Harper’s BAZAAR Asia NewGen Fashion Award 2022 has crowned the winner of its annual competition

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November 10, 2022 10 minutes

Singapore, 10 November 2022 - After weeks of careful deliberation, Harper's BAZAAR Singapore - in partnership with Chanel Singapore; and supported by Chivas Regal - is proud to award Serina Lee Ying Han from LASALLE College of the Arts the coveted Harper’s BAZAAR Asia NewGen Fashion Award 2022. Her collection, “land ss23”, was showcased live at NoonTalk Media earlier today in a final runway show, alongside that of five other NewGen finalists.

Serina, 22 years old, emerged victorious as she impressed the judges with her fashion collection. Inspired by the process of creation and coming-to-life, her designs feature hand-painted textiles with 3D textures. With a 15-year background in Chinese painting and calligraphy, Serina’s garments were duly inspired, and are intended to be worn or displayed as wall hangings.

In addition to a cash prize of SGD10,000, Serina has received a scholarship from Istituto Marangoni (London). As part of the prize package, Serina’s winning pieces will also retail as a capsule collection at Design Orchard and Oneorchard.store early next year.

On Serina’s win, Mr Kenneth Goh, Editor-In-Chief of Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore, says: “Serina is such an incredible talent in her skill set — not only in design, but in technique, artistry, and calligraphy. She also goes further to future-proof that fashion skill by venturing into the metaverse with her outstanding NFTs. Her work is remarkable not just because it shows an evident passion for art, but also for the way it takes traditional skills like Chinese painting and calligraphy into the future. It’s Serina’s unending quest to seek new avenues for customers to experience her work not only as garments but also as works of art that makes her a true modern thinker and a NewGen winner of the future.”

Since 2013, the annual Harper's BAZAAR Asia NewGen Fashion Award has provided emerging fashion designers across the region a launching pad to showcase their design talents and to further nurture their business acumen.

For this edition of Harper’s BAZAAR Asia NewGen Fashion Award, all the finalists underwent a month-long BAZAAR x CHANEL advisory programme that was designed to educate and motivate the finalists, while equipping them with the tools they need to navigate various aspects of the fashion industry: These include branding, styling, grooming and visual merchandising.

After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Asia NewGen Award returned with a bang with its grand finale attended by the crème de la crème of local and regional fashion and entertainment personalities.

More information on the Harper’s BAZAAR Asia NewGen finalists and their collections can be found in the Annex.

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ANNEX

Name: Serina Lee Ying Han (Winner)

School: LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore

Finalists of Harper’s BAZAAR Asia NewGen Fashion Award 2022

Judging Panel

Kenneth Goh - Editor-in-Chief, Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore
Windy Aulia - Creative Director, Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore
Lai Chan - Established Singapore Couturier
Vanessa Lim - General Manager, Communications, Chanel Singapore

