The Fadli Rahman x ERIIN Editorial we launched today at our trunkshow, “THESE ARE OUR HEROES”, entitled “Boxer Rebellion”. We loved working on set with him, and we loved the model Dorothy! Amazing work, thank you Queena Do for the gorgeous makeup & hair as well. Hope you guys love it. x

Introducing My Secret Agent Lover Man, ERIIN’s hottest new upcoming Aussie label that is 100% on trend and so full of character with its colours and adorably chic details.

As I type this, the stock is on its way over and we are so excited to have MSALM’s debut at our Trunkshow on Thursday! Be sure to speak to Faz on the event day as well, as she will be representing the brand as one of our Heroines!

In the meantime, here’s a little sneak at some of the pieces by My Secret Agent Love Man. You’ll have to attend the Trunkshow to see the full range that will be stocking on ERIIN. We honestly cannot pick a favourite piece!

We also took the time to interview Kim Wong, the incredibly talented woman behind My Secret Agent Lover Man! Kim graduated from Curtin University with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Jewellery Design in 2009. She was awarded the Jewellery Design Innovation Award for her year and went on to be a finalist in the 2009 Design Now! annual exhibition held by Object Gallery in Sydney.
She continued her work in contemporary jewellery and exhibited in various galleries across Australia, after which her interest in fashion led her into creating a fashion jewellery line. Thus My Secret Agent Lover Man was born in the Spring of 2010!

Five words I’d use to describe myself:
Stubborn, Passionate, Determined, Messy & Shy.

My Inspiration:
Inspiration for “The Grave Escape” Collection started when I came across Disney’s Skeleton Dance cartoon when rummaging through an old stack of laser discs back home! I later found some skull beads in a shop in Chinatown and started working on this collection.
A song to represent it would probably the Silly Symphony that accompanies the cartoon. It’s dark and scary but with a tinge of quirkiness and humor.

My style icons:
Catherine Baba and Anna Dello Russo for their outrageous style and love for jewellery, Chloe Sevigny for her quirkiness and more recently Kate Bosworth for making dressing up everyday look so effortless.

Who I’d like to represent the brand:
I sometimes see people on the street and I really love their outfit and effortless style, I think those are the people I would like to represent the brand.

My Passion:
I have always had an interest in making things by hand. My passion for art and design kept growing, and right after high school, I decided to enroll in design college. I studied Interior Design, received my diploma in Industrial Design and then enrolled in the Jewellery Design Course when I came to Australia to study.
Three years later, with no background in business or industry experience, I pretty much dived straight into building my own jewellery label from scratch. Some might say I was reckless or just plain naive, but I firmly believe that if you’re really passionate about your dream, you’ll go after it and make it work.
It has been really challenging but I’m enjoying every minute of it! Got to live like there’s no tomorrow! And of course, I have the most amazing and supportive parents, who have encouraged me to follow my dreams!

My take on collaborations and entrepreneurs:
I think collaborations are great, as you get to exchange ideas and learn from one another, there is only so much one person or a group can do. It gets you out of your comfort zone and injects a fresh energy into the work.

Future goals for My Secret Agent Lover Man:
In 5 years I would like to expand the label to include bags, belts, headwear etc. I’d like My Secret Agent Lover Man to be the go-to label for all your accessory needs!

Meet Hana, the amazing woman behind her self-titled label, KAE HANA!

Having first met her at a PARCO next NEXT preview event, we were blown away by her unique self-designed prints, bright colours and amazing quality. We had stumbled upon someone special and we knew instantly that we had to get her on ERIIN! Hana is fun, bubbly and an absolute joy to be around, and we are so excited showcase her designs on the 26th! Make sure you speak with Hana at our Trunkshow, we guarantee it’ll be a blast!

What you do and tell us about your background/experiences?
I graduated from Lasalle College of the Arts with a Degree in Fashion Design in 2009. I worked as a corporate uniforms designer for a year, during which I hatched plans to strike it out on my own. Later on, a few friends persuaded me to try out for the Parco next NEXT fashion incubation program and I got in! I am so grateful and honored to have been given this opportunity. Now, doors are slowly, but surely opening.

