In Singapore, Gen Z are ushering in a fashion renaissance, blending creativity with sustainability and making waves in the streetwear scene. These young entrepreneurs, aged under 25, have leveraged the pandemic to launch unique, hand-stitched fashion labels, winning fans both locally and globally. Here, we meet five trailblazing designers redefining local fashion.
Plop Apparels
Jermaine Ho, 24, founded Plop Apparels in July 2022, transforming a 517 sq ft space in Haji Lane into a hub of curated vintage and independent fashion. While still a polytechnic student in 2019, Jermaine began reselling vintage clothing on Instagram, eventually taking a two-year gap to grow her business. Now in her final year of business management at the Singapore Institute of Management, she focuses on timeless, creative pieces priced from $20 to $200. Plop Apparels, boasting 42,400 Instagram followers, curates brands from Thailand, Vietnam, and the UK, and stands firm on sustainability, rejecting fast-fashion collaborations that compromise ethical values.
String Of Kisses
Jewel Chin, 21, turned her pandemic pastime of crochet into String Of Kisses, a fashion label celebrated for its bespoke crochet designs. Teaching herself through YouTube, she launched her brand in July 2022, quickly gaining a 35,000-strong Instagram following and features in Vogue Singapore. Jewel’s handmade items, such as leg warmers and mesh shrugs priced between $125 and $250, reflect her dedication to slow fashion and ethical production. Balancing her business with her data science and AI studies at NTU, she continues to innovate in the crochet fashion space, emphasizing quality over quantity.
Epic
Donna Chua, 21, launched Epic during her final year of IB at the School of the Arts Singapore. Combining spray-painted and airbrushed designs with unique aesthetics inspired by sea creatures and cyber sigils, Donna’s brand offers exclusive, visually striking apparel. With almost 3,000 followers, Epic sells up to 40 pieces monthly, priced up to $215 for custom designs. Now a computer science major at NTU, Donna balances her studies and her brand, maintaining transparency about her creative process and aiming to elevate Singapore’s Gen Z street style.
Unbiased
Denyse Oh, 21, founded Unbiased in May 2020, driven by frustration with ill-fitting clothes and synthetic fabrics. Using Clo3D software for virtual prototypes, her initial design, the Memories Dress, gained attention even before physical production. Specializing in made-to-order pieces and small batch production, Denyse’s designs, such as the Stranger In Red Dress priced at $189, emphasize female empowerment and confidence. Currently working as a customer success executive, she aims to make Unbiased her full-time venture, showcasing that Singaporean fashion can be both provocative and timeless.
Nohbody
Ye Yong Cheng, 21, merges his love for video games with fashion through his label Nohbody, which launched in January 2022. Inspired by gothic Victorian styles and East-Asian art, his designs focus on deconstructed corsets and cargo pants, priced from $90. Creating apparel during his downtime during national service, Yong’s minimalist yet impactful designs have earned up to $2,000 monthly. Despite conservative family roots and a commercial local fashion scene, he dreams of attending Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo and defining Singapore’s voice in global fashion.
These five designers are not just reshaping local fashion but also highlighting the potential for sustainable, independent brands in a fast-fashion-dominated world. Through innovation and social media savvy, they are putting Singapore on the map as a burgeoning fashion hub.
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