The Ascent of Japanese Fashion in Singapore
By Celestine Chia
Japanese designers caught the attention of Singaporean consumers and beyond through bold visual statements in their designs that seemed to challenge the conservativeness and conformity often associated with Asianness. This led to the rise of Japanese fashion in 1980s Singapore and the overall development of the relations between Japan and Singapore, facilitated largely through cultural exchange.
Introduction
In 1966, a settlement was reached where the Japanese government was to pay Singapore a $25 million grant and another $25 million in loans as reparations for its war atrocities. This was after the “blood debt” rally and a campaign to boycott Japanese goods in 1963 conducted by Singaporeans who felt Japan needed to repay Singapore. The relationship between Japan and Singapore, while fraught with a violent and tense past, largely marked by the Sook Ching massacre, would continue to repair, largely through cultural exchanges, through the second half of the 20th century, with fashion playing a significant role.
Japan steadily rose as a serious contender for global superpowers in the 1960s. More eyes were laid on the up-and-coming market of steel, shipbuilding, and textiles. In 1955, textiles accounted for 19% of their manufacturing output and in 1988, textiles produced 13 trillion Yen (SGD20.4 billion) and exports of nearly 1 trillion yen. As these industries flourished, so did the currency of the Japanese yen, and soon, Japan rose as an economic power in the 1970s. Before this, Japan was not known for its contemporary fashion scene, with school textbooks abroad portraying modern Japanese fashion with the images of sex workers from the Yedo period in the 1600-1700s. Thus, Japan sought to increase reach, education and exposure of themselves to their western and Southeast Asian counterparts.
The Japanese Invasion
The relationship between Singapore and Japan saw a marked development between the 1970s to the 1990s as Japanese tourists started setting their sights on Southeast Asia as their travel destination. In 1978, 80% of Japanese tourists chose the region as their travel destination over the usual destinations like Guam, Hong Kong, and Hawaii. Travel agencies foresaw Singapore overtaking Hawaii and Guam as the most desirable honeymoon destination for Japanese couples due to the country’s high education level and stable social order. Japan also invested heavily in Singapore as one of their regional retail bases as they opened Daimaru in Singapore’s Plaza Singapura mall in 1998, worth SGD124 million, and two other stores that were set to launch in 1999.
Ideas of Japan in Singapore’s Media
In the Singapore media, Japanese traditions and perfectionism have been portrayed as central to Japanese culture. Perfectionism manifested in the high aspirations Japanese parents had for their children’s education, which was reported to be “a national obsession.” This sentiment is echoed in fashion design as The Straits Times reporter Linda Neo wrote that the Spring/Summer 1983 collections by Japanese designers Kenzo, Issey Miyake, and Kansai Yamamoto, among others, “...reflect the sense of artistic perfection – of order, simplicity and cleanliness - that pervades life in Japan, from the Zen starkness of rock gardens to the polite wearing of anti-infection masks by flu-ridden pedestrians.”
In the 1960s and 1970s, Japan-related events and advertising held significant value in Singapore’s media. The tone of reportage was often promotional and expressed high regard for Japan to leverage Japan’s perceived cultural superiority. For example, Neo reflected on the Japanese designers who showed in Paris in 1982, “An unnerved Paris could not deny that a New Wave of Japanese designers had swept into fashion history with their distinctly Japanese looks. The only real surprise is that it took so long for the West to recognise their talent.” This respect for Japanese cultural products was evident as early as 1964 as Japanese models Yumiko Matsubara and Kyoko Kishi made headlines for flying to Singapore to model. This was one instance of transnational industry collaborations, as models from overseas often flew into Singapore to model for fashion shows, sometimes alongside local models.
Figure 1: Advertisement for DressMaking, a Japanese Fashion Magazine, 1 March 1970 (Taken from: The Straits Times)
Japan thrived on the global fashion stage as Parisian designers drew influence for their new collections from them. Japanese fabric, especially silk, and oriental elements were popular in the Spring/Summer collections of 1963 in Paris. Renowned designers including Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, and Nina Rucci weaved “the Japanese mood” into their spring collections with many visual references to Japanese dress exhibited on their garments such as “many wrap-around silhouettes, kimono sleeves and elaborate geisha girl hairstyles,” thus illustrating the vast influence Japanese fashion had on western fashion design.
Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent were among the many who established commercial collaborations with Japan. Designers like Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori gained prominence in the French fashion industry in the 1980s which led to global recognition of the Japanese fashion industry. Moreover, New York’s top modelling agency, Ford Models, invested in a joint venture with Japan’s top modelling agency, Cream.
