Design of Singapore

It was probably the watching of Project Runway 1 & 2 reruns. Or it was a deep down desire to be a contestant in that show (even though I am hardly a Fashion Designer - garment construction, what's that?). Whatever it was, I had a disturbing dream. I dreamt I was contestant in Project Runway International, where designers across the globe compete for the title of Best Fashion Designer. In that particular dream, the challenge was to design a collection inspired by the City you are from.

The designers from Munich had their collection inspired by the Bauhaus and was edgy and modern. The New York designers played with muted colors of shades of grey, beige and olive. Splashes of bright neon colors and sharply tailored clothes was used as well to reflect the quirks and architecture of New York. The Parisans had a glamourous and elegant collection. Fine silks, satins and the finest cottons graced their collection, reflecting the stereotypical poise and glamor of Paris. The Londoners played around with street-punk preppy. When it was my turn, the models each held a bundle of white cotton and paraded down the runway naked. I was squealing in horror.

Nina Garcia quickly stopped my squealing and proceeded to question me about my collection. "Are you trying to make a point? Are you trying to say that the city of Singapore is an open and transparent nation?"

"No mdm. My country is hardly transparent." I answered softly.

Michael Kors interrupted. "So what is this? Why are your models naked? Where is the Singapore story? Where is the Design of Singapore?"

Then I suddenly woke up, sweating, Michael Kors's voice still in my head. "Where is the Design of Singapore?"

It's a question every Singaporean designer, artist and anyone in the creative industry should ask themselves. Are we as individual creatives, inspired by the City we are living in? Singapore, an aspiring design hub of Asia has hardly any element or story that a designer could work with. What is the Singapore story? What is the Singapore identity? Where is our brand?

The government of Singapore is now trying their best to create and foster the Singapore identity. It's understandable. Without a national identity, citizens are less loyal and have no reason to stay rooted in this nation. We would not have anything to be proud of. There are some who believes that trying to create an identity for a nation is a rather silly thing to do. Identities are not created, but developed over time as the nation progresses. Different cultures merge to create unique ones. Hence, it's perhaps a disappointment that the government has decided to eradicate any trace of Singlish, a language unique to Singapore created by combining various elements from the four major races of Singapore. The eradication of Singlish reached a ridiculous point when the government wanted both Puah Chu Kang and Under One Roof - both local comedies with Singlish as their main communicative language and played important parts for the jokes - to use proper British English. It didn't last. Thank god. But the damage was done.

Designing identities are a tricky thing. When designing identities for corporations and institutions, the identities is designed to be a guideline for the corporation to follow. Identities for nations, countries and cities however are not guidelines. But a reflection of the country itself. The story of the city. The history of the nation. From these elements, designers will pull and work with. Their works will be a part of the city, fostering a brand and image, extending the identity.

The identity of Singapore will not be created by any government initiative or any one designer. It will be a growing living organism that will feed off the people's ideas, cultures, and language. These will inspire designers who would then play important roles in fostering and strengthening that identity. Perhaps then finally, I could revisit my dream, redesign my collection and kick everyone's collective asses.