By Stanley Lui
Fellow SENATUS members Patricia and Tylda created fashion label Dresstronomy to fill the gap between mass market fashion and the lofty prices of luxury designer clothing
Founded in November 2011 by childhood friends Tylda Tan and Patricia Teo, the 7th month old Singapore fashion label Dresstronomy was born out of their childhood passion for fashion when they used to change the buttons of their shirts and give their old clothing a new spin.
From sketching to the sourcing of the raw materials right down to the final completion, each design is kept to the minimal without missing out on the finer details which gives the added playful uniqueness to their collection.
A former auditor, Ms Patricia Teo believes Dresstronomy fills the gap between mass market fashion and the lofty prices of luxury designer clothing. By offering very affordable and yet classical ready to wear women's collections, Dresstronomy embraces the subtleties of feminine sensuality.
SENATUS interviews the duo from Dresstronomy for a more in depth feature and understanding of the brand:
"Oldschool at Mount Sophia captured our hearts with its lost-in-time charm. We wanted to preserve some of its magic through our campaign pictures, before it makes way for something else"
Why Dresstronomy? What is the inspiration behind the name of your brand?
Dresstronomy is a word play on “gastronomy” - the art or science of enjoying food. Defined loosely, Dresstronomy is the art or science of enjoying fashion and style.
We started conceptualizing the business and brand in Feb 2011. One of the key questions we had to answer then, was “What exactly do we want the brand to stand for?”. We both agreed that the brand had to be associated with living, embracing and loving life and appreciating all the experiences it could offer.
We hope that the passion we have for fashion and life is translated into the designs we put out there.
What is it that motivated you to start Dresstronomy?
We have been friends since we were 13. Even at 13, it was clear that we both love fashion - we made alterations for outfits, conceptualised new looks and experimented with different fabrics. For many years, our love for fashion was confined to pure retail therapy.
In Feb 2011, we decided to turn our love for fashion into a career, create a brand that we truly believe in and a brand in which we are fully vested in. Our primary motto is to only produce and introduce designs we love! So we started to source for manufacturers, nit-picked at zips and buttons, sourced for fabrics and prints, and experimented with various cuts and silhouettes.
Dresstronomy stems from our passion to live life, and chase our dreams.
What are some of the challenges you faced and how did you manage to overcome them?
The main difficulties we faced were largely on the manufacturing end. Both of us are from the finance industry and that meant that we are largely self-taught designers.
We made mistakes as a result of our lack of experience as designers – using fabrics which shrank or experienced colour runs in the wash; placing the zippers at the wrong places, and the list goes on. We learnt quickly to pre-wash and dry the sample fabrics just to see how they react with the water and the chemicals, consulting the draftsmen on the feasibility of our designs. We have also committed to undergo training in August 2012, to hone our design and drafting skills.
The other difficulty we face is looking for trust-worthy vendors to work with. We have learnt to spread our eggs in different baskets by working with different vendors, locking into longer-term relationships only when they have proven to be fair business partners.
How has the fashion journey been for you as an emerging Singaporean designer?
Honestly, the entire journey thus far has been such a dream – working together on the collections, from conceptualizing to sourcing for the perfect fabrics and other raw materials have been very exciting.
We had recently wrapped up our very first tradeshow – Blueprint as part of the Asia Fashion Exchange, presenting our Cruise 2013 collection – Origami, Breathing Life Into Dreams.
As an emerging local label, it is gratifying to know that we are well supported by the government and trade associations.
For Blueprint, we received grants and valuable advice from DesignSingapore Council, under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, and industry insight and career advice from Textile & Fashion Industry Training Centre (TAFF). We have also been blessed with media coverage since our launch in Nov 2011. The feedback from the media has been largely encouraging.
Customers have also developed brand loyalty to Dresstronomy – something which we are very grateful for. To pay back, we have worked with quite a few homegrown F&B outlets to introduce our FLASH FOR PERKS card – customers can flash this at the selected joints for additional perks, such as free toppings on yoghurt, one-for-one ciders, martinis, etc. This also ties in with our core principal of embracing and enjoying life.
