YOU'RE ALWAYS INVITED HERE

CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND THE HYPERCOOL JAPANESE SALON GROUP LESS IS MORE, OR MORE AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS LIM. THIS YEAR, IT CELEBRATES ITS 15TH YEAR IN BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE. KENG YANG SHUEN A SELF-PROFESSED FAN AND LONG-TIME CUSTOMER LOOKS AT HOW IT HAS SHAPED CULTURE AS MUCH AS THE HAIR BUSINESS HERE, AND DISCUSSES ITS FUTURE IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

While Tan, the engineer-turned-director of LIM's operations in Singapore, insists that the LIM salons don't have a set aesthetic, the brand can be said to have popularised colourful hairstyles that look right out of 1990s Harajuku. That funky creative spirit is also reflected in the salons themselves, which incorporate exhibition spaces and might have been what drew frequent Lady Gaga collaborator Nicola Formichetti (pictured with Tan in the top row on the opposite page, second from left) to Kizuki+LIM for a haircut when he was in town in 2012.

On the first Sunday of last month, the vibrant experimental art gallery UltraSuperNew on Tyrwhitt Road became the site of an infectiously feel-good party. The DJs for the day comprised three of the most beloved names in local nightlife and culture from across three generations: Darker Than Wax co-founder Dean Chew; Gen, aka DJ Yetpet of the party collective Strange Weather; and Fern Teo, the Gen Z multi-hyphenate behind the indie art and design store Shrub. The crowd was a diverse mix of nattily dressed Japanese men; young parents and their children; as many elderly couples as there were trendy youths; as well as creatives of every stripe.

And helping to keep the energy buoyantly fun were activities ranging from a pop-up tattoo booth to a live takoyaki station.