Like most expats, Singapore’s most famous fashion son knows that moving to France doesn’t quite make you French. Gn, like many before and since (this reporter included), integrated while staying true to his roots—and also worked like hell and made the rest up as he went along. Paris was his promised land.
From the idea of cross-pollination—the creative mashup of cultures and traditions—Gn drew inspiration for a collection that also marks his 30th year in France.
During a visit to his showroom, the designer recalled how his mother used to take silk from Japanese obis to make a Singaporean national costume, or an Indonesian batik to fashion a cheongsam or a skirt suit. “My family history is all about cross-pollination, they brought things with them and transformed them,” he said.
Blending that idea with this season’s salient trend, Gn added that, for him, “the new minimalism is maximalism of colour.” Which is why a salt-and-pepper tweed jacket with tinted ostrich feather cuffs might have handmade cameo buttons with the likeness of a gladiator, or a revisited Mayan mask dangling pearls. Those vibrant flourishes appeared in many iterations in a lineup the designer called “classic Gnette,” spanning strong-shouldered minidresses, lavishly pleated gowns, flowing fringed numbers in jewelled tones and the embroidered coats that his loyalists collect year in, year out.
For prints, Gn looked to the things around him that he loves, like a Limoges porcelain vase he bought from the flea market, with roses so bright they’re almost kitsch (“I’ve always wondered if that was made for an export market,” he quipped). Those became a print in bright mint and pale yellow that the designer mused one might find on fabrics from South America. Elsewhere, a chrysanthemum print was reworked and recoloured from the Suzy Wong collection a few years back.
In the recent past, Gn was one of the designers lucky enough to find himself still producing lamé pleated gowns in mid-lockdown. Now that things are opening up again, his clientele’s social calendars are heaving with destination weddings. With some 80 looks to choose from here, they’ll probably find what they need.
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