1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Harry Halim 119

034

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Indonesian-born and

Singapore-based

fashion bon vivant,

Harry Halim is

the quintessential

designer’s designer.

He launched his  rst

collection, BIAS, with

startlingly delicately-

draped pieces in black

and red and was greeted

with critical acclaim

and overwhelming press

response in 2006. He

was crowned winner

at the Asian Young

Fashion designer

contest with this

collection. He was also

announced  nalist at

the Mercedes-Benz

Asia Fashion Awards

in the same year.

Supremely sensual,

quietly romantic, and

decisively precise with

an underlying tone

of danger describes

the aesthetic of the

very individual Harry

Halim woman. Inspired

by fragile emotions,

the sensitivity given

in each garment is a

mix of volume and

asymmetry. Recently

Harry contributed

to the Singapore

Design Festival where

he collaborated and

curated an exhibition

called “Moonlies.”

Harry Halim

www.hhharryhalim.com

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335

T

RADITIONAL MANUFACTURING VS. EXPERIMENTATION.

Balancing the traditional and the modern together, so

the outcome will be neither too traditional nor too modern.

331 INSPIRATION. Every collection for

me begins with my mood, my emotions,

and the environment that surrounds me at

that time. It doesn’t have to start with a

theme. Themes can always be created and

 xed after the collection is done.

332 M

ANNEQUIN. They are full of thin

ribbons and pins in the messy studio.

333 MATERIALS. Working on tailoring

materials and luxurious fabrications and

leather is my favorite because they will

give a good effect after you put them on

your body. I am not a big fan of linen even

though it is comfortable for summer.

334 S

TYLE. I wanted to showcase the

 ip side of a coin and how beauty can be

derived from different things.

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336 EVOLUTION. Oh for sure! I need to.

In fact not every six months but everyday!

337 CHALLENGE. I just can’t get out

from the dark side of every collection.

Creating a fun, relaxed, and happy

collection is just not my thing.

338 S

TREET FASHION VS. FASHION

DESIGNER. Fashion comes from the

creativities and the great ideas of

designers, from the early stage of

development to the  nal outcome.

339 G

OOD HABITS. It’s about your own

taste.

340 SALES. Something that’s easy

to wear and of a dark color is always a

good sales item. Sometimes, as long as we

understand the targeting customer, it is

easy to go on to each step.

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342 INSPIRATION. An idea for me is

paramount. I always imagine the heroine

of my collections. Anastasia, Lolita, Anna

Karenina, a girl-warrior–all of them are

visible for me. I try to create her character

with the help of design language and design

instruments.

343 M

ATERIALS. We use only natural

materials, not synthetic. Twice a year

we choose fabrics during the Première

Vision exhibition in Paris. I like classical

materials, like silk and wool, to more

cutting-edge, like fur-like cotton.

344 Y

OUR RIGHT ARM? A team of my

assistants. All of them! They help me to do

that huge volume of design.

345 B

RAND VA L U E S . Individuality of

our clothing and its excellent quality are

two things which stand out for our brand

and are appreciated most by the Chapurin

customer. “Deluxe” for us is in the  rst

line–the value of the uncompromised

quality rather than price.

341

M

ANNEQUIN. Actually we have no

de nite preferences towards models,

in terms of nationality, human type,

etc. The professionalism of a model is

most important for us. the choice of

model also depends on the style of a

collection and its idea.

122 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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