As Singapore’s media celebrated Japan’s influence on the Parisian fashion industry, it also elevated the cultural capital and demand for Japanese fashion in the minds of Singaporean consumers despite its premium price point. At the same time, reportage on Japanese fashion served to signal Singapore’s own fashionability.
Japanese Fashion in Singapore
Japanese designers looked to Singapore to set up their regional base for Southeast Asia. Notable trailblazers such as Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and more won over the favour of Singapore’s retail market since the 1970s. Departmental stores such as Isetan carried designs from Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons with dedicated corners in the store for them. Their prominence in Singapore grew as they secured regular platforms for their shows as their European counterparts such as Balmain did at Mandarin Hotel and Kanebo at Hyatt. Their popularity led Singaporean boutique owners to invest in New Wave Japanese designers. Between 1980 and 1981 alone, US imports of Japanese garments tripled from USD55 million to USD156 million.
Japanese designs were highly desirable, partly due to their exclusivity, since only three to four pieces of each design were produced in the 1980s. Issey Miyake was valourised in Singapore’s media with his designs being reported to be highly influential and sought after. A Miyake winter ensemble was priced at SGD900 in 1982 but fashion enthusiasts were willing to foot the bill. The popularity of his designs with the Singaporean market led to a two-day public exhibition at the Art Forum Gallery in Singapore in 1984 that featured more than 40 garments from his Fall/Winter collection that year.
Figure 2: Hanae Mori’s Shoulder Padded Dress, 9 June 1984 (Taken from: Business Times)
Hanae Mori, the only Japanese name in haute couture, was also venerated by Singaporean consumers and the media for her skill in working with fabric. This was evident in the way Mori impressed the local media with the highly technical silhouettes presented in her 1984 Spring/Summer Haute Couture collection (Figure 2). However, the lack of her usual colourfulness in this collection made Singaporeans sceptical that it would look good on women who were not from Paris. The Straits Times journalist Monica Gwee wrote, “Many of the dresses in black and white printed silk with the fondness for butterflies, threatened to look uninteresting on bodies other than the long, Parisian forms of the models.”
Rei Kawakubo, on the other hand, “both thrilled and appalled” Singaporeans in 1983 with her pieces from Comme des Garçons that employed methods of deconstruction that included “splits and tears.”
Overall, the Singaporean media embraced these designers and regarded them as leading and innovative designers, though some local consumers and media held a mixed stance in questioning the versatility of their quirky statement designs. Kawakubo’s collections were described as “difficult-to-wear,” characterised by the “funeral look” due to her usual dark colour palette. Her oversized designs received criticism due to their lack of wearability in Singapore’s climate and high price points. Regardless, boutique owners testified to the popularity of their unique designs amongst fashion enthusiasts and the more experimental youth market. Boutique and departmental store staff were confident in the longevity of such Japanese designs, as they were regarded as both ahead of their time and timeless.
Figure 3: Kene Hsu Li Ren’s designs that adapt elements taken from the Japanese kimono, 20 June 1978 (Taken from: New Nation)
Japanese Influence on Singapore’s Fashion Design
The Japanese influence was not limited to Singapore’s retail market but also to Singaporean designers, such as Kene Hsu Li Ren. She was inspired by the features of the Japanese kimono and sought to modify its traditional structure and silhouette.
Hsu relaxed the traditional silhouette, incorporating long fluid pleated skirts paired with a top inspired by the Japanese ‘gi,’ typically worn by Judo exponents. She also exhibited the cummerbund as the centrepiece of the garment to replicate the cinched waist that is typically found on a kimono. Hsu was further inspired by the Sarong found in Malay and Indonesian culture, as seen in the wrap-dress style in Figure 3.
Singapore’s Impact on Japanese Fashion
Singaporean fashion design began to capture the attention of the Japanese market in the 1980s to 1990s. In 1984, to market Singapore’s fashion industry, Singapore’s Trade Development Board (TDB) organised a fashion fair, “Singapore Apparel in Tokyo,” to bring local designs to Tokyo. Two Singaporean-bred labels, Irene’s Creations and Estabelle Fashions were given recognition in the Japanese newsletter Tradescope, after their participation at the World Fashion Trade Fair in Osaka in 1990.
Due to increased globalisation and western influence on the Japanese market, Japanese consumers have become more intrigued with non-Japanese design elements in their dress. Furthermore, Singapore increased its investment in product designs as it began to collaborate with established manufacturing firms. This situated them in direct competition with Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, and fed into the Japanese market’s desire for high-quality workmanship, quality, and style.