Describe yourself in 5 words
Funny, gregarious, foodie, observer, talker!

Tell us about your collection, your inspiration(s) behind it and a song to represent it

My launch collection is titled “Raised by the Middles”.
Let me explain – Some people may have been raised by wolves, or in the jungle (like Tarzan). I, on the other hand, was “raised by the middles”, in a middle-class family. I was raised by hardworking middle class parents, who are extremely supportive and have been incredible throughout my journey at Parco next NEXT. As a tribute to my amazing parents, I decided that, for my first collection, I wanted to let everyone know a little bit about my background.

My inspiration for Raised by the Middles was simple. As it was my debut collection, I wanted it to be honest, and it needed to reflect me as a designer and as a person. With this in mind, I chose to work with two subjects that I personally adore – skulls and flowers. Although these subjects has already been intensively used in the industry for many years, I am a huge fan of the contrast between these two extremities, and really wanted to put my own spin on it by combining these seemingly conflicting elements. My purpose was to evoke genuine surprise in people who aren’t used to seeing these two motifs paired together. People who look at my prints and are often pleasantly surprised that I could  illustrate a skull out of floral prints, and actually managed make it look that good! I am so grateful for such genuine interest from people who see my clothes.

I design my prints before I design the actual garments, as I see my prints as the main showstopper! Next, I design the garment by imagining my subject, a woman. I think about her body, personality and lifestyle, then I imagine what she would need in her wardrobe. What would she love? What would she do after getting off work? I imagine a real person with real needs. That’s how I choose to form my garments – they revolve around a woman who needs to work, date, wine, dine, and party.

A song that inspired me is Neat Little Rows by Elbow. I have always had a thing for bones – the way they are aligned and constructed, and when I first heard this song, something sparked in my mind, as I literally also have a huge thing for neat little rows. I love symmetry, and if you look at my prints, everything is symmetric! I need straight clean lines in my life or I’d think the world is a bad place. Even though some of my pieces aren’t symmetrical, I always add something to balance the asymmetrical properties out.

Who are your style icons and who would you like to represent the brand?
I don’t have a style icon and I know that may be taboo for some designers! But if I had to choose, it would be Real Women. Real women who are mothers, sisters and wives. Real women who go out there and earn their keep. I like seeing or envisioning real women on the streets rather than people on magazines who I may never get to know.

Tell us about your passion.
I see my passion as broken up into sections – “long-term passion” and “short bursts of passion”. Long-term passion would be anything that I would never give up on – family, fashion, people and food – the things I cannot live without!
On the other hand, I get infatuated easily, hence “short-term passion”. Things that I get obsessed over can change all the time, and I’m not the kind of person who can remain stagnant.

What are your viewpoint(s) about collaborations and entrepreneurs?
Collaboration is absolutely essential! Look at char kway teow (a local style of fried noodles). It wouldn’t be char kway teow without cockles, and the dish a successful collaboration among all its ingredients. Collaboration allows like-minded individuals to fully explore what they may not be able to achieve individually. Collaborations ALL THE WAY!
Entrepreneurs are also essential! Without the uncle selling the char kway teow, you couldn’t have any! Without entrepreneurs, we wouldn’t get anything NEW or FRESH, in fact we wouldn’t have anything at all! No iPhone, no iPads, no laptops, no char kway teow!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
World domination is not my style. I’m happy with a small corner of the earth, where people can drop by and have a good time shopping. The customer will leave my small corner of the earth as friends return in future.
In 5 years, I will turn 30 (you should have seen my face when I typed ’30′), and by then, I really want Singapore’s fashion scene to be much more supportive of local talent! I would love the local labels to become as big as imported labels.
I would also love to expand abroad! While I still do want my “small corner”, that doesn’t mean it has to be just Singapore! I would also like to have collaborated with as many local artist and entrepreneurs as possible!!

Meet the lovely & hilarious Hana at our Trunkshow next Thursday and check out her beautiful pieces!