The EcoChic Design Award: Interview with Singaporean winner, Laurensia Salim

Whenever we hear of Singapore talent making waves on international grounds, instinctively our hearts warm up and a smile creases across our faces. We can’t help it – call it home pride.

So as soon as Singapore-based designer, Laurensia Salim’s Special Prize win at The EcoChic Design Award 2014/15 came to our attention, confetti exploded in our minds. Currently in her final year at Raffles Design Institute, Laurensia no doubt shows us the tenacity and sheer effort it requires to excel in Singapore’s fashion industry and with such an accolade already under her name, we’re certain this is only the beginning for the young student.

Titled, ‘The Sea and its Creatures’, her collection was inspired by the vast waters and its many species of beings – all of which constantly face the unsavoury brunt of waste-dumping industries, including fashion. Hence for further insight to that, we spoke to Laurensia to learn about her design process, thoughts on Singapore’s fashion industry and the world of sustainable fashion.

Marie France Asia: How does it feel like winning an award and representing Singapore?

Laurensia Salim: I feel really honored to have won the Special Prize: The EcoChic Design Award 2014/15 with John Hardy, a leading sustainable jewellery brand. I will be going on an educational trip to John Hardy’s design and production facilities in Bali to experience their design, production and business philosophies.

All of the finalists have done a really great job in this competition. To be able to represent Singapore is a great honor for me. I hope that my winning the Special Prize will help bring more attention to sustainable fashion in Singapore.

MFA: What made you decide to do eco-fashion?

Laurensia Salim: Fashion has always excited me with how fast it changes and I am really grateful that fashion exists. With all this excitement, I had never thought that there are a lot of other parts of fashion that actually do harm to the environment. I think as a designer, I need to be responsible for what I create – and that made me decide to be more ethical. There are many ways to be more sustainable in fashion. Before I took a design class at my university in sustainable design, I was pretty unaware about sustainable fashion in general. But, as I increased my knowledge on this subject, I had an a-ha moment. I thought to myself that if I can make my designs more ethical, why don’t I?

MFA: What inspired your collection at The EcoChic Design Award 2014/15?

Laurensia Salim: My collection is titled ‘The Sea and its Creatures’. Through my collection, I want to reflect the beauty and harmony of the sea. The sea and its many varied creatures support a lot of our daily needs, but I don’t think we realize the full extent of how much the fashion world harms the environment, particularly through the dumping of textile waste and denim dyeing. Denim, which is the main material in this collection, reflects my awareness of the damage the denim-making process causes and also the fact that often, the lifecycle of denim is not used to its full potential. I want my collection to show that we need to protect our environment in general, not only the sea. We can do this by smart shopping and also taking good care of our existing garments so that we as fashion consumers can reduce textile waste in general.

MFA: You tend to use denim waste material a lot, why is that?

Laurensia Salim: The first consideration is the quality. Due to its construction, denim is a really durable material even after it is used for a long time. Using secondhand denim jeans and reconstructing them to create another garment does not really affect the quality of the garment. I believe that in sustainable design, the quality and the design should not be dropped.

The second consideration is that it is easy to source denim waste. Almost every person has several pairs of denim jeans that they may get rid of after several years, so it is quite common to see racks of jeans in secondhand shops.

MFA: Besides fashion, are there other ways that you’re looking to protect the environment?

Laurensia Salim: We need to incorporate environmental protection into all aspects in our life. When I got to know more about sustainable fashion, I learned to try to produce less waste. I try to save more food, water and power and limit my production of waste in my everyday life. I shop consciously to avoid accumulating lots of things I don’t need.

MFA: What else do you think the fashion industry can do to protect the environment?

Laurensia Salim: Changing their main materials into more sustainable materials is one thing the fashion industry could do. Some sustainable materials may cost more than others, but they could be promoted more in terms of why it is better to buy the more sustainable materials. One of the examples is organic cotton. Conventional cotton, which uses pesticides, is cheaper than organic cotton. But, the toxic chemicals inside conventional cotton can affect not only the people who are involved in the production process, but also the people who wear it, as it sticks to their skin. The fashion industry could try to better educate everyone about sustainability and raise awareness to help consumers make better choices in fashion.

Out of season garments and spoiled garments in the fashion industry often become waste because they cannot be sold. We should try to think about recycling those garments so they can have another chance to live. We could also try to up-cycle those garments for niche market fashion houses so the garments will have better value.

MFA: What are your thoughts on Singapore’s fashion scene?

Laurensia Salim: I think fashion in Singapore is often overshadowed by Singapore’s other large industries, such as business, engineering and medicine, among others. Sustainability in architecture, vehicles and government programs is quite well-known in Singapore, and it is beginning to take off in fashion.

Prominent fashion labels in Singapore are mostly the international fashion labels and there are comparatively not as many buyers for young niche market local brands. Singapore local designers have great designs in their labels, but because they do not have many buyers, it is very difficult for them to stay in the business. Although some sustainable fashion brands in Singapore fall in the niche category and are relatively young, I think that the fashion consumer in general has started to become more aware about sustainable issues. Consumers have started to be more curious about the design and manufacturing processes behind the clothes that they purchase. In my opinion, if the general public has greater exposure and thus increased knowledge about sustainable fashion, then sustainability has a positive future in the fashion industry.

MFA: What are your future plans?

Laurensia Salim: I am excited about going to Bali as part of the Special Prize of The EcoChic Design Award 2014/15 and learning about sustainability in John Hardy’s design and production facilities! Aside from that, I’m still in my final year in my college. I don’t really have any plans for my future after graduating from my college now. I’m still focusing on my final collection and I hope everything goes well.

Tarandip Kaur