It is comforting to see a group of graduates wanting to tread lightly on the planet by spreading the word that green designs can be fashion-forward, edgy as well as sustainably responsible.

Founded in August 2007 by four students from the Republic Polytechnic’s School of Technology for the Arts, RecycloFashion has already generated quite a bit of eco-buzz.

I talk to Ash about the backstory of the earth-friendly initiative …

What is RecycloFashion? What is your mission?

RecycloFashion, essentially, is an ambassador to the many regional “eco” or green brands in Singapore, South East Asia and various countries in Europe and Australia. We collaborate with designers and artists from various backgrounds who use alternative and earth-friendly materials in their work. We come up with marketing concepts and advertisements that the brands use to brand their own ads. So in short, we promote them, and they promote us.

Our mission is create awareness and to make eco look wearable and fashionable for the discerning shopper. To us, eco is beautiful as it combines crucial values to create unique pieces with special individual pieces.

MORE »

THE DESIGN

Alicia Koh’s distinctive ‘Spinnable Wheel Bracelet’ packs the lasting memories and the sentimental significance of her grandfather’s old workshop.

“I used elements and properties from his workshop,” Alicia says, “and transferred them onto a jewelry piece; the combination of corrugated texture, perspective vanishing point and a flexible spinnable bicycle wheel …. crafted with reminiscences.”

MORE »

THE DESIGN

Cheah and Derryah, the designers of the Style Damsel label, embrace the challenging curves of a woman’s body by creating streamlined garments that are as body-conscious as they are practical and playful.

Cheah about the design (above), ” The Midnight Blue Frills is made from premium classic midnight blue cotton voile, and it’s flattering silhouette highly compliments the womanly figure. The feminine cascading frills fuse with the primp Mandarin collar to inject a dose of elegance and sophistication into the soft, flowy dress. The V-shaped style-line, and matching sash that finishes off in a sweet bow brings any wearer from corporate-chic to a ladies’ nights out in a snap.”

MORE »

THE DESIGN

Blooming Pod pendant and Bud Pod pendant by Serene Wong.

I love t43’s first concoction of hand-fabricated, limited edition jewelry designs. The Art-Tea-Scent collection reflects three designers’ passion for tea, by offering three interpretations of the theme. Art by Szufen Huang (Taiwan) is a collection of sculptural forms carefully hand pleated in silk organza, with intricately painted motifs. Tea by Nana Akashi (Japan) is inspired by a box set of flavored teas in its familiar packaging. Scent (above) by local designer Serene Wong, combines the evocative scent of tea leaves with the modernity of plastic.

Of her design, Serene says,”Inspired by the scent of tea leaves, this collection interprets the intangible into a series of dramatic acrylic jewelry. Where a Chinese tea ball and delicate rose buds subtly perfume the air from within the hollow of a pod pendant; other pieces intuitively translate scent into sensuous, organic forms reminiscent of flowers blooming and layers of moistened leaves. You may choose to personalize the jewelry by varying the contents of the pod pendants to suit your preference. All the pieces are hand-pierced and formed to flow with the curves of the body.”

MORE »

Only a couple of years old (2003), HEADLINE is somewhat of a sensation with the local underground community. Founded by Calvin Yang, Edric Wong and Urica Sin, HDLN carries a selection of limited edition tees, shirts, shorts, pants and a sweet line up of hoodies.

Says Calvin, “The concept for our street label was drawn from Japanese and American (specifically New York) influences. Especially the big leading street labels and cultural trivia ranging from pop culture references, movies, music, art to comic books, porn and many many more. In keeping with our image of being exclusive, we have created a multitude of limited print design tees.”

“The Headline Zip Up Hoodies carry our very own signature monogram logo of the words HDLN, aka HEADLINE, and the repeating pattern of sparkling stars thats reflects on the sparkling path that we are heading in.”

Spotted! is a digest of fly work by fresh off creatives.

THE DESIGN

Vice and Vanity, is known for taking jewelry to new places, by creating idiosyncratic, industrial-chic pieces. Former Club21 employee, Vivi Masturah Lim and Fine Arts graduate, Aaron Kao are the designers behind the label.

Says Aaron, “We always try to originate new ideas, never restricting ourselves to a certain style or look. Our style is a work in progress and may or may not surface so quickly over a few collections. It takes time to develop a style. For every collection we always ensure that the quality is there and we want people to pay for something that has a lot of thought and effort put into the creation.”

MORE »

THE DESIGN

It’s been a little while since I came across a pair of kicks I really liked, but this rad pair above totally caught my eye. They are pretty much low key but the subtle accents like the vulcanized eyelets make them stick out. But even though the shoes caught my interest, it was Suhaimi’s bad ass tee collection that held it. Click here to look at some of the prints he’s come up with. Awesome stuff!

THE DESIGNER

26-year old freelance graphic designer, Suhaimi Saadan, is a student at LASALLE College of the Arts, majoring in Visual Communication and Advertising Design.

“I go by the moniker Plastikxp. That’s how I used to call myself during my street-art days. I love to DIY and I’m heavily influenced by street culture as you can see from the stuff that I do. Plastikxp Laboratories started when I decided to stop buying stuff, like shoes and tees, and decided to start making my own. Its a liberating feeling, knowing that you can actually make most of the things you used to buy. I’m currently working with a few of my classmates on a zine called WHY. WHY questions why we buy the stuff we buy. Basically it talks about the economics of consumerism and the sociological aspects as well as the background of 6 individuals whom were being experimented on.”

GIVEAWAY! Culturepush has two Whyzine tees to give away to two lucky readers. To enter, email Michele before 1 April. First two emailers get a tee … so email away!

Update: We have our winners! The contest is closed.

Spotted! is a digest of fly work by fresh off creatives.

THE DESIGN

Skulls, red hearts and crosses are just some of the flights of fancy that make up the quirky jewelry designs of Rayson Tan, founder of the L’ile aux Ashby label.

“My accessories portray my invention of recipes for the inner soul. I select the ingredients for their aesthetic flavor, playing with shapes and forms, mixing the hard with the soft, juxtaposing the quirky with the vintage, the old with the new and sometimes a little bit outlandish behavior to evoke the emotions of life. My accessories are designed as extensions of one’s self and not just as vacuous decorations to be worn mindlessly. They are hand-crafted to enhance your personality; staying distinctively edgy, yet stylishly wearable.” MORE »