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Singapore is showcasing again at this year’s Salone with more talent coming out the tiny island nation. Well-known Singaporean designers Voon Wong and Benson Saw, now based in London and who have been designing for Flos and other big brands, too will be presenting at Zona Tortona.

DesignCouncil Singapore recently launched an innovative design incubation programme called Blueprint 2008, that brings together product and fashion designers for a collaborative project that blurs the boundaries between the various design disciplines. Works of nine designers including Hans Tan, Hunn Wui, Jason Ong, Gabriel Tan, Wendy Chua, P.C. Ee, Jarrod Lim, Brian Law and Tan Sixiu.

The collaboration between Ben Wu and Jason Ong represents a transition in terms of design expression for both designers, from hard geometrical forms and structure to softer and more organic application of geometry. With their underlying mutual interest in architectural methodology on design and fabrication, the team explored the theme of ‘Displacement’, the detachment of forms from a body in a physical and abstract sense.
The Bride- Following the idea of a dress, The Bride is an expressive chair that mimics the long flowing bridal gown. It explores the theme of anxiety and discomfort, as experienced by a new bride, with a design that features a shallow seat, a narrow backrest and structurally precarious legs.

Ori.03 is a side table/stool inspired by the art of Origami that creates 3-dimensional objects from 2-dimensional materials. The intent is to design furniture that defies the conventional way of what it should be and expect the unexpected. A sculptured geometrical shape and multi facets in highly polished stainless steel create reflections and distortions. It’s a modular side table/stool that becomes a sculpture when stacked or when not in use.

The starting point for the project came from Wei Choong’s Antebellum collection theme ‘Serotine’. It was based on the idea of disillusionment and belated enlightenment. P.C translated this story and the visual energy of the clothes into his interpretation of progressive furniture designs. Both designers share a similar design approach. They favour things with a slight sci-fi edge, and enjoy making the common, uncommon.

Mannequins was designed to whimsically cast the impression of people in conversation with each other while “Onion” serves as a low table and a napkin holder/dispenser. In this setting, one conveniently retrieves a napkin from the table while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. The concept extracted qualities from poses and posture, human curves and transformed that into statement furniture pieces that are exciting to the eye.

This collection of clothing and furniture designed by Desmond Yang and Brian Law and Tan Sixiu of CRISPdesign seeks to engage viewers on how objects and users are intrinsically linked through functions, stereotypes and habits. The design pieces reveal the subtleties of everyday life and in the everyday mind, facilitating the flow of association among entities, artifacts and emotions.

After viewing the unique fashion collections of renowned designer Nicholas Wong, it was noted that subtle details such as asymmetric collars and cuffs, and muted or monochrome tones were featured in many pieces within the range. Using this as a starting point, Jarrod set out to recreate these qualities on a larger scale but at the same time preserve the subtle, clean and stylish aesthetic of the Wong’s range titled My Favourite Shirt.

Cuff Chair- In this extension of “My Favourite Shirt”, two halves combine to create a simple overlapping structure in the form of an elegant, modern lounge chair. The design of the chair subtly represents the idea of an asymmetric shirt cuff overlapping itself as it is being fastened. Defining characteristics such as the two-tone upholstery and the irregular shape of the seating cushions give the chair a distinctive appearance that is bold and unconventional yet sensibly so.

Collar Magazine Rack- The idea of an upturned shirt collar was the inspiration for this new magazine rack design. How a collar bends and folds, as it wraps around the wearer’s neck has been reinterpreted to form a beautiful and very useful piece of domestic sculpture.

Outofstock and Posse, fashion label by Jay Quek and Madeleine Wong, presents their first cross-disciplinary project titled Space Oddities. Posse’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection is inspired by the iconic and decadent Glam Rock star – Ziggy Stardust. The collection is an absolute riot of deep luscious colors, bright psychedelic prints and futuristic geometric patterns. Sportswear inspired pieces such as parkas, ponchos and bomber jackets are reinterpreted in delicate fabrics like silk chiffons with geometric paneling and inserts as another main feature in the collection. Outofstock designed a pendant lamp and a modular screen based on the geometric panelling of Posse’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection and created undulating surfaces with threads – the most basic element in fashion design – for visual contrast and functional aesthetics.

Saturn by Wendy Chua and Gabriel Tan of Outofstock - A bold geometric form in monochrome is contrasted with a vortex of red threads beneath the shade. The Saturn lamp is never the same when viewed from different angles because of the unique way the threads interweave along the lamp edges to give it different variations of transparency and colour intensity. The geometric shape takes a cue from the pentagonal paneling in Posse’s collection. The threads that form the stitching detail along the edge of the lamp bears resemblance to the hem line, a basic element of fashion design.