Meet Sunny Lim, Menswear Designer of MILS from Singapore. He showed his first collection in May at MBFWA, showcasing a mix of classic tailoring meets an interesting twist. Since then Lim has been featured in Vogue.IT, STYLE: Men's Magazine and Style Magazine Singapore. I love how is pieces have a signature and yet are completely ready to wear. I had the opportunity to interview Sunny, learning about him, his aesthetic and the future for his brand MILS.
MARTAN: What interested you to get into Fashion? And why Menswear?
Sunny: I was actually enrolled in Lasalle, College of the Arts for Graphic Design. Though in my first year of classes we were allowed to dabble into all areas of design and that included Fashion. That's when I met Tang, who was my lecturer for fashion then. She completely changed my perception towards fashion and influenced me in many ways in terms of how fashion influenced history and culture. Also it was about something 2D, and sculpting it with fabric that intrigued me. Menswear was an obvious choice, because it was functional and it made more sense to me seeing that we are living in a highly functional society.
MARTAN: Describe your label? What sets it aside from other Menswear labels? What is your Design signature?
Sunny: I think my design signature is really the essence of the concept behind it. I also like to take a classic shirt and reinvent the details (leather trim cuff, and asymmetrical hem lines).
MARTAN: What inspires you? Where do you look for your inspiration?
Sunny: I tend to design with a certain social anomaly or statement in mind. For the Spring/Summer 2014 Collection that I am currently working on is inspired by Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, on how homogenous our society is becoming.
MARTAN: What was your concept behind your Spring/Summer 2013 Collection?
Sunny: The current Spring/Summer 2013 that I showed in MBFWA, was inspired by the hermaphroditic social group in India (Hijras) and that led to drawing references from Hermaphroditic Deities and also the juxtaposition of the Great Depression, one of the most significant influencers in modern society.
MARTAN: What designers do you look up to?
Sunny: Maison Martin Margiela - He is pure genius, with tailoring as well as his conceptual ideas behind every season. (back when he was still in the house). Rei Kawakubo - She is a bowl of awesome for balancing her commercial line and avant garde line seamlessly.Yohji Yamamoto - I like how he is in front of the moving camera, he has some sort of mystery around him.
MARTAN: Define the 'MILS Man'/Customer?
Sunny: He is mysterious, classic but includes contemporary and interesting pieces of clothing into his wardrobe for his daily activities.
MARTAN: What's next your you and your label? Where do you see yourself in 2-3 Years time?
Sunny: The label just got picked up by an agent in tokyo, and MILS will be showing at Rooms Link Tradeshow (Japans Biggest Fashion Tradeshow) in September for his Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. We are also in talks with a major retailer in New York. In 3 years time, MILS hope to expand with his export business to Australia, China and also Europe.
MARTAN: If you weren't a Fashion Designer, what job would you have?
Sunny: I'd probably be whisked away, slaving my nights miserable in an ad agency. OR, be an academic and pursue philosophy, something that I still want to pursue when time permits.
MARTAN: Finally define your label in Three Words
Sunny: Classic, Contemporary and Deconstructed.