ON the UP

Young local designer Caro Chia on seeing fashion through the lens of abstract art and sculpture.

- IAN LOH

Since her graduate collection in 2019 to the upcoming Spring/Summer 2022 collection, 25-yearold fashion designer and sculptor Caro Chia has imbued her designs with poetic narratives that explore the dynamics of sculpture and fashion. Heavily influenced by the likes of Barbara Hepworth and Jean Arp, Chia’s designs resemble fluid, architectural cuts that capture a quiet sensuality in a multitude of beautiful expressions. From a corset top with curved lines akin to an oval wooden paint tray to a bodysuit with crescent shoulders and matching blue-dipped gloves, and a diaphanous dress that is brilliantly draped and twisted during lockdown; her aesthetic stands at the forefront of fashion as a quest to align abstract art with an uninhibited gesture of garments.

Tell us more about your brand. How would you describe your design?

Caro Chia is a contemporary fashion brand focusing on abstraction and innovation of shapes, material, cutting, authenticity and experimental process on sculpture to bring new perspectives in fashion to the modern world.

Your designs are very much influenced by abstract art and sculpture; can you tell us more about why you are drawn to them?