This designer started an ‘anti-fashion’ brand after witnessing the industry’s waste

OF THE VARIOUS POSITIONS YOU’VE HELD AND THE BOSSES YOU HAVE WORKED FOR, WHICH DO YOU THINK HAS SHAPED YOU THE MOST?

The most inspiring role to date is, without a doubt, my first job as collections designer for luxury label Exception de Mixmind (EdM) in Guangzhou, China. Funnily, I first discovered EdM as an intern trends analyst at WGSN London, the leading fashion trends agency. They’re a cult brand well known and revered by fashion insiders who are into the arty side of things, unknown to commercial fashion. I remember seeing pictures and videos of founder Ma Ke’s show at the V&A museum with all its organic textures and handmade elements. They were so beautiful and emotive, and so aligned with my personal style – organic, earthy, nature-inspired. I wrote in and sent my portfolio, flew to Shanghai then Guangzhou, and landed myself a role there as their first foreign designer. EdM was a dream – more art school than commercial fashion company, with its own in-house atelier for all sorts of development from hand-knitting, macrame and crochet to printing and dyeing. In China, you get to work on a scale like no other. The founders are designers by training so it was conceptually a very strong brand that also had a lot of commercial success. As a young designer, I got to experiment a lot.

I NOTICED ONE OF YOUR EARLIEST JOBS WAS AT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE. THAT’S A LITTLE SURPRISING GIVEN YOUR CAREER IN FASHION. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

I believe that most of us have multiple sides to our personalities and interests. It’s just a matter of whether we venture out to try other paths. I was always quite academic from a young age, so Mindef was just a natural progression, the ‘safe choice’ after my first degree in English Literature & European Studies at NUS. At the same time, I’ve also always loved art and drawing, and was always doodling designs for as long as I can remember. I left home for London at the age of 25 to pursue my studies in fashion.

I NOTICED YOU HAVE SEVERAL DEGREES, MOST RECENTLY ONE FROM CAMBRIDGE. ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO IS JUST ALWAYS HUNGRY FOR KNOWLEDGE?

Yes! It’s almost as if I need to try a new career path every 10 years. The online course from Cambridge was in Business Sustainability Management – I went in with the mindset that as a designer, I have a good understanding of product/technical sustainability (supply chain, product life cycle etc.) but not enough business overview/framework to truly make an impact. That was an amazing course; I learnt a lot from my course mates who were all global corporate execs in some of the most influential firms. I felt like a novice as a designer in a world of corporate jargon, but realised that sustainability is at heart a creative concept – something I can identify with.