AROUND GALLERY
STARTED: June 2023 FIND IT AT: 3 Everton Park, #01-73 WHAT TO EXPECT: Around Gallery is a shop-slash-gallery space founded by long-time pals Cheryl Kook (pictured) and Angeline Toh (who's based in New York). Kook, 33, is an artist and had been hosting pop-up shows in various locations over the years, but decided to build a space of her own to run them more effectively. Meanwhile, Toh, 31, is a graphic designer who handles the branding and marketing. Central to the duo's curation of shows and wares on site is a desire to recreate the feeling of discovering a friend's treasure trove. As Kook puts it, it's a collection of items and illustrations that makes them happy and they would like to share that happiness with others too.
At Wormhole – an online bookstore opened by freelance copywriter Seet Siew Ling and project manager Charmaine He in 2021 – the merch that’s sold alongside the books can perhaps be best described as delivering a triple punch of wry humour, cuteness and all‑round warm, fuzzy feelings. Take the greeting cards that feature an image of the viral teary‑eyed kitty cat looking at its own reflection in a window (you know what we’re talking about). The accompanying tag line on it? “Believe in yourself!” Or the iridescent stickers depicting “plant babies” or extra‑chonky Pokemons (which, by the way, are almost always sold out).
Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Female Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Female Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
GET OUT!
If you think shopping is boring now, these five brick-and-mortar businesses in Singapore, all of which opened in the past year or so, will make you change your mind.
HOW THEY SPEND IT
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, \"luxury\" refers to \"something expensive which is pleasant to have but is not really necessary\". Eight Gen Zers tell us what their first luxury purchase was, and what their relationship with luxury is.
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
If there's one designer who seems to know how to get women shopping, it's Han Chong, the founder and creative director of London-based fashion label Self-Portrait. Here, he tells Noelle Loh how he and his brand are keeping the joy of dressing up alive.
these artists are present
All in their 20s, the six artists spotlighted here – all of whom are Singaporean or call Singapore home – are who we think you should be keeping your eye on and collecting now. What are the realities they face and what do they really hope for as artists? Keng Yang Shuen finds out.
harder, better, faster, stronger
This month, corporate Raffles Place will get an unlikely and ultra-groovy new inhabitant: the 6,114sqft Rasa, which touts itself as a “community space for arts, music and culture”, and is the brainchild of local techno and nightlife legend Kavan Spruyt. Keng Yang Shuen finds out from the man and some of the co-conspirators he has roped in – marketing and music head Cindy Tan, creative designer Efy Ramdan, and Chris Shearmon of Wild Pearl, which will help to curate some of the programming – on why this new venture is much more than a club and nothing like what Singapore has had before.
MORE OBJECTS OF DESIRE
For the latest edition of its long-running partnership with Design Miami, Fendi has selected the fast-rising London-based designer Lewis Kemmenoe to put his spin on its signature Peekaboo bag as well as create an accompanying line of furniture.
golden girl
Art has long been in Dior's DNA (fun fact: in 1928-way before becoming a couturier - Christian Dior opened and ran his own gallery that specialised in avant-garde artists of the time). The annual Dior Lady Art project has helped to keep this torch going since its launch in 2016, with renowned international artists invited to put their spin on the maison's most famous bag, the Lady Dior. The latest edition that hit boutiques here recently features collaborations with 11 names. Among them is superstar Canadian painter Anna Weyant, whose Dutch masters-inspired and moody yet humorous portraits of pretty young women were discovered on Instagram in 2019, then sold out in her very first show. Since then, they've fetched as much as more than US$1 million (about S$1.36 million) at auctions and, in 2022, she became the youngest artist to be signed by the Gagosian. Here, a succinct interview with the 29-year-old on herself and what she has designed for Dior.
pushing the needle
The year 2024 marked the 100th anniversary of Lesage, the seminal embroidery house that's a go-to among fashion's greatest couturiers and the maker of Chanel's ultra-exquisite tweeds. As the atelier enters its 101st year, Noelle Loh - following a visit to the Lesage, 100 Years Of Fashion And Decoration exhibition, on at Chanel's Le19M complex in Paris till Jan 26 - breaks down how it continues to revolutionise the hand-done art of weaving and beading.
magic pixie dream girl
With her soulful sound and heartfelt, brutally honest lyrics, the 16-year-old Singapore singer-songwriter known as Mila Bea could very well be our next-gen indie rock goddess and every Gen Zer's best friend. Keng Yang Shuen shines a spotlight on her and her craft.
rainbow brights and starlight
To take its makeup into the future, the house of Chanel has embarked on an unlikely journey with a trio of edgy, independent-minded women it calls the Cometes Collective as its heroines. Its task: to continue brand founder Gabrielle Chanel's mission of dreaming up colours that bring out one's elegance and allure. Nearly a year after the release of the initiative's debut collection, Noelle Loh meets Ammy Drammeh, Valentina Li and Cecile Paravina in London to find out how they're expanding Chanel's beauty universe.
