MATTER: Fashion with a conscience from Singapore

Think that all fashion is superficial? Think again!

While designer labels and highstreet brands might set the trends and direction for what we wear each season – and have become a staple in our closets – younger independent labels are coming up each year with on thing in mind: making a fashion statement with a conscience and while helping others.

One of these ambitious attempts comes from a new Singapore-based label: MATTER.

The brainchild of world traveller and adventure seeker Renyung Ho, MATTER’s concept is simple: Making pants to see the world in – while helping small communities around Asia through the process of making them at the same time.

Being fans of her noble cause – and the gorgeous traditional-inspired prints and designs – we caught up with the entrepreneur/designer behind MATTER to tell us more about about her concept and label which has just launched its e-commerce site last week.

Marie France Asia: Describe MATTER in one sentence.

Renyung: A socially-motivated business focusing on affordable luxury, thoughtful design and provenance to create travel wear with stories to tell – the first edition is pants to see the world in.

 

Marie France Asia: How did the idea of MATTER come about and what’s the message behind it?

Renyung: MATTER was sparked by the excitement of travel and the human connection that comes with it. The feeling of anything is possible, the richness of a life that is open to global inspiration. I met my co-founder, Yvonne, on the beaches of Mexico, and we were inspired to combine our love for travel, cultural stories, and unique travel wear into a business catering to the global nomad.

Practically, it kicked off last year when I drove a tuktuk covering 3000km from North to South India for a charity drive – I fell in love with the country, met some key people I work with now, and was inspired as to how something small can really go a long way.

The message is to find out the where and why something is made – we will make better choices when we know those stories, for ourselves and the world. Also, that we are all connected – that’s why it’s called MATTER – going back to the basics that connect us.

Marie France Asia: How does it work (the process of design/production and helping communities)

Renyung: Primarily, Matter is about providing our customer with the best quality product out there. That’s why we personally visit each of our supply partners with a certain set of criteria that focuses on product integrity, social and environmental impact, business imperatives and management robustness.

We focus on working with rural artisans, using a new form of hub-spoke production. It brings the opportunity to the workforce rather than the other way around.

In terms of the print design, we invest a lot of time into learning the cultural histories and symbolic stories behind the prints. This wasn’t an easy task as much of this is being lost – we visited over 10 blockprinting workshops in Rajasthan and found one person who still knew those origins well.

Our designers then reinterpret the motif by playing with size, colour, outlines and white space to bring out the essence of its story. From there on its an iterative process between the designer and artisan to achieve the final perfect balance.

Lastly, for the style of the trousers, we reached out to the real women who matter around us. We want our pants to be something that women can call upon not only when they’re travelling but when they are grounded back in their day to day. We curated a collection of styles from Asia and the rest of the world that were whittled down to 9 types. These were then road-tested by women of all ages, shapes and lifestyles who honed them to the 5 basic styles we now produce.

Marie France Asia: How important is it to be conscious of what we’re buying these days?

Renyung: Extremely. Buying is an extremely personal process – it has gone beyond utility to represent who we are as individuals and what we value.

There is definitely a sea change in the rise of conscious consumerism. There is a lot more support now for companies who are transparent, honest, and who stand for something larger than what they sell. Business has the power to change the world and that cycle of change starts with the consumer. The power of the consumer is undisputed, and every single act of consumption has a ripple effect somewhere else in the world.

Marie France Asia: Why only pants?

Renyung: There is still something slightly rebellious about women wearing pants. It suggests a woman in control and living her life and having her adventures. Those are the women who inspire me in my life and inspire us in Matter. For instance our reworked harem pant, takes a strong print with a signature design that can take the wearer from the office to the beach just by slipping off your shoes. Pants are extremely comfortable whether you’re getting wandering around the back streets of Barcelona or in the aisles of your local supermarket.

Plus, we believe in doing one thing really well and excelling in that. And so even though we want to eventually expand into other types of travel wear, pants will be our main focus for the near future.

Marie France Asia: What’s your favourite print? Take us through the process of producing it

 Renyung: That’s a tough one! I know and love the stories of all of them so it’s difficult to choose just one. If I really had to, it would be the Mobi print, because of the entire process it took to get to the final result. Its inspired by the traditional mobiyara trio motif of a cotton bol bursting open at a time of harvest, and has its origins in the Meghval community, a peace-loving tribe traditionally engaged in the handloom weaving of cotton. We took the essential repeat motif and combined it in such a way that it still felt organic, and also suggested growth and expansion. I love that it looks like this great complex pattern but is actually made of very clean, geometric lines. Somewhat like an analogy for nature itself.

When we took it to the master block carver, he had to change the design to be a true repeat – proof that you can’t just design on a digital screen. The resulting block was the biggest they had ever carved or used, and we had to experiment with using different layers in the printing tray to get the right consistency and achieve the same fine lines throughout. This was also because we use tussar silk for our pants, which the blockprinters had never printed on before.

At the end of our sampling, we were all so proud with the final piece and that’s the part that I really love – it’s a collaborative, experiential production process with its own story and history.

Marie France Asia: Is there any plan to expand on the type of prints you choose to focus on in other parts of India, or around the world?

Renyung: Definitely. India has a vast treasure of print stories waiting to be told. We’ve also just been to Manila, Philippines, and the beauty found in the textile traditions there astounded me. For example, the T’boli tribe is famous for their T’nalak weavings, the designs of which are passed down by generations and come to them in their dreams. That’s why they’re called dreamweavers.

Marie France Asia: What’s next for MATTER?

Renyung: Well, sticking with the pants format, our next edition will be with men in mind – we feel they deserve to matter as well! There is also a collaboration in the pipeline with our range of scarves and stoles. All of these will be available to purchase via our website, in the coming months.

Additionally, we’re launching the MATTER Nomad Cart in May – a brand showcase pop up that will travel to 6 different locations in the summer months of May, June and July, along the themes of Travel, Change and Design. We’re very excited about bringing our pants on the road and providing an opportunity for our customers to touch and feel these beautiful fabrics.

MATTER pants (USD84 – USD129) are now available online. Worldwide shipping available. For more information about the brand and their activities, you can visit their blog.

Rana Wehbe-Flinter