In Good Company’s anniversary collection deserves a closer look and an appreciative hand

This morning, a fire broke out at National Gallery, former home of the Supreme Court and City Hall. The museum was closed for the rest of the day. As we write this, it is unclear what caused the fire or how extensive the damage was. The museum later allayed public fears, saying that the fire broke out within the staff access areas and the situation was, as the media reported, “quickly brought under control”. Although the flare-up is not exactly good new, it must have come as a relief to In Good Company (affectionately known as IGC). The 13-year-old Singaporean brand staged a runway show at the museum’s Supreme Court Terrace last Friday. If the museum fire had happened any later, the show would likely have been cancelled. But, as it turned out, they had luck on a leash.

The IGC runway show was not only to mark the brand’s 13th year, but also their handsome flagship store’s decade at ION Orchard. The Straits Times reported it as the brand’s “debut” fashion presentation, although we do vividly remember a show in 2013 at the National Design Centre (NDC), as part of the now-defunct Digital Fashion Week Singapore that, in 2016, merged with Singapore Fashion Week. Back then, IGC was a newbie; it was co-founded a year earlier by friends who had been colleagues at the sadly doomed Alldresssedup, owned by the one-time doyene of Singapore’s fashion retail, Tina Tan. IGC began as an online-only brand, but quickly established a physical presence through a fairly large island space at Tangs. We remember many of the store’s key executives were there at NDC that evening, which led to the speculation that Tangs might have been a sponsor.

The 2013 fashion show itself wasn’t directly under the auspices of Tangs, but their retail partnership was a crucial step in IGC’s impressive growth and in bringing their designs to a wider audience via a physical space that quickly led to the 10-year-old ION Orchard flagship. Both IGC and Tangs have a close, collaborative history that helped define IGC’s presence in our fashion landscape. Till today, it continues to be advantaged by a strong presence in a prime position on the second floor of the store (since last year they have moved to a different corner), which provided the benefits of sight and touch that allowed IGC’s collections to be better appreciated. One IGC fan who works in finance told us that she “has been impressed by how much detail goes into even a simple shell top. Their clothes beg to be caressed! I really appreciate their thoughtful designs.”

That one IGC’s showcase was more than a decade ago. Their latest, for that reason, could well be their first. And it was a quite a tour de force. Titled In Between Light and Form, it featured clothes that were modern, smart, tactile, breezy, sculptural, cerebral. And visibly antithetic to what other local brands are offering, often perfunctorily. But IGC has mostly coloured outside the lines. Their focus isn’t on branding alone, but on crafting clothes that possess inherent design value and, frequently, intellectual vigour. The principal designers of the team are Sven Tan and Kane Tan (they are unrelated), both were pivotal to the initial success of Alldressedup, which closed in 2012, after which IGC was conceived. Unlike many of the founders of popular brands that have emerged since, the technical finesse of both Tans are unmistakable.

To fully appreciate the polish of their designs, one must look closer, and we did. At the ION Orchard store, days after the show, some pieces from the 70 looks presented were already on the racks. When we asked one of the staffers if the whole collection was available, he said he would check for us, and came back to say that only some pieces were in, but “more will be coming, until the end of the year”. However few pieces the first drop offered, they were a compelling glimpse into the deceptive simplicity that belied the designs’ hidden complexity. The standout to us was a pair of cotton-gabardine trousers, cut and folded front-side in a manner that allowed the extra panels to be fastened with a band to effect a conversation starter in foliate form. Just as appealing were the tops festooned with tri-acetate strips that were evocative of ‘art’ achieved by sticking Post-it Notes randomly on a base fabric, effectively debunking the convenient shorthand, “minimalist”.

Although Sven Tan told Esquire SG that the collection was “about Asian sensibility (sic)”, citing influences from fishermen’s wear, sarongs, and basketry, the finale piece of the show at the National Gallery was described by ST as a “Grecian goddess-style caped gown”. It was clearly not a himation. The white outfit was a two-piece—an elongated outer that was a hybrid of a T-shirt and a long cape, shortened to the waist in front, and worn over a bias-cut, ankle-length, body-skimming dress. There was a whiff of a modernist pifeng (披风, or Chinese cape), but imagined by Halston, or Tom Ford thinking he is Halston. It was a study in frictionless ease, stripped down to its bare essence, then polished.

Although we picked out just two to examine, there were much more that would have fascinated and intrigued even the most exposed dressmaker. As we walked through the store, it was clear to us that it must have been a formidable challenge: Design for a tepid clothing market, yet the team’s output demonstrated uncommon ingenuity. Keeping largely to recognisable forms, but refining the silhouettes, the two Tans have used their flair for draped asymmetry, mastery of cut, as well as fabric surface treatment to effect a brand identity and merchandise refinement that are as rare in our market as homemade blankets. While we have sometimes considered their clothes to be generously detailed, their approach to design is the sum of considered measures. There is, to us, an inherent sophistication that is a welcome departure from what you’ll encounter at, say, Dors. And discernment for the judicious use of ornamentation and colour that is articulation of considered taste.

In Good Company is unique in the Singaporean fashion landscape as they did not morph from a ‘blogshop’. The founders didn’t begin by trying to sell pieces from their own wardrobe that they did not desire anymore before going to a wholesale centre to buy merchandise to plug a shortfall. Their roots are deeply intertwined with the industry of the 2010s, and their acclaim gathered momentum as unwaveringly as the accolades of the likes of Gardens by the Bay. As we left the store, we saw a woman trying on a denim jacket. It was softly constructed, with drop-shoulders and floppy lapels that could have come from a swashbuckler’s peacoat. We told her she looked good. She thanked us and added: “That’s the beauty of their clothes. Once you wear one piece, you’ll know right away, you’ve found it.”

Photos: (top) Sophia Lim, (bottom) Chin Boh Kay, and (show clothes) In Good Company