition programmes and multimedia activities that visitors can take part in. The digital “Fashion Try-On” interactive experience uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that allows visitors to collect various motifs across exhibition spaces. They can create a personalised outfit that they can model in augmented reality kiosks in the Contemporary Gallery, and keep a printed or digital photograph as a souvenir.
At “Take Flight” on Level 2 Foyer, visitors can also collect and learn more about the motifs, and see a multimedia display by artist Dawn Koh that brings Gn’s watercolour butterflies to life.
Andrew Gn: Fashioning Singapore and the World runs from now till Sep 17, 2023 at Asian Civilisations Museum. Admission charges apply.
All photos courtesy of Asian Civilisations Museum, unless indicated.
