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 »

THE DESIGN

“Being very fascinated and interested in Japanese culture, my dress was born out of an adoration of the Japanese yukata or summer kimono,” says Fashion Design student Janis Nah. “I have always wanted to own a yukata as I find them supremely unique. So I decided to sew one for myself. I read up on yukatas and kimonos and how to wear them and decided to reinterpret the design and make a more wearable piece.”

Janis kicked up a soft pastel drop-waist dress, reserving the most surprising accent for the back: a playful obi bow. “This is to bring the attention towards the back of the dress with a simple design to complement it,” she explains. “I designed the dress with plus-size women in mind. By placing a big bow behind, the attention will be brought towards the back of the dress, playing down areas you want to disguise.” MORE »

THE DESIGN

Model: Dinara

Pablo Picasso once said ‘Beauty? To me it is a word without sense because I do not know where its meaning comes from nor where it leads to.’

Young fashion designer Elvin Tan created a dress which he aptly named Extreme Beauty. ‘The design is inspired by people suffering in the name of beauty,’ he says. ‘In the pursuit of beauty there is pain. In the Victorian era it was the ultra-small waists, and corsets were used to painfully reshape a woman’s body. In Africa beauty required piercing and scarification. So, I believe beauty is an endless topic and the willingness of a person to suffer to achieve beauty will never change. People will always try to do something in order to achieve the standard of beauty, from eyebrow plucking to extreme plastic surgery. Anyway, nothing is beautiful or ugly in itself. Beauty lies in the beholder’s eye.’ MORE »

THE DESIGN

Photography: Marie Lee – Model: Jasmine – Make-up: Francine Zhang

‘Animasical is my very first complete collection,’ Kellie Koh explains, ‘I was inspired by The story of Noah’s Ark, and my little brother Aston’s drawings. Four animals are depicted: the Zebra, Giraffe, Tiger and Elephant. It all began when I discovered Aston’s love for drawing. One day, I happened to chance upon some drawings of animals seen through his scatterbrained imagination. I decided to use his fat butt zebra named Zeeton , his short necked Giraffe named Raffey, his cutesy pinkish tiger named Igton and his thinnish elephant named Eleton as the inspiration for my textiles, colour palate and the construction of my designs.’ MORE »

THE DESIGN

Josiah Chua Kian was one of the ten finalists of The Cuckoo Couture Design Awards organized by The Butter Factory. During the Awards show on Saturday he sent out an ornate Baroque dress that was as soft and angelic as it was meticulous and couture-like. Josiah explains, ‘I reverted to centuries-old fashion for inspiration and created a dress reminiscent of the Baroque era in order to convey a bold message. I extracted elements from culture and architecture, to give the dress an avant-garde look. Using the haute couture way of dress making, I produced a garment that oozes the expression of art in fashion.’ MORE »

What do Wet Dreams, Purity, Beautiful Distortion and Auschwitz Camp have in common? They’re among the Cuckoo Couture designs that will rule the runway at The Butter Factory this Saturday at 10.30pm. The Cuckoo Couture Design Awards is an annual infinitely quirky fashion event organized by The Butter Factory in conjunction with Singapore Fashion Week 2007.

Culturepush slips backstage for a peek at the eye-grabbing collection of kooky creations that were undeniably ‘fashion-as-art’. MORE »

Two Saturdays ago, I had a chance to pop around the Sole Obsession sneaker event at Know It Nothing. This was no ordinary exhibition, showcasing humble sneakers which you can pick up at a local retail space. I am talking one-of-a-kind, limited-edition kicks with attitude, for the die-hard sneakerphiliacs.

I found myself on pause and mouth agape at the utter brilliance of the fully customized cult kicks from master local pimps SBTG, Meth, Lazy, PhuEk!, Hypethetic, Ol’ Charlie’s, Republic Union, and Killer Gerbil, and guest pimps Darbotz (Indonesia), Spoonman (Malaysia) and Very Masa (Australia).

After the event, I sat down with Shaun of Hypethetic to get the full story on their custom puppies and the direction in which their brand is going. The name may be unfamiliar to most of you, but sneakerheads and people who are fashion forward in the street wear scene, most commonly recognize Hypethetic for their fabric outfitted sneaker creations. Read Up! MORE »