Defenders Of A Lost Art
Female Singapore|June 2023
On the left is independent writer Xingyun Shen, one of the most prominent young sustainability advocates here whose biggest shtick is encouraging people to get more wear out of their wardrobes. On the right is artist/designer Konanliz Chu, a 27-year-old who moved here from China last year to pursue her master's degree and has not been actively shopping since 2020. Now aren't they also some of the most fashion-forward individuals around? Here, they share with Keng Yang Shuen about how they shop less, buy better and do more for the earth, all while keeping their love for fashion lit.
Keng Yang Shuen
Defenders Of A Lost Art

THE 27-YEAR-OLD, FASHION-DESIGN-TRAINED KONANLIZ CHU - A STUDENT IN THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE'S MASTER OF ARTS AND CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME WHOSE DELIGHTFULLY INVENTIVE OOTDS (DEFINED BY "UPCYCLING, REMAKING AND STYLING") ARE DOCUMENTED ON HER INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT @DOW.D.P

How many pieces of clothing do you have in your wardrobe?

"I sent most of my summer wardrobe to Singapore and I have a lot more winter clothing back in China (she hails from Shanghai). In middle school, I was probably the first person in class who knew how to purchase things online and developed an obsession with internet shopping - my peers were always amazed by all the clothes that I bought online. These days, my wardrobe is composed of pieces left over from those days of irrational online shopping. Now that I'm older, I thrift and upcycle old garments instead. I estimate that I have about 80 or so garments here with me in Singapore."

You shared that you've largely stopped buying newly produced clothes. What prompted this?

"The day I made up my mind to stop actively purchasing newly produced clothes was on my birthday after graduating from the London College of Fashion in 2020, when the pandemic meant that as graduates, we couldn't physically showcase our work ... During that chaotic period, I realised that my passion for fashion isn't driven by the desire to make money. Instead, all I wanted was to do something that's not harmful to the environment while being able to feed myself. This led me to cut down on buying brand-new things and adopt a more conscious mode of consumption."

When was the last time you bought something new?

"Last December; I bought a bag in Penang made from batik scraps from local communities."

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