Fabrics + gadgets on the ADM runway

By Valerie Lay

Student model Joan Lee (second from left) assists Iskandar (in black) in taping his piece, inspired by lotus and bat flowers, as Rebecca Chong gets her dress ready with the help of exchange student Esther Ying, minutes before the show.

Being a fashion designer typically involves working with fabrics. But students of the Technology Art in Fashion module, offered by the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM), were in for a whole different challenge.

As its name would suggest, the intensive course required students to tinker with both fabrics and nifty gadgets. This involved programming lights, motors and sensors and incorporating them into dresses made from scratch.

Despite the challenges, all eight students in the class managed to take their semester-long project to the runway.

Iskandar Ruhaizat does a final check around the classroom while others make finishing touches before leaving for the venue.

Their final works of art were showcased at MANGOSTEEN, a collaborative fashion show held at the Singapore Turf Club on April 21. The students also shared the runway that night with avant-garde fashion designers from around the world.

Some students modelled their own dresses while others had fellow students — and even siblings — strut their creations before the 100-strong audience.

The sophistication of the dresses immediately captured the attention of the crowd. Many whipped out their phones to snap photos of the students’ hard work.

Ruohan, an exchange student from the United States, gets her look done by student makeup artists Vimal Kumar and Audrey Ng.

“It was really fulfilling to see our designs, made from months of late nights and hard work being appreciated by people, and I’m happy that our designs received overwhelming responses from the crowd,” said Charlene Chua, one of the featured student designers.

However, the 19-year-old had hoped for more airtime.

Each piece was showcased for only 30 seconds.

Melissa Low, a previous student of the Technology Art in Fashion module, spices up her eye makeup with a pair of fake lashes.

“The walk was a mere moment of fame, and I felt that was too short given the amount of time and effort we spent making the garments,” she added.

Melissa Low, 23, a previous student of the module agreed: “From coming up with inspiration to sourcing for material to the final showcase, the entire process takes a few months. On the day itself, it can also take up to six hours to prepare — from hair and makeup to dressing up for the show. All of this for that 30 seconds.”

Although the NTU team only took to the stage at about 9pm, students arrived as early as 2pm for makeup and retouches for their dresses.

ADM student Jeremy Ng models in a suit designed by Dinie Solihah Abbas. The design draws from the concept of endangered pangolins where lights represent ants and broken mirrors represent pain.

One of the students, Iskandar Ruhazat, expressed hopes for more opportunities to display unique works.

“It would be great if Singapore Fashion Week can have a segment showcasing wearable technology, (so that) the team’s efforts can be further envisioned… to a wider range of audiences,” the 24-year-old said.