Humans Of SG Fashion: Emerging Designer Grace Ling Dabbles In The "Primitive Chic"
In this series of features from our August edition, 10 local industry insiders from across disciplines share their observations of and aspirations for style on this little red dot. Here, fast-rising fashion designer Grace Ling speaks to us on her observations of the design scene today.
This is a PSA: if you aren't already familiar with the sculptural and surreal works of Grace Ling, start paying attention. She's the Singapore fashion designer-on-the-rise with her year-old eponymous label that taps on technology such as 3D printing and CGI to create conceptual tailored garments and the wittiest bags and jewellery that come across as at once sensual, gothic and hyper luxurious.
(For example, Ling's Self Portrait signet ring was crafted by having her own face covered in hot plaster to create a mold. It was then scanned with 3D technology and refined into a ring.)
Having trained at Central Saint Martins in London, Parsons School of Design in New York as well as interning at Thom Browne and The Row, the 24-year-old has made the Big Apple her base since 2016 when she completed her studies.
Grace Ling has swiftly made a name for herself with her richly surreal accessories, such as this signature Butt Bag that's inspired by biomorphic forms.
What is your take on Singapore’s fashion identity today?
"Singapore is a pretty young country, so it is natural for the fashion industry to be still developing. Although the current fashion here is pretty commercial, I hope to see it grow and value towards a more authentic and artistic direction.
Four years ago, Dover Street Market opened in Singapore. That was very impressive, and it provides a sense of hope and vision for many young creatives, which is essential in cultivating a long-lasting fashion culture of our own."
Ling's Fall/Winter 2021 collection, titled Mimicry, continues her fascination with the human body, and includes sensuous knits as well as witty accessories such as the Comb necklace (pictured here below model's hand).
What more (or less) do we need to make Singapore a “true” fashion city?
"I think Singapore still has a dominant blog shop culture... perhaps the commercial side and the high fashion sit too closely to each other (with the same models, stylists and teams). Both have their perks but sometimes it can be quite confusing.
I think nurturing and funding street culture is very important. Fashion always translates from the ground up through authentic street culture and I am beginning to see this in Singapore, so that is very hopeful."
Complete this sentence: In future, I hope that Singapore fashion...
"...will be filled with many innovative homegrown labels that are conscious of the impacts of fast fashion. And I hope Dover Street Market Singapore will buy more Singaporean-born labels."
"I absolutely adore the surrealist art movement and surrealism has become a kind of philosophy for me, both in life and design. However, I’d like to think that my work is very different from (famed Surrealists such as) Elsa Schiaparelli, both the original and the redefined version today by Daniel Roseberry. Yes, both pay an homage to surrealism but the execution, aesthetics and vision are very different. In some ways I am almost kind of minimal and essentialist; I like to find the perfect balance between humor and clean essentials in terms of aesthetics."
The human body is very fascinating; I enjoy studying it a lot because it taps into our subconscious and makes us rethink our being, our posture and ourselves. I revisit the human body all the time because it is a universal language that transcends time, culture and geography.
"The unofficial term I use to call my work is actually 'primitive chic'. I like to strip everything down to its essence and what’s left is a pure shape, form or sensation. I am inspired by a lot of dystopian films and the technology aspect of it plays a huge role in completing the brand’s world. Sometimes it makes it almost bizarre or unsettling; I think this accentuates the primal and the sensual even more. It is an odd sense of familiarity."
"The Fall/Winter 2021 collection is about an absurdist and humorous approach to this idea of anthropomorphism. That basically means – the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, so I thought the theme of Mimicry was perfect!"
"(Some of my favourite sci-fi works:) Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. I love a conceptual monolith. Wes Anderson’s symmetry is so powerful. Novels like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and also Westworld (only first season) and Terry Gilliam's Brazil. I am almost obsessive about space and composition within an image or film and these artists allow me to fulfil my dreams and narration. I sometimes also feel like I live in a film when I am 3D printing my bags."