Page 42 - Best-of-Best-Show-2020-eCatalogue

MUDDLED
Mixed medium
Womenswear (5 outfits)
Student Bio
Max Tan is a practising womenswear designer based in
Singapore. His epoynomous brand MAX.TAN made its
debut with the full-fledged S/S 2010 “Pressed” collection
at PARCO next NEXT, a fashion design incubator project
jointly created by Parco Singapore department store and the
Textile & Fashion Federation (TaFf). MAX.TAN was invited to
showcase at Modefabriek in Amsterdam in 2010 and was
the first Asian-based label ever to do so. The A/W 2010-11
collection, which debuted in Amsterdam, was subsequently
featured by Vogue Paris online and went on to win second
place at the China Fashion Creation Contest 2010. His
following S/S 2011 collection was picked up by Vogue
Nippon and Surface Asia calls MAX.TAN one of the hottest
new names to look out for in fashion. More recently, Vogue
Italia also selected the label as one of finalist in the inaugural
Who is On Next? Dubai Edition.
Fig 13.
B.o.B. 2020
S.O.A.D. Fashion Studies
Fig 14.
Tan Shu Lin Max
BA(Hons) Fashion
Project Description
A chinese idiom states that “clothes made in heaven are
without seams”. In oriental cultures, a taste for unstructured
and transformable clothing can be observed, considering
the pareo, sari and sarong and other forms in which a piece
of cloth becomes a garment in no time. Often draped out of
geometric patterns, the space between the wearer and the
garments is considered and respected. The construction
of the garments mimics the movement of the brush strokes
to achieve a “seamless” appearance. Geometric pattern
pieces wrap the bodice in a left to right motion, trails in a
vertical manner before extending downwards into draped
handkerchief hems.
Fluttering yokes and manipulated pattern pieces suggest
the ideas of wrapped, pinned in place or tied bodices. The
form is unstructured, and the garments do not follow the
western ideology of assembling the fabric in a certain
configuration. Just like how the Indian sari and the Malay
sarong can be worn in alot of ways, it is interesting that this
way of dressing includes the wearer’s skill – an expression
of individuality sans technology. Taking cue from the
simple pattern pieces of South East Asian garments, the
construction of the garments in this collection is made from
minimal number of pattern pieces where fabric fall and
movement is the emphasis.
The muddled calligraphy works of Nanyang artist Lim Tze
Peng is abstract; while the calligraphy inspiration and the
choice of medium (chinese ink) is traditional, his techniques
are modern and not steeped in the past. The focus on form
and technique rather than content is employed in the design
processes and reflected in the outcomes of this collection.
The art of calligraphy is inspected and explored in its entire
entity – the respect of negative space, movement and the
tension of brush strokes, sharp monochomatic palette and a
harmonious result. Expressing Chinoiserie without a single
mandarin collar in sight. Ethnic cuts and influence sans
the presence of stereotypical heritage prints as cultural
signifiers.