From Yung Raja to Inch Chua, we spotlight these homegrown musicians’ foray into fashion!
Courtesy of Peace Oeuvre
Let’s be real, music and fashion come concurrently. Other than bringing in more bucks, if done well, blending both elements could produce some exquisite clothing.
It’s not surprising when musicians and bands create their own merchandise. Some artists have taken it to levels beyond: Queen Beyoncé’s Ivy Park, ‘Posh Spice’ Victoria Beckham’s namesake label, Kanye’s cult favourite Yeezy, Justin Bieber’s Drew House, fashion icon Rihanna’s lingerie line, Tyler, The Creator’s GOLF le FLEUR* and most recently Nigo and A$SAP Rocky’s HUMAN MADE collection.
Well, it’s no different here in bustling Singapore. We’ve got a couple of homegrown musicians who ventured into the realm of fashion and boy, do they know how to make fabrics sing too.
Peace Oeuvre By Yung Raja
No doubt, we had to mention rising rapper Yung Raja. First of all, I need to commend the brand name. ‘Oeuvre’ is one of my favourite words in the dictionary, meaning “the body of work of a painter, composer or author” or “a work of art, music or literature”. And in this case, I’d say: “yes indeed”.
Co-founded with his friend Darren Chan, the brand’s first collection launched last August with a range of T-shirts, hoodies, bags and accessories. Yung Raja shares on FEMALE that it isn’t just a clothing brand. “It’s a fashion label that explores free expression of our love for art. “The logo encapsulates love and peace, subtly stating our brand identity. We wish there’s peace in your heart forever,” he says.
The second capsule dropped in November 2021 and is still available for purchase. Cop your Yung Raja drip at peaceoeuvre.com!
Green Spell By Melvin Ong
Melvin Ong, a former musician, cameraman and video technician, continues to be an inspirational multi-hyphenate even after the unfortunate fall that left him paralysed from the shoulder down. The former frontman of metal band Hrvst survived and conquered the tough times and decided to focus his life on video directing, lyric writing for The Human Experiment and an apparel label.
Green Spell makes logo-emblazoned T-shirts, caps, keychains and ashtrays. The brand has sold out over half of its designs since its launch, to both local and global customers. In 2020, Melvin released a Covid-19 Relief design and donated all the proceeds to migrant workers who were affected by the pandemic.
Get your next hype streetwear piece at greenspell.store!
Akinn X Inch Chua
Last October, Singapore design label Akinn teamed up with local singer-songwriter Inch Chua to launch a sustainable capsule collection. With creative director Wykidd Song at the helm, Akinn 2.4: Kind Earth is a practical approach to understanding that an ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset for conscious fashion is hugely attainable.
Courtesy of Akinn
Guided by Inch’s song ‘trees’, the collection has eleven pieces produced with comfortable and earth-friendly materials like cotton, tencel and viscose. Nature and summer hues are translated into the colour palette and the designs are inspired by Inch’s music heroes such as Joni Mitchell. It also takes into consideration of a musician’s daily activities — flowy and doesn’t restrict movements like slinging on a guitar.
The artistic collection is available on akinn.com and at Scotts Square.
SMG By JJ Lin
Last but not least, we have Mandopop star JJ Lin where his musical journey has been nothing short of a great success. SMG, which stands for ‘Still Moving Under Gunfire’, began in 2009 in Ann Siang Hill but closed in 2013. Now, the label has three stores in Taiwan and Shanghai.
Courtesy of SMG
The streetwear brand is an avenue for Lin to “share various concepts and stories visually, when music isn’t the best medium”. As the label advocates for people to “persist in the face of adversity”, most of its designs are military-inspired.
The singer hopes to reopen SMG in Singapore. In the meantime, see JJ Lin’s interpretations of fashion and buy them at smudgestore.com.
Courtesy of SMG
Alright, while we admire how far each musician has come thus far, we know that more is yet to come. If you’re a musician, you’ve reached the end of this article and you’ve been thinking of your foray into fashion, this is it! Know that we support that 100% and can not wait to see more Singapore labels pop up in the years to come. Go forth and create!
