As a year concludes, another brand could close. Singaporean label Akinn might be no more

Just a week after Andrew Gn announced in Paris that he was “bidding au revoir” to fashion design, veteran Singaporean designer Song Wykidd (宋伟杰 or Song Weijie) has shared—also on Instagram—that “regrettably I am no longer associated with the Akinn brand.” The news came shortly after nine this morning. Mr Song did not explain why, but did add that he is “looking forward to the next chapter”. Mr Gn, in his IG announcement, similarly spoke of a “new chapter”, but also did not elaborate. “You never really leave the fashion business,” one former store buyer told us. “There is always a second act.” It is not clear what Mr Song’s chapter after the present would be since he has had a few next chapters in his long career, beginning with what might be considered one of our island’s most noted labels of the mid-’90s, Song+Kelly, and then Song+Kelly21, after the Club 21 Group invested in it.

Fashion watchers, as well as friends of the designer, unsurprisingly, were taken aback by Mr Song’s announcement. Industry veterans we spoke to were not able to say with certainty why he would dissociate himself with the label that he co-founded and one that he fronts and very much bears his aesthetic signature. “It sounds like something has gone wrong on the business side,” one fashion PR consultant remarked, “You usually say that you have left or will be leaving a brand. You would not detach yourself from something that is so closely associated with you.” The consensus is that the retail business for indie brands is especially hard to keep afloat unless, as is common the warning, one has deep pockets. “If it is hard for Andrew Gn,” the ex-buyer said, “imagine what it would be like for Song Wykidd.” (To be certain, Mr Gn has said that his eponymous label is “a profitable one”.) Mr Song has often lamented that it is hard to sell fashion to the local consumer. That is germane to the fashion retail scene here, especially if a clothier is not willing to price low.

The Akinn studio-cum-store in Armenian Street

A day before Song Wykidd’s bombshell news on IG, Akinn shared on the same platform a “Boxing Day Sale” with discounts “up to 70%… + extra 20%”. In the comment section, it said—somewhat curiously—that “Santa has retired and it’s time to gift yourself modern and timeless clothing.” This morning, we were burning with curiosity: who is the brand’s Santa and why would Father Christmas retire? If he did, was it for the season or for eternity? At the brand’s office/studio and showroom (which serves as a shop too) in Armenian Street, a helpful chap said: “Actually, the designer has decided to not design for the brand anymore. He decided in early December.” But the affable fellow did not say why Mr Song was not going to be creatively involved. The designer, it was confirmed, founded the business and is “a partner.” He would, therefore, still “be involved with the brand.” What’s next for Akinn? We don’t know yet, came the reply. Will you find a new designer to take Mr Song’s place? We are still thinking about it. Will you be giving this space up? We really don’t know yet.

Last month, the chatter on the street was that Design Orchard, Akinn’s largest stockist on our island (where there were retailing since 2021), had the intention of “letting them go”. When we asked those who might know the reason, the common reply was: “They’re not selling well there.” That seems rather curious to us, as a staffer at Design Orchard had previously told us that Akinn was one of their “best-selling brands.” Design Orchard has a keen eye for the highly saleable. They would not have availed a rack to Akinn if the label’s merchandise has no commerical potential. Yet, some insiders told us, “you know how much unmoved stock they have?” Some observers think that the pricing is “on the high side”: Above S$200 for a blouse and close to S$300 for a dress, on average. In comparison, the brand’s neighbours at Design Orchard, Sabrina Goh, to their left, is asking S$150 and slightly above S$250 respectively, while Gin Lee, to the right, are priced above S$100 and around S$250 for blouses and dresses. The difference is not really steep.

An eyelet dress from Akinn’s latest (it is unclear if it’s the final) collection at Design Orchard

At the Akinn showroom, where a post-Christmas sale has started yesterday, pieces from past seasons were significantly marked down. The staffer told us that he wanted to “really move the (old) stocks”. And he dangled an irresistible carrot: ”The prices are as low as Love, Bonito (presumably at full price)” or “about S$60 (now)”, adding confidently, “but better made.” When asked of the provenance of their manufacture, he said with no hesitation, “They’re all made in China, but some pieces are stitched by hand”. He picked a diaphanous shell top and pointed to the hand-tacks along the V-shaped neckline and, at the waist of a dress, the narrow knife pleats that, according to him, can only be “done by hand.” While the clothes enjoy appreciable workmanship, the designs do not scale the height of brilliance. “Classic, and they last a long time,” we were told, while a shift was singled out for the sort-of-inverted gusset under the armhole (that makes the dress “more 3-D”) to be appreciated. One media professional, however, said, when asked what he thought of Akinn, “The designs are so blah.” When we mentioned to a stylist that the clothes do not have much hanger appeal, he rejoined, “they don’t even look good on models.”

However successful or visible the brand is, or isn’t, Akinn can take satisfaction in being founded by a trained designer, not a label morphed from a blogshop. During the heydays of Song+Kelly, Song Wykidd was described as a man with his finger on the zeitgeist. But, without the input of design and one-time romantic partner Ann Kelly, who returned to her native UK after Song+Kelly shuttered in 2007, Mr Song’s solo outing lost the charm that his debut label radiated, even when he continues to articulate clearly what he does. With Akinn, he has remained a minimalist in his aesthetical expressions, but, with pressures to ensure his designs sell, he has succumbed to the lines and silhouettes that characterise those brands shackled by the so-easy-to-wear that they often appear devoid of stimulating qualities. Akinn does most of its business online (their other stockist is the multi-product store Bastide Colombe, known mainly for their espadrilles), and much of it seen on their website, appear unimpressive. Sometimes, when a brand is personality- rather than product-driven, they may choose to stay away from the outstanding.

Photos: Chin Boh Kay