Conclusion
It is evident that despite Singapore’s animosity towards Japan for its World War II atrocities and Japan’s lack of reparation and apology until 1966, globalisation and increased cultural exchanges facilitated amicable relations between the two countries and even admiration on Singaporean’s part for Japanese culture. Moreover, the rise of Japan as an economic and cultural power contributed to the recognition of the New Wave Japanese designers globally. Reportage in Singaporean media reflected Singaporeans’ participation in this Japanese success and further influenced a wider readership to have an interest in Japanese fashion. As a result, Japanese fashions were popular in Singaporean department stores and boutiques despite their high price point. Furthermore, Singaporean fashion design became influenced by Japan, such as in the work of Kene Hsu Li Ren. In turn, the Japanese market took an interest in Singapore-made fashion design, particularly with the push from the Trade Development Board to promote Singapore goods in Japan. These factors contributed to a reconsideration of Japaneseness outside the stereotypes of tradition and conservativeness in the global imagination.
Articles Referenced
[1] Borrowing from the Japanese, New Nation, 1978 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newnation19780620-1.2.56.1
[2] Fashion Editors from Japan Visit Singapore, 1962 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19620912-1.2.58
[3] Feminine Fashion Flutter, 1983 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singmonitor19830518-1.2.42.2?ST=1&AT=search&k=rei%20kawakubo%20singapore&QT=rei,kawakubo,singapore&oref=article
[4] Force of the Rising Sun, The Straits Times, 1982 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19821207-1.2.135.9.1
[5] ISSEY MIYAKE: The man and his legend, New Paper, 1988 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newpaper19881226-1.2.22?ST=1&AT=advanced&DF=01%2F12%2F1988&DT=31%2F12%2F1988&NPT=&L=English&CTA=Article&SortBy=Oldest&K=fashion&KA=fashion&P=6&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=fashion&oref=article
[6] Japan buries its funereal styles, 1987 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19870524-1.2.69.5.2?ST=1&AT=search&k=rei%20kawakubo&QT=rei,kawakubo&oref=article
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[9] Mori’s Summer Magic, 1984 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/biztimes19840609-1.2.23.1?ST=1&AT=advanced&DF=01%2f06%2f1984&DT=30%2f06%2f1984&NPT=&L=English&CTA=Article&SortBy=Oldest&K=fashion&KA=fashion&P=2&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=fashion&oref=article
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[14] Stepping into Lion’s Jaws, 1984 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19841107-1.2.85.2?ST=1&AT=search&K=issey+miyake+singapore&P=2&SortBy=Oldest&filterS=0&Display=0&QT=issey,miyake,singapore&oref=article
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[17] Robinson’s Second Fashion Debut, 1985 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19850818-1.2.43.3.1?ST=1&AT=search&K=issey+miyake+singapore&P=2&SortBy=Oldest&filterS=0&Display=0&QT=issey,miyake,singapore&oref=article
[19] The Unknown Japanese, 1978 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19780626-1.2.50?ST=1&AT=advanced&DF=01%2f06%2f1978&DT=30%2f06%2f1978&NPT=&L=English&CTA=Article&SortBy=Oldest&K=+fashion&KA=+fashion&P=3&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=fashion&oref=article
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[21] Top French Designers draw on the Japanese, The Straits Times, 1963 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19630310-1.2.9.3
[22] Top Model Agency to tie up with Tokyo Firm, Singapore Monitor, 1984 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singmonitor19840928-1.2.12.10
[23] Two Pretty Japanese Girls to Model in Singapore, 1964 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19641210-1.2.55?ST=1&AT=advanced&K=fashion&KA=fashion&DF=01%2F12%2F1964&DT=31%2F12%2F1964&NPT=&L=English&CTA=Article&SortBy=Oldest&filterS=0&Display=0&QT=fashion&oref=article
[24] Page 13 Advertisements Column 2, 1970 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19700301-1.2.97.2?ST=1&AT=advanced&K=japan&KA=japan&DF=01%2F03%2F1970&DT=01%2F03%2F1970&NPT=straitstimes&L=English&CTA=&QT=japan&oref=article
[25] Pick of the Prints, 1978 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newnation19761214-1.2.55.1?ST=1&AT=advanced&DF=01%2f12%2f1976&DT=31%2f12%2f1976&NPT=&L=English&CTA=Article&SortBy=Oldest&K=fashion&KA=fashion&P=2&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=fashion&oref=article
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