Nadya reflects on her presentation ‘Framing the Body: Yip Cheong Fun and Singapore Photography in the 1960s and 1970s’ as part of the ‘Addressing Images’ series at the Research Forum at Courtauld Institute of Art, where she looked at the body’s role within the images, which have not yet been analysed in detail, and the embodied experience of looking at them. Daniela talks about the photographs that stood out to her, and Nadya speaks further about how notes from the audience, including from Rebecca Arnold’s (@documentingfashion) in the latest episode from Rebecca & Beatrice’s weekly fashion podcast (@bandeapartpodcast), have given her new ideas about the photographers and their work.

In the Vitrine

Ep 72 | Seeing the Body in Yip Cheong Fun Photographs

We reflect upon interdisciplinary projects where fashion intersects with art through our Singapore Art Week experience as both visitors and participants. From among the 130 projects, Dani zooms in on Brian Gothong Tan's 'The Swimming Pool Library' project with T:>Works and Fyerool Darma's ' L♤ND$¢♤PΞ$' at Yeo Workshop. She also talks about her work with Mash-Up collaborating with Butterknife Folk at Funan SG. Nadya speaks about the A&M Salon talk she moderated at SAW Dialogues that discussed the intersection of art with food and design, including fashion.

Episode 71 | Fashion at Intersections with (Singapore) Art (Week)

Dani speaks about setting up a mending station at Super Freak Boutique, and the conversations she had with the owners of clothes that were brought to her. Nadya muses about the connections that the act of mending can engender, and Dani talks about the existence of mending cafés elsewhere, where one can teach or learn the skills to prolong the life of a garment. Bonus! Dani shows a beautiful example of visible mending onscreen.

Episode 70 | Super Freak Boutique and Mending Cafés

chatter, and wonder about how the democratisation of fashion has affected the business of heritage luxury brands. They also discuss art student Zou Yaqi’s ability to gain access to freebies in Beijing using a counterfeit Hermès bag, and Telfar’s working model to redefine the consumption of a luxury bag.

Ep 69 | Redefining Luxury: Chanel’s Advent Calendar, Zou Yaqi and Telfar

Dani speaks about presenting 'Home Economics with A Stubborn Bloom' in the sixth edition of Objectifs’ 'Women in Film and Photography' programme, which looks at the theme of inheritance. This brings us to talk about garment care, including mending as an act of affection to give garments a new lease on life, and how it contributes to the story and enjoyment of them.

Ep 68 | Garment Care and Mending as an Act of Affection

Dani and Nadya catch up on what they have been doing in the past couple of weeks: a talk that Dani gave with A Stubborn Bloom about home economics at the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, looking at artist Ian Tee’s reworking of textiles to make his works as a part of the initiative ‘Walk Walk Don’t Run’ by Grey Projects and an exhibition titled ‘The Tailors and the Mannequins: Chen Cheng Mei and You Khin’ at a new project space ‘Dalam Southeast Asia’ at the National Gallery Singapore. They find fashion discourses popping up in spaces that do not cater strictly to fashion, and dream about how that might change in the near future.

Ep 67 | Encountering Fashion in Other Spaces

The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education took place from 1 to 2 October, and we speak about Daniela’s presentation, ‘Situating Fashion Studies in Southeast Asia: Practical Methods’ in the ‘Towards Inclusion’ panel. We then contemplate the new Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) that Singapore has opened up with 11 other countries (and more to come!) and what post-pandemic packing and travel will look and feel like. And we remember our favourite travel outfits we cannot wait to bring in our carry-on luggage once again.

Episode 66 | The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education and Carry-On Luggage

We speak about our recent nostalgic TV watching with Daniela going through ‘The Office’ (2005-2013) and Nadya ‘Body of Proof’ (2011-2013). Could we see them as the new period dramas, given the decline of office wear as we know it given shifting circumstances with the ongoing pandemic? We segue into ‘Spin’ (1999-2000), a Singapore television show centring on the group of teenagers that we both watched when we were young teens ourselves, and how it contributed to an understanding of ourselves and others.

Ep 65 | The Office, Body of Proof, and Spin

In this episode, Dani and Nadya speak about how Singapore magazines Female, Her World and Men’s Folio celebrate the nation’s birthday by highlighting efforts in the local fashion industry. Dani highlights the front cover fashion choices and stories in Female that look back at the early 2000s. They also discuss the publications’ heartening inclusion of the work and viewpoints of fashion educators and fresh graduates.

Ep 64 | Happy 56th Birthday, Singapore: Female, Men’s Folio and Her World

Episode 63: Athletic Fashion at the Tokyo Olympics In this episode, we talk about the Tokyo Olympics 2020 where uniforms not only convey national identities but also build brand identities, such as Team Liberia’s wardrobe beautifully designed by Telfar. We consider the equal importance of aesthetics and function in designing uniforms for athletes at this international event, and ruminate on the unconventional, such as diver Tom Daley’s knit-a-thon.

Ep 63 | Athletic Fashion at the Tokyo Olympics

Episode 62: Dress and the Body in Three Recent Exhibitions We talk about two works relating to dress and the body by Hamkah Latib and Chok Si Xuan in the group exhibition 'only losers left alive (songs for lovers for the end of the world)' at Yeo Workshop. Nadya considers gaps in writing on Singapore photography in the 1960s that could be filled by looking at the body, in her presentation for the show 'Yip Cheong Fun: Common Interest' at Art Agenda @ 63 Spottiswoode. Similarly, Daniela reflects upon potential connections between dress and the body with Singapore history through the public lecture by Dr Loh Kah Seng on women working in factories in the same decade, in accompaniment to the showcase 'Modern Women of the Republic: Fashion and Change in China and Singapore' at Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.

Ep 62| Dress and the Body in Three Recent Exhibitions

In this episode, we explore @WearWhatOnSet, dedicated to documenting the outfits of production crews in Singapore. While selected for functionality, these "uniforms" also incorporate pops of individuality, which are echoed in the tongue-in-cheek captions for each post. We also talk about two of our favourite workwear brands: Chota House Collective and Labour and Wait.

Ep 61 | @WearWhatOnSet and Workwear

Episode 60: In this two-part episode, we welcome guest speaker Kae Hana, fashion educator at MDIS Singapore. She shares with us the organic materials she and her students have been experimenting with to make "fabric", including nettle and banana peel. Tune in to view delicious, mesmerising examples of kombucha scoby leather and (almost) edible bioplastics.

Ep 60 | Kae Hana and Kombucha Scoby Leather at MDIS Singapore Part 1

Ep 60 | Kae Hana and Kombucha Scoby Leather at MDIS Singapore Part 2

Episode 59 | The School of Fashion 2021 In this episode, we introduce the digital presentation of the LASALLE College of the Arts School of Fashion Class of 2021. This year, the graduation show continues to explore a blend of physical and digital modes of presentation. The projects explore themes around sustainability, gender and cultural heritage. The full show is available on lasallesof.com, designed by @cpluscandco. Congratulations to all graduates!

Ep 59 |The School of Fashion 2021

Join fashion researchers Dani and Nadya in the vitrine, where they chat about the business, culture and pleasures of historical and contemporary fashion in Singapore, Asia and beyond. Hear their views on fashion in the region as both an industry and a part of everyday life, and its place within the global fashion system. daniinthevitrine@gmail.com nadyainthevitrine@gmail.com

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In the Vitrine

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