Fashion that goes beyond the surface — issue #24

Fashion isn't exactly my strong suit. Almost everything  in my closet is Uniqlo—yes, it's the same boring t-shirts and shorts hanging in yours, let's be real my friends. It's cheap, simple, and good enough.

But this also means I know precious little about clothing's nuances, least of all the traditional clothing people wear in Singapore and in the region. For one, I only found out this year (gasp) that batik is actually a wax technique, and that some patterns are forbidden outside of royalty. For shame.

Now, I'll also be the first to admit that this is a problem—because clothing has always been about way more than looking good. 

Entire conversations happen in a swish of fabric. Sometimes that's sussing out someone's social class in fabric patterns or the way a sarong is knotted. Other times, it's stringing lines of htamein (the Burmese sarong) above streets to tell soldiers they aren't welcome.

In Singapore, our prime minister often wears pink when bringing good news, most recently about relaxing COVID-19 restrictions in mid-June. Right around then, many Singaporeans also wore pink to mark Pink Dot, an annual event for the LBGTQ+ movement here.

Same colour; different stories.

What we put on our backs matters, and it's easy to forget this in an era of high fashion and seasonal trends. Let's pay more attention to our clothing—and what it means to the people who make and wear it here in Asia.

Speaking of new garb, we've rebranded and given our website a brand new makeover. Curious what that means for you? Check it out!