The local shopping scene may have been inundated by fashion giants over the last two years, but a small group of emerging local designers are still making themselves heard with their bold creations. Here are five you should know about.

Feist Heist

Who: Previously known as Lucyd Acyd, Feist Heist emerged in November of last year. “Feist represents the female counterpart, while Heist represents the homme collection, marketed together as a brand and lifestyle,” says creator and designer Min G. “Our main design philosophy is to make well thought out wardrobe essentials that are simple, understated and evergreen, with Feist being more sophisticated and modern, and Heist being more street-and grunge-influenced.”
Must buys: For the girls, vests and blazers will make standout pieces (from $48.80 and $54.80 respectively) while for the guys, shirts and pants go from $48.80.
Where: Blackmarket

Al & Alicia

Who: One of the slightly more established local brands (though only around since 2009), designer Alicia Ong’s playful creations have a strong underground following, although this year’s Spring/Summer release (their fifth) is one of their most relaxed yet. “The inspiration came from our love of superheroes and comic book characters,” says Ong. “This initial idea gives rise to flirty and feminine dresses paired with tough and strong pieces in bright primary bold colors.”
Must buys: Slouchy cropped blazer made from tencel in hues of powder, phantom and power red ($328) and slim fit trousers with tapered hems ($178).
Where: Antipodean

Lilia Yip

Who: This London-based designer/musician with her eponymous bag label was the talk of town recently for her collaboration with design studio Garnet London, resulting in a series of limited edition leather women’s bags that are both classic and progressive. “The collection started from my interest in art, photography, film, science, current affairs and history,” says Yip. “The images and information are then put through a deliberate thought and design process as I relate what I see to my memories, beliefs and aesthetic.” Yip then works with leather makers and craftsmen to produce small capsule collections.
Must buys: The Garnet collaboration pieces of course (from $190), which are unique pieces that go with just about anything.
Where: Blackmarket

Goldilocks

Who: This artisanal jewelry brand is the brainchild of hip couple Sara Ooi and Chris Lim, who see jewelry as “an open-ended art form,” says Ooi. “Goldilocks gives us freedom to create fine jewelry that is more playful and personal. We created them for everyday wear, but with a meaning.” That meaning comes in the form of special edition pieces like their popular “Names” necklaces, which can be customized for specific individuals, as well as fun editions like the “Martini” pendants.
Must buys: The “Names” pendants (from $550) and the twee “You & Me” couple pendants (from $580).
Where: #02-16 Tudor Court, 131 Tanglin Rd., 6235-8873.

Time Taken to Make a Dress

Who: Dressmaking duo Letitia Phay and Jade Swee first premiered their haute couture-inspired debut “Lifecycle” collection at a Grey Goose fashion showcase late last year to rave reviews. “Everything is made locally, says Phay. “We have a team of dressmakers who help us execute our designs but the final touches, craft and lace work or any three-dimensional detailing are done by the two of us.
Must buys: Evening dresses and skirts with a gothic edge, including a skeletal rib-like skirt, a dress with multiple layers of organza in gradation color schemes, and tan dress with a bouquet of flowers on its back—certainly not for the demure. Short dresses are from $800, long dresses from $1,500 and evening gowns from $3,000.
Where: 61 Niven Rd., 6648-0316.

You came up with Metals after a long hiatus. Why the long break?
After seven years of touring I was totally depleted. Things weren’t slowing down so I drew a big thick line eight months in advance in the calendar, and after that I would stop completely. When I hit that wall it was a dead stop, and I collapsed with my suitcase next to me.

How did you begin writing again?
The most important thing was waiting for there to be a silence around me after the last album (The Reminder). Eventually I started writing again, very quietly with nobody waiting, watching or listening. That was how I used to record, so it felt right. I made myself a space in a shed behind my house and wrote a bunch of songs, and then in the summer of 2010 went back to the studio in Paris to finish it off.

