Singapore Brand Stolen To Launch New, More Affordable Range
As the designer behind Singapore label Stolen, Elyn Wong fuses art into sensuous dresses and separates. For her new diffusion line White, she does the same to one of the most essential pieces in a woman’s wardrobe.
By NOELLE LOH,
Elyn Wong is one of the rare few who is as much an insider’s designer as she is the everyday woman’s. Under her nearly 10-year-old label Stolen, she makes minimalist, architecture-influenced tops and dresses look and feel sensuous.
Her signature is the exposed back, with each garment cut in unexpected ways to reveal what she calls “one of the most elegant parts of the feminine body”. And she presents her work like art, be it through conceptual images or collaborations. The latest was for the SG50 initiative Singapore: Inside Out, which saw her team up with choreographer Lee Mun Wai, architect Chang Yong Ter, and audiovisual collective Syndicate for a performance piece; the dancers dressed in floaty, origami-esque creations of hers.
This month, Wong distils her intellectual-meets-sexy aesthetic further by debuting her diffusion label White by Stolen. Available only through private studio viewings for now (e-mail contact@stolenstolen.com), it specialises in a single item: the white shirt. Wong explains that it’s an idea that she’s had for years, but is only realising now after establishing Stolen’s DNA. “Stolen has always delivered an alternative sexiness… To me, the garment that delivers this quiet confidence is a white shirt.”
Like in her main line, things are deceptively simple. The first collection consists of 14 styles broadly categorised into three lengths: cropped ($199), normal ($229) and long shirt dresses ($269). Made in Singapore using 100 per cent cotton, all are unisex, or can be tweaked to suit a guy. Wong says: “Twelve of the styles are based on straight-cut men’s shirts, because that’s how I like them.”
Elevating them from basic to conversation pieces are clever yet subtle details. Take 003, an otherwise classic shirt if not for slits on the elbow that lend a rebellious edge. Or 008, a shirt with sleeves scrunched up to create a slightly poofy effect, and slit down behind from the upper back – the mix of ladylikeness and masculine is refreshingly modern.
Says Wong: “For me, the allure, confidence and sophistication of a woman in a white shirt is sometimes far beyond that of one in a little black dress. That it can make both an 18-year-old and 80-year-old look good is also pretty magical.”
An adapted version first appeared in Female's February issue.
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