Up And Coming Stylist Sabrina Elman Tackele Notions Of Malayness
Female Singapore|November 2021
For her graduating project this year, Lasalle College of The Art's fashion media and industries graduate sabrina elman directed, wrote and produced children of the soil a stylised short film that explores notions of Malayness. Malaysian modernist painter Latiff Mohidin was a key inspiration; traditional fabrics like javanese batik and songket feature heavily; ditto audio notes sampled from local malay films from the '60s - making for a stunning and powerful display that establishes the 24-year-old as one to watch. As with some of the most groundbreaking fashion designers and image-makers to emerge in recent years (grace wales bonner, telfar clemens and Kerby Jean-Raymond of pyer moss come to mind), conversations about race, history and identity are central to her work. Here, she tells Keng Yang Shuen why she - and many others will keep talking about them.
Up And Coming Stylist Sabrina Elman Tackele Notions Of Malayness

WHY DO YOU THINK THERE'S BEEN THIS GROWING MOVEMENT OF EMBRACING ONE'S CULTURAL BACKGROUND STRONGLY AND MANIFESTING IT THROUGH FASHION AND ART IN RECENT YEARS?

Our identities are what make us special. It acts as a distinctive trait and because of the deep understanding and intimate relationship we have with it, the possibilities for exploration are limitless. We cannot be accused of appropriating our own culture - it is ours and it's up to us how we identify with it. I don't think that the works with a strong cultural narrative that are coming out these days are necessarily related to or are a response to something happening in Singapore specifically. Instead, I get the impression that we are simply discovering more about ourselves and looking into whatever we have as inspiration to create – and it's about time. We tend to look far and outwards for inspiration, but we've actually got a lot to work with right here.

WHY DO YOU THINK BROWN REPRESENTATION SPECIFICALLY IS HAVING A MAJOR MOMENT IN ART AND FASHION RIGHT NOW?

I don't like to think of whatever I create as part of a specific movement. When I created Children of the Soil (watch it on childrenofthesoil.cargo.site), I didn't start out with a movement in mind, or the desire to prove my abilities and creativity as a brown creative. I just wanted to produce a piece of work that I felt would do my culture justice, because I think the fashion world could do more than perceive Malayness from just batik cloth or a brown-colored person in their traditional costume. Maybe this has to do with how we learn culture in Singapore in our tender years – through baju kurung, kueh, traditional instruments and games. This is a superficial understanding of one's culture. There are so many layers and this applies to all cultures, of course.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM FEMALE SINGAPOREView all
A Not So Common Scent
Female Singapore

A Not So Common Scent

For the first time, the singular house of Hermes has launched a chypre perfume fragrance type known for its complexity and dualistic nature a that comes in a first-of-its-kind bottle, no less. Keng Yang Shuen finds out more about Barenia, Hermes's latest scent that hit stores recently, from the brand's in-house perfumer Christine Nagel.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2024
Strange Love
Female Singapore

Strange Love

The six names in this story create wildly different works that tend to blur the boundaries among disparate disciplines. All have little in common except one thing: a certain wondrousness and sense of curiosity that inspire audiences to look at familiar things anew. Keng Yang Shuen reports.

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024
The artist
Female Singapore

The artist

Johnny Depp is certainly far from the conventional leading man: the iconically quirky on-screen roles, the rock musician persona (he was a guitarist before becoming an actor), the unexpected neoexpressionist portraits in 2022 (these paintings of cultural heroes ranging from AI Pacino to Elizabeth Taylor sold out in a day), and of course the title of being Dior's long-standing poster boy for its wilderness-inspired flagship men's perfume Sauvage for nine years and counting.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2024
spirited away
Female Singapore

spirited away

Collaborations with the art world have become a trusted way of injecting novelty into fashion.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2024
Showtime
Female Singapore

Showtime

Shaggy, floor-sweeping, candy-coloured faux fur coats. A tuxedo suit with exaggerated proportions that's a nod to Marlene Dietrich. Bondage-inspired evening gowns. One would think that a collaboration fronted by a contemporary label would mean tempering down on the drama, but the Bimba Y Palomo collection, a tie-up between the fun-loving Bimba Y Lola and the red-carpet provocateur Palomo Spain, more than doubles down on it. Here, the latter's creative director Alejandro Gomez Palomo gives an exclusive interview on keeping the dream of dressing up alive.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2024
Glam Rocks
Female Singapore

Glam Rocks

Lying At The Heart Of Celine Beaute, The First Cosmetics Line From The House Of Celine, Is A Decidedly Romantic Notion: That Makeup Should Be A Luxurious Ritual.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2024
mother!
Female Singapore

mother!

FOR AN EDITION CENTRED AROUND NOSTALGIA, HOW COULD WE NOT HEAR FROM THE ONES WHO'VE SEEN THEIR RESPECTIVE INDUSTRIES CHANGE OVER TIME? SIX RENOWNED AND BELOVED CULTURAL AUTHORITIES IN FASHION, DESIGN AND CULTURE IN SINGAPORE SHARE WHAT THEY'VE LEARNT, WHAT THEY MISS AND WHAT WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
the art of reflection
Female Singapore

the art of reflection

DICTIONARY.COM DEFINES NOSTALGIA AS \"A WISTFUL DESIRE TO RETURN IN THOUGHT OR IN FACT TO A FORMER TIME IN ONE'S LIFE, TO ONE'S HOME OR HOMELAND, OR TO ONE'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS\". KENG YANG SHUEN ZEROES IN ON FIVE SINGAPORE ARTISTS INTERPRETING THIS OFTEN-INTANGIBLE QUALITY AS WELL AS THE NOTION OF TIME AND MEMORY ONLY TO EVOKE POIGNANCY, CURIOSITY AND EVEN PLENTY OF LAUGHS.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
thank you for the memories
Female Singapore

thank you for the memories

GEN Z IS OFTEN SAID TO BE A NOSTALGIA-INFATUATED BUNCH. THE SIX DIGITAL NATIVES FEATURED HERE LIVE UP TO THAT REPUTATION WITH THEIR COLLECTION OF CLOTHES, ACCESSORIES, TOYS, OBJECTS AND MORE THAT DATE BACK TO A TIME IN WHICH THEY WERE GROWING UP OR IN SOME CASES HAVE NEVER EVEN LIVED THROUGH. PAIGE BOON GETS THEM TO OPEN UP THEIR ARCHIVES AND ABOUT THEIR LOVE OF YESTERYEAR.

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2024
Super Natural
Female Singapore

Super Natural

Who Better To Tell Us More About The N°1 De Chanel Revitalising Eye Serum - The Latest Addition To Chanel's N°1 De Chanel Skincare Collection That Promises To Give Peepers A Fresh, "Wide Awake" Look-than The Maison's Doe-eyed Ambassador And Face Of The Line, Minji Of Newjeans?

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2024