A Dot In Time

Tell us about yourself and what you do for work as a technician!
The nature of my job is more hands-on work, handling all those dirty, oily stuff. As for myself, Japanese streetwear is my passion.

My close friends share the same interest as me, so last time, when we didn’t have any life commitments, we liked to go to town every weekend to take photos.

What sparked this interest in Japanese streetwear?
It all started from this friend of mine. I still remember back then, that era was Comme des Garçons (CDG), so me and my close friends, we all bought different designs then went out as a group, all wearing CDG. That’s where it all started, then slowly, we started to buy all the Japanese stuff.

One thing about my homies, people say we’re trendsetters, because when we go out, there’s no one group where everyone will dress in the same brand like we do. And that’s what we’re proud of. It’s a good feeling. Then slowly, people started to recognise us, because we always like to sit around here or at Somerset. Last time, this place was one of the happening spots, you know?

So you were one of the cool kids! How has fashion shaped your identity?
It’s made me more confident in myself. I’m an introvert, but ever since I got into fashion, I’ve met a lot of people who share the same interest, and have thus made a lot of good friends, most of whom are way older than me.

But now, because they’re all married and have their own families, I don’t like to disturb them as much, but we still meet from time to time. When we do, we always talk about Japanese fashion and collecting sneakers, which is another one of my passions.

What’s the most valuable sneaker or brand in your collection?
Oh, it’s Visvim, a Japanese brand. They’re one of my favourites because they have their own designs and identity, which makes them more unique.

I always like to go for unique designs or brands, so I’ll usually get Japan exclusives. Retailers can’t bring it in here in Singapore, but I have a friend in Japan who I usually go through to get whatever I want, usually the rare and hard to find ones.

It’s always helpful to have connections! On that note, tell us, what’s the importance of a creative community for you, say your close group of friends, for example?
It’s always nice to look back and have a group that you can always relate to. It’s also a good way of passing down my story to my kids in the future, if I do start a family of my own. I’ll tell them “Oh, last time I used to be like this, and this was how fun and cool I was at the time”. As I grow old, this community will remain as one of the highlights of my life lah. I might tone it down one day, but I’ll never stop wearing Japanese fashion.

And I’ll always collect sneakers, though maybe not as much as I used to. These days, I specially collect in New Balance, though I used to collect every brand. Sadly, as the years go by, most of the designs have become pretty mainstream, as if these brands don’t have any new ideas, so they start to commercialise their designs.