Last year, Ong Shunmugam released a retrospective collection of the brand’s most recognisable cheongsam silhouettes, Cheongsam 2010-2020. This year, the homegrown brand is launching its 10th Anniversary Cruise collection. The Ong Shunmugam cruise 2022 collection also happens to be a joint celebration to commemorate designer Priscilla Shunmugam‘s 40th birthday.
The latter was a major inspiration for the collection, as the occasion sparked conversations with Shunmugam and her friends about being a woman, and what it means to turn 40. Shunmugam shared in her show notes, “Through many long conversations with women who are either crossing or have long crossed the milestone of turning 40, I’ve been thinking about a couple of things. Mostly, they revolve around exploring cliches of female identity and power structures as we know it.”
The result is a collection that blends what we have come to recognise as Ong Shunmugam traditions and signatures—batik, prints, tailoring—with more experimental accents. Think: A black cat making its way onto one of the designs even though it might be “crazy”. Digitally manipulated archival images of Southeast Asian women juxtaposed against the words “Please lah”. At her cruise presentation, the designer shared that this was the first time she had explained the meaning behind the phrase, which appears on tops, a dress and a pair of pants. “Please lah is about the idea of women always having to pick up the emotional labour—in their relationships, as a mother, as a boss—and how we’re all just f*cking fed up. We created a print that’s fun, and it has resonated with women. They all just got it.”
Scroll down below for the full 23-strong collection, complete with lookbook images and prices. “I dedicate cruise 2022 to all of you fabulous, funny and stupidly clever women out there, as you go on your own personal journeys, somewhat parallel or perhaps polar opposite to mine, and as we define our paths in womanhood and obey our own cultural scripts,” Shunmugam added in her show notes.
The Ong Shunmugam cruise 2022 collection retails exclusively at Atelier Ong Shunmugam. Pre-orders close 21 August 2021. Email [email protected] to book a slot or to place an international order.
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B2 Dress, $699
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B3 Vest, $899; B4 Pants, $599
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B17 Top (Girl), $499; B4 Pants, $599
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B17 Top (Please), $499; B4 Pants (Please), $599
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B5 Top (White), $499; B6 Skirt (White), $499
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B5 Top (Green), $499; B6 Skirt (Green), $499
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B7 Top, $599; B16 Pants, $499
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B8 Top (Please), $599; B9 Skirt (Please), $599
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B8 Top (Floral), $599; B9 Skirt (Floral), $599
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B10 Dress (Cats), $799
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B10 Dress (Please), $699
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B11 Top, $699; B16 Pants, $499
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B12 Dress, $799
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B14 Dress (Dancers), $799
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B14 Dress (Autumn), $799
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