Who are some of the people whom you consider to be your mentors? Perhaps people who have helped and guide you along the way?
We are thankful to the team at DesignSingapore Council, who gave us feedback on our Cruise collection, as well as how to hone our design skills, the team at TAFF – particularly Shweta who sat us through an hour long discussion on courses and the program outlines and the Blueprint Team who worked tirelessly through our emails (we had lengthy questions on the trade show since it was our very first one).
Veteran designer, Wykidd Song and bridal designer, Tang Ee-Lyn were very generous with their advice and help – it was great to see more experienced designers share their journeys with us.
Is it true that you chose OldSchool at Mount Sophia to be the location for your Pre-Fall 2012 campaign? If so why OldSchool?
Yes. It was a deliberate choice. Our Pre-Fall 2012 collection – Boys & Girls, Come Out To Play, was inspired by our childhood, we had hoped to encapsulate the free-spiritedness, the fun and the cheekiness of yesterdays in the pieces.
In a country so fast-paced, so many old monumental architectures make way for modern, commercialized buildings. It’s necessary but also very tragic. Oldschool at Mount Sophia captured our hearts with its lost-in-time charm. We wanted to preserve some of its magic through our campaign pictures, before it makes way for something else.
Oldschool at Mount Sophia is an entirely whimsical location which was perfect for the story we wanted to tell.
I saw in your behind the scenes footage for the Cruise 2013 collection that you worked with renowned Singaporean model Colin Wee?
Could you speak a bit about the experience working with him?
Colin was a joy to work with. Having modeled extensively prior to his career switch to photography, he was able to give valuable input during the casting of the models and position the models during the shoot. We had engaged a videographer, Melvin Chen for the behind-the-scenes footage – it helped that Colin and Melvin are chums and have great rapport.
The Cruise 2013 pictures are testaments of his awesome work – we loved them.
What is the inspiration behind your Cruise 2013 Collection?
The Cruise 2013 collection is inspired by origami – the Japanese art of folding paper.
Luxurious fabrics in neutral tones are folded into intricate patterns, with silk-wrapped buttons running down the slits, accentuating the curvature of the designs. These defining details found in the collection, along with a form and silhouette which is kept simple and minimal, create a harmonious balance of strength and femininity.
The final result is rich yet understated. Not only has attention been paid to the colour and texture of the fabrics, the designers have played with very dainty prints, injecting a subtle tone of fun and light-heartedness leading up to spring.
The collection features two main fabrics - Shantung silk and cotton-polyester blend. Chosen for its unique blend of structure and flow, Shantung silk allows for the shapes of the designs to be held gracefully. With its faint texturized lines, the finer finishes on the designs are perfectly showcased. Cotton-polyester blend was selected for its versatility which allows the designers to add a dimension of softness to the intricacy of the designs.
What are your future plans for Dresstronomy? Where do you hope to take Dresstronomy to, say five to ten years from now?
We hope for Dresstronomy to develop in three key areas.
In the marketplace, we want to consistently to deliver collections which are inspirational and timeless, build enjoyable and lasting relationships with our consumers and stockists. We have had customers and interest from buyers from other countries, and we hope to continue to gain traction in new markets. We will be taking part in more tradeshows both locally and in other countries. We believe the world is our oyster.
From an industry standpoint, we aim to be a good training ground for new designers like us by having great and open internship programs. We wouldn’t have been able to get so far without help from so many parties – we wish to give back at some point.
Within a social context, we have started to identify and narrow down charities with causes we believe in, with the hope to be able to provide donations through our sales income. We believe that every penny counts.
Lastly, who and what does the contemporary Dresstronomy woman represents?
The Dresstronomy woman doesn’t care for half measures, she is vivacious and dynamic, she loves, she laughs and she celebrates life.
Having showcased their Pre-Spring 2012 collection at the recent Blueprint tradeshow in May 2012, their newest Pre-Fall 2012 entitled "Boys & Girls - Come Out To Play" has now been launched and is available for purchase at their online web store.
The Cruise 2013 collection however is available for pre-order and can also be made in person by appointment at The Dresstronomy Studio located at 25C Niven Road Singapore 228372.