Why “Metals”?
A metal can mean either the raw material, or what something can become after a long process. It can always be melted down and turned into something else. The main point is that there’s a raw version buried deep in the earth, and it’s a heavy and industrial process to extract out of rock. Then you melt it and everything reacts to different temperatures and has different properties, and something new is formed.So there were a lot of thoughts that related to the mood of the record. Metals was one word that could give each song its own tool or weapon to expand its own identity; to make it mellifluous, mercurial, more responsive or more malleable. It could give one song a sword in its hand and give another this dazzling precious cover.

Feist will be performing at Laneway Festival Singapore, February 12, 10.20pm at Fort Canning Park. See other interviews with Chairlift and Cults.

When the going gets tough… the tough keep themselves busy.

The last time I danced… it was sometime in August and I didn't stop for hours.

To work up the crowd, I… make a little “M” sign with my thumb and index finger.

My poison of choice is… whisky.

Girls to me are… a beautiful distraction.

I like it hard when it comes to… tequila.

Catch Ming weekly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10pm onwards at Velvet Underground. $25-32 includes two drinks.

What sort of a dude are you?
I'm an asshole at heart but a sweetheart most the time.

How does it feel like to be called “a band”?
When Twin Shadow is on the road we are "a band" so it feels good. Off the road, it's just me.

How did the name come about?
From a motorcycle.

Who would you like to collaborate with?
Lykke Li.

What’s playing in your iPod right now?
Drake’s “Take Care.”

What’s your guilty pleasure?
George Michael.

Best gig ever…
New York’s Webster Hall in 2011.

Will Laneway Singapore top that one?
We aim to please.

Twin Shadow performs at Laneway Festival Singapore on February 13. See other interviews with Anna Calvi, Chairlift and Yuck.

What's your songwriting process like?
Patrick and I wrote this album as a two piece. We rented a spare room at the back of an antique shop, with a very minimal setup: a piano, a guitar, a bass, a synth and a drum kit. Unlike our first album, every idea on this record was thought of in that room together, which made it a much more conversational process. Our typical hours were about 12-10pm every day, which made this album much more of a “daylight” record than our previous one. We wanted it to feel very awake and bright, even aggressive, like the feeling of leaning forward. Some of the songs started with lyrical ideas, like “Sidewalk Safari” (about running someone over with your car) or “Wrong Opinion” (about disregarding the negative opinions of others). Other songs started with musical ideas, like "Amanaemonesia" and I "Belong In Your Arms". It's less about a story in those cases, and is often more absurd because we have to obey the feeling of the music.

The difference between recording in the studio and playing live…
In the studio, you can really control every small thing; it's more like being the director of a movie. On stage, you can only control what you yourself are doing at the moment, so it's more like being an actor in the movie. There's a lot of trust and vulnerability. It feels like a bigger risk, and that makes it exciting for us and the audience.

Who are your biggest influences?
David Lynch, Delia Derbyshire and Meredith Monk. They remind me that there's no limit to how far you can push your own dream world.

Any Spinal Tap moments to share?
I once threw a half-filled wine glass at the crowd at a show in Liverpool, England back in 2008. It was a terrible night; the sound guy was drunk and the crowd was talking through the entire set, so I threw a glass at them and walked off stage.

Biggest musical guilty pleasure.
"I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis.

What have you prepared for Laneway Singapore?
Almost entirely songs off our new album. I'll be playing synthesizers myself for our Singapore Laneway show, which is also a special occasion. We really can't wait to go, this will be Chairlift's first ever show in Asia.

Chairlift will be performing at Laneway Festival Singapore on February 12, 3.15pm at Fort Canning Park. Also, see our interviews with Anna Calvi, Cults & Yuck.

The character of Kampong Glam may be about to change dramatically. A movement to gauge public support to ban alcohol consumption in one of the city’s most popular after-hours areas is fast gaining momentum, spearheaded by Dr. Ameen Talib, owner of Cafe Le Caire on Arab Street, who is petitioning for an alcohol-free zone situated along the neighborhood’s core area (see map below), which encompasses the peripheries of Haji Lane, North Bridge Road, Kandahar Street, Sultan Gate, Aliwal Street and Beach Road. Bali Lane, which currently houses bars and drinking joints like Twine, Blu Jaz and One for the Road, is currently not affected.

