AL&ALICIA is the latest local label to appear on our Singaporean shores. We sat down for a conversation with the brains behind the brand, Alicia Ong, on her journey towards being a designer and the creation of AL&ALICIA. For those of you out there who have a dream and plan to chase it, this one’s for you.

Why fashion design? And when did you realize that this is what you wanted to do?

From a young age I was always into drawing and sketching things, and I was into dressing up so I guess I had always wanted to do this since my teens. I actually wanted to do fashion design after secondary school, but my parents weren’t too supportive, so I ended up going to Junior College, and then once again my parents had rather me not take this path so I ended up going to the National University of Singapore where I majored in Business. When I graduated, once again my parents wanted me to try my hand at banking, so I did that for six months. After that experience I knew it wasn’t for me and that I still wanted to do design, so I finally applied for schools and ended up at Parsons in New York, and my parents are fully supportive.

We hear you decided to stay on in New York to work after graduation. What were your working experiences like in New York?

Whilst at Parsons I managed to intern at Marc Jacobs, followed by internships at J.Crew and DKNY. After I graduated, I was mostly doing freelance work in New York for about a year, till I decided to come back and start AL&ALICIA.

Did you get a chance to witness New York Fashion Week first hand?

Definitely! I actually worked on the Marc Jacobs show and I did some back stage work for Anna Sui. It was an unbelievable experience – it was cool to be working so close with some of the top designers and models.

It seems that Fashion Design is rising in popularity as a career choice in Singapore. What must our local design institutions do to reach the quality of  education that schools such as Parsons in New York and Central Saint Martins in London?

It’s very important to have very good teachers and lecturers. At Parsons the lecturers were very good, they were from the industry and a lot of them had their own labels. The curriculum is also very important. I interviewed a few local design students for intern positions, and I realized that there were a lot of things that I learnt in Parsons that they didn’t learn here in their respective local design schools.

In terms of fashion, what are we lacking in comparison to New York, besides seasons and the functional ability to layer?

New York is bursting with creativity, and everyone has their own sense of style. Most importantly, they really make the effort. Even if they just leave home to go grocery shopping at the convenience store, they will dress up.

It’s harder to achieve that in Singapore, because Singaporeans are still very much brand conscious. Therefore everyone is shopping at the same places. It’s harder for local designers too, as there is high price sensitivity. If your retail prices are close to the prices of branded goods people would rather just pay that slight extra amount for the brand. There needs to be more support for local brands.

But layering can also be done in Singapore. There are materials out there that are light and breathable which would allow for layering. People just need to play with textiles a little more.

What do you think of animal prints?

(laughs) well its in fashion now. It’s just one of those things that come and go.

We take it that you’re more of a person who follows your own style rather than ride trends. In your opinion, what’s overplayed right now?

Harem pants (laughs). I think its cool, until I see a million people wearing it. And it’s something about the way it’s worn in Singapore that I don’t like.

AL&ALICIA, how did the brand name come about?

Well I was having a conversation with my sister and brother-in-law, who’s a copywriter. We wanted to have my name be a part of the label. When I was younger, I was very tom-boyish – I had really short hair until after Junior College! When I was boyish, I was really boyish, and when I was feminine I was really feminine. I wanted to incorporate both these aspects into the brand. And my brother-in-law realized that Al, which was a guy’s name is also short for Alicia, hence the dual identity.

Why didn’t you start the brand in New York, since you already have that experience?

Its so much harder. There are too many designers trying to make a name for themselves. And there are too many asian designers. Right now stereotyped