What is Singapore men’s style? Five Lion City tastemakers on the things that define the city’s identity
Because of Singapore’s year-round summer and high humidity, men used to favour comfort over style. Air conditioning and the internet changed that. The Lion City’s smartest gents tell us about the latest direction of menswear
In a tropical country like Singapore, where the temperature regularly exceeds 32 degrees Celsius and humidity can reach 96 per cent, it’s challenging for a man to dress stylishly. Nevertheless, after decades in which Singaporean men’s style was characterised by T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops, there’s been a resurgence of interest in sartorial finery.
With Singapore being one of the richest nations in Southeast Asia, and boasting some of the best luxury shopping in the region, the country is, unsurprisingly, home to a lot of male fashion lovers.
To get a sense of what constitutes contemporary Singaporean men’s style and how it is evolving, we spoke with five key tastemakers – gentlemen shaping the way men’s style is created, communicated, consumed and experienced in the Lion City.
The publisher
Wei Koh, co-founder, Revolution Press
“Whether it’s clothes, shoes, cars, wine or watches, Singaporeans are quick studies and when they get into something, they geek out to the max, they really want to know every detail. Over the past decade, coinciding with the lifespan of my magazine, The Rake, there’s been a very rapid assimilation of information and knowledge. You have a whole new generation of young people dressing in a really stylish, classic way and appreciating craftsmanship. I’m quite proud when I see all these Singaporean men decked out sartorially on social media nowadays.
“Guys like Kevin Seah have really helped nourish an interest in tailoring-oriented clothing in Singapore. I applaud him because he was the first to think that he could make a viable business out of modern bespoke tailoring here and help form a community around that.