Talib is proposing a blanket ban on restaurants and convenience stores such as 7-Eleven selling alcohol. Along with certain stakeholders around the area (namely alcohol-free cafes and restaurants like Altazzag Egyptian Restaurant), Talib has been heavily petitioning to “maintain the core and heritage” of Kampong Glam by positioning it as an “alternative nightlife hub which is family-friendly, offers good clean, fun, and free of alcohol.” Others though are, unsurprisingly, not happy with the proposal. Yet the area’s history makes it a particularly thorny issue.

The Heritage Divide

The Arab Quarter was home to the city’s Malay aristocracy in 1819, before British settlement in 1822 afforded the area to different ethnic groups like the Chinese, Arabs and Europeans. Today, it remains a stronghold among the Malay-Muslim community. It is home to the Istana and the Malay Heritage Centre along Kandahar Street, numerous Malay-Muslim eating establishments around Arab Street, Bussorah Street, Aliwal Street, Kandahar Street and North Bridge Road, and The Sultan Mosque, a place of worship among the community, is located at the heart of Bussorah Street—and therein lies Talib’s point of contention. Convenience store 7-Eleven located on Bussorah Street sells alcohol, and Turkish Restaurant Istanbul Grill’s & Cafe serves beer to its diners in an alfresco space, diagonally across from the mosque.

“Over the last two years, the neighborhood’s character has declined,” says Talib. “People are seen carrying beer bottles right in front of the mosque and around the area and this is disrespectful and an eyesore. The area was where the Malay, Muslim and Indian community used to assemble. If no one says or does anything now, the situation will get out of hand.”

A Question of Lifestyle

Like Chinatown and Little India, Kampong Glam has been identified by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as a conservation area—in 2006 rent-control was lifted for the old shop houses and the units were later refurbished and sold in an open market to private bidders. The area was soon awash with cafés, restaurants, fashion boutiques and a myriad of lifestyle retailers—it morphed from a relatively quiet and relaxed neighborhood specializing in shisha and Middle-Eastern and Malay food, to one of the city’s hippest lifestyle quarters (Download our Arab Street guide to find out more).

But unlike Chinatown or Little India, Kampong Glam’s redevelopment and repositioning is a little trickier because of its history and traditions—alcohol consumption is prohibited among the Muslim community. The URA has therefore been careful with their conservation plan here, putting in place “policies to guide the allowable uses to encourage traditional and activity-generating trades in the area,” says a spokesperson. “For example, incompatible trades such as new bars, pubs, nightclubs and health centers are not allowed in the core and exclusion areas in Kampong Glam.”

Businesses can nevertheless work around this policy and can serve alcohol if they register their businesses not under bars or clubs, but instead under cafes and restaurants, and apply for a separate liquor license through the Singapore Police Force. And, of course, most restaurants want to serve alcohol to boost business.

Ethan Leong, who runs a cocktail bar located on the third story of café cum fashion boutique Maison Ikkoku at Kandahar Street, which opened four months ago, says that serving alcohol is just part of an investment and lifestyle decision. “We are here to promote cocktail-drinking as a lifestyle and not consuming alcohol per se,” he says. “For example, we don’t even have signage outside that says we serve alcohol. It’s about respecting the neighborhood and not abusing our trade so that all businesses here can still pull in individual visitors and chart their own paths. We definitely do not encourage consumption of drinks outside our premises.”

The situation along Bali Lane is a little more dicey, however. Dr. Ameen Talib’s current proposal to ban all alcohol consumption outdoors might put businesses like Pedra Negra—which relies heavily on alcohol sales at its outdoor space—out of business.

“Our regulars comprise mostly expatriates who make up about 70 percent of our customers who expect to drink when they’re here,” says owner Aileen Tan. “It’s definitely a different experience to be able to eat and drink under the stars. Before I came into the scene in 2006 with Blu Jaz, the crowd here comprised mostly youngsters who smoke shisha. It has since become more sophisticated. After all, the area should be considered as a collective, how businesses should benefit from one another with different crowds moving from one joint to another.”

A Win-Win Situation?

Jean Francois Nordin, who runs the halal French bistro Le Bistro Parisien, and who does not serve alcohol at his venue, says that the stakeholders of Kampong Glam must work together to maintain the neighborhood’s esprit des corps to resolve the matter. “Because of my own principle and beliefs, I choose not to serve or sell alcohol. It’s a personal choice, but I cannot impose on my personal beliefs on others,” he says. “The city has evolved to be very cosmopolitan and we have to respect that.”

Another unnamed stakeholder agrees that the various tenants at Kampong Glam must come together to resolve the matter collectively. “We are a multi-racial, multi-religious society,” he says. “We cannot create boundaries and polarize anyone in the area.”

Members of the Kampong Glam Association, comprising stakeholders in the area, including Talib, Tan and Nordin, met last week to discuss Talib’s personal crusade internally, although they have yet to resolve the matter and Talib is going ahead with his petition. “Every stakeholder should have an inclusive voice in this matter and if we push the issue further, there will be no end,” says Tan.

Talib maintains that the push for an alcohol-free zone is similar to that in cities like London and Sydney and the move will at least keep the number of alcohol venues in check. “I do not want this to blow out of proportion, but it will be sad if the area is known as a drinking neighborhood similar to Clarke Quay or Boat Quay,” he says.

A check with a legal source attests that, from a property zoning perspective, the move to ban alcohol consumption cannot be enforced without proper guidelines from the URA, which, according to its spokesperson, is still “reviewing the matter with the Singapore Police Force and other agencies. However, “the police can impose terms and conditions for the operation of the alcohol license, which would mean theoretically that consumption can be restricted to indoors and with restricted hours if the police are convinced that it is in the public interest to do so,” says our legal source (who asked to remain anonymous). The public seem similarly polarized by the current bid to keep the area alcohol free. Singer Marina Xavier, who visits the area frequently, says a blanket rule will create “animosity among the residents. It’s the current free-spirited vibe and general camaraderie that’s so enjoyable.”

A blanket outdoor alcohol ban does seem like a rather drastic step. Could a possible solution be to limit (and enforce) the ban within the immediate perimeters of the Sultan Mosque along Arab Street and Bussorah Street which just help yet curb alcohol consumption within Kampong Glam’s sacred grounds? The debate is sure to continue. In the meantime, send your views to [email protected].

How did you get into sculptures?
As a child, I had a grandfather whom I loved dearly. He was a Frenchman who had migrated to Argentina after WWII who had a passion for carpentry and had set up his own workshop. I would spend hours with him on the weekends there, as I loved that place. Years later, I made a trip to Paris to meet my relatives, and had some defining encounters. In the Rodin Museum I discovered Henri Laurens’ work, which had such a profound impact on me that I decided to become a sculptor. Then I met Jorge Michel, who became my real sculpture mentor. He was making benches. I was fascinated by his work and technique, which he passed on to me. Still, I forbade myself from doing benches, which I considered his domain.

But you started making benches after that...
As time went by, I realized that this object was a recurring theme in my life: I collected and questioned it. The chair is a fetish object for a designer and I have always been involved with design; it also a fetish object for an architect, and I have always been involved in architecture... hence the arrival of the Thonet chair in my work.

Why the Thonet Chair?
Because from the moment I decided to introduce the notion of design in a work of art, I felt a need for an iconic object. And the Thonet chair is the first known product of industrial design. Before 1850, when the chair was created, there was no notion of design, as it’s known today. I thus chose this very object and not any other that would be considered more fashionable.

If someone who has never seen your work asks you what you do, what do you say?
Thanks to the new technologies today, I’m able to use my iPhone and show a picture of a spaghetti bench that lets my interlocutor figure me out by himself. Giving him all the elements enables him to answer his own question. Fundamentally I am an artist, and as such I want to question society from both an art and design perspective.

Pablo Reinoso Solo Exhibition runs through March 3 at Art Plural Gallery.