HEYY.
This still feels like a dream, a damn good one. It wasn't long ago when I converted from a brain-growing neuroscientist to a clueless first-year design student. I had always been captivated by art, fashion and design, so when I finished my PhD in late 2022, I leaped at the opportunity to begin a new chapter of my life. I initially completed a trimester of the Bachelor of Design (Creative Direction and Styling) at Whitehouse Institute of Design, where I was grateful to have learnt the fundamentals of art direction, styling and fashion photography. Having created some beautiful fashion imagery from this course, I wanted to challenge myself further by learning how to create the garments that are indeed the centrepiece of fashion editorials. So in mid-2023, I switched and enrolled in a Bachelor of Fashion (Design) at RMIT University. I am in my element and haven’t looked back since.
I am intrigued by fashion imagery and fashion as a medium of self expression. I strive to create my own experimental clothing label and concurrently work as a freelance creative director. Coming from a science background, I am particularly interested in exploring brutalism and the Uncanny Valley in fashion, as well as the interconnection between neuroscience and art. More specifically, I am passionate about utilising fashion as a platform for advocacy. Integrating concepts from scientific research to visually raise awareness for important causes is something I am exploring in my practice.
A further goal of my practice is to challenge mainstream conventions by exploring the unconventional. In my world, colours can clash, the surface can be deep, minimal can be avant garde, ugly does not exist. How far can I go?
Fashion is becoming more inclusive and I love that. However, I feel like there is still a disconnect between the fashion industry and the broader society brought on by historical beauty standards and the viewpoint that fashion is a materialistic and superficial means of consumerism and self indulgence. In this regard, my third goal is to redefine the contemporary fashion model. Active collaboration with the general public through runways with no casting requirements and editorials sharing the stories of ‘everyday people’ would help bridge this disconnect. I envision a future where fashion is limitless and a medium that celebrates diversity in every body, ability, race and story.