	Name: Arthur Chong School: Raffles Design Institute Singapore (2021-2022) About the designer Arthur Chong loves to explore different areas of art and design to put it into fashion, finding different techniques, elements and ideas to create detail, shape and silhouette which people have never seen before. Collection: ႧDЯR Deconstruction and reconstruction as art. Arthur Chong wants you to take away from his collection, which is inspired by breaking through the limitations – or illusions of them – set in stone by fixed identities or structures in favour of “a more open, less defined self.” One may call it creating chaos, but Arthur says that’s one way we can break through to the unknown, to find fresh, innovative possibilities. Final Look Arthur created folds in his collection to create more volume. Creating volume while also maintaining simplicity in order to make his collection more commercially viable in Asia and Singapore in particular. But he plays around more with colour combinations in this collection, combinations which he finds very critical and very hard.
	Name: Choi Nakyeong School: Raffles College of Higher Education (2019-2022) About the designer Choi Nakyeong says she designs for women who are “strong, independent, and can express themselves differently.” Self-expression through fashion is the best way to know who she is. Art and fashion allows Choi to express inventive ideas and deepen her understanding of human experiences. It offers an escape from the mundane to explore her own imagination and self-expression. Curve shape has always fascinated Choi. The curve is shown to the human body shape that is God’s greatest creation. Collection: Free-Spirited Movement Choi’s collection is inspired by K-traditional creative dance. The unique feature of Korean dance is to express the beauty of curved lines rather than straight movements.” The inspirations are evident; Choi aims to create clothes that emulate the expression of thoughts and emotions found in the dance, replicating the rhythmic movement of the traditional skirts in the shapes and curves of her designs. Final Look Choi selected permeable and absorbent lightweight fabrics for her designs, which she hopes will illustrate a free-spirited appearance, elegant beauty, and the unique spirit of Korean dance. She speaks fondly of draping (“one of the most attractive techniques to design garments as a designer”), and how useful it is for improvisation, creativity and visualisation during the design process.
	Name : Faith Lois Seet Fae School: Polimoda undergraduate Fashion design (2018 - 2022) About the designer Faith Lois Seet strives to aspire and empower positivity with a strong focus on craft and the human experiences. Inspired by life and the world in her POV , what she creates draws the line between the uncanny and the familiar. Her playful designs hints at a shameless, fulfilling, and liberating fun. That her collections are an unapologetic act of self expression, a modern narrative of what she wants to express in a particular moment. Her past experiences as a chef influence her designs as she always incorporates a certain food into her collection to add that touch of realism and relatability. Collection: SL!VER L!N!NG “SL!VER L!N!NG” a metaphor for optimism, this collection conveys hope and courage with that playful chaotic energy. Created as a reaction and the sequel to my grad collection this is a narrative of how my return back home after the pandemic has affected me.The use of denim is to signify the toughness and versatility of humans reacting and moving to change. With silver lines stitched on the fabric to express that our paths are " to each their own" ; "follow the yellow brick road " as reference from wizard of oz. That all the questions on how to navigate through life can be sought within ourselves. Channeling the "main character" vibes ,this collection is about the celebration of our collective experiences and that "silver lining" for when one door closes another opens. Final Look The one shoulder dress is made up of 13 pieces. The swirl dress is the extension from the grad collection to show that the story still continues. Made with different treated denim that are pieced back together, the dress uses the mechanics of the grain line to hold the shape together, the lines stitched are the direction of the grain line and that some lines match due to this phenomenon . The complexity expresses the inner turmoil despite the overall fun cool chic attitude it gives.
	Name: Joe Kean Chun Yee School: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (2019-2022) About the designer Joe Kean is an aspiring fashion designer that emphasises the design language of shapes and silhouettes. Exploring and incorporating the different possibilities of unfamiliar forms onto a garment. Joe Kean is inspired by the surroundings in life and the study of the human body. Joe Kean specialises in creative pattern cutting. Collection: Shapes of Human, Human of Shapes Shapes of Human, Human of Shapes’’ is an independent designer womenswear capsule collection designed for Spring-Summer 2023. It is inspired by the idea of a human being formed with shapes and warping, altering the typical human form and silhouette. Joe drew inspiration from visuals that show the different forms and possibilities of the human body. From looking at contortionists, body modification, human deformity, and sculptures. Final Look The collection incorporates draping on the hard form of shapes and removing it to create the silhouette by using darts and pleats. By applying the same technique of forming a square onto different fabrics, it creates a different form of altering the silhouette. It is a hybrid between a hard and soft silhouette. Illustrating the idea that the human body is always shown in different ways and forms, Joe says he hopes his collection encourages us all to embrace and appreciate those differences.
	Name: Sit Shi Jie School: LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore (2020-2022) About the designer Sit Shi Jie is a Singapore-based artist and designer who enjoys working through the exploration of materials and techniques, specialising in creative pattern cutting and free-flow draping – with focus on asymmetry, fluidity and unconventional details - highlighting raw seams and edges. Her interests in art, music and dance heavily influence her creative vision, with attention to darker aesthetics and themes. Collection: Moonlight Serenade This SS23 collection takes on the idea of Ouroboros, with the concept of endless eternity. It is reflected in both the construction process and versatility of the pieces; excess fabric is manipulated into the seams of pleat panels, strategic strap and loop placement allows for free-styling of the draped pieces. Final Look For this collection, Shi Jie wanted to introduce a simpler approach to draping that can be easily manipulated by the wearer to encourage creativity in the styling of pieces. It is simplified with the use of clean shapes, to both minimise fabric wastage as well as to streamline the production process. The geometrically-shaped pieces can be re-tied/hung across the body to style different looks. Textile manipulations also highlight distressed edges of the fabric, with hand-stitched details that hold the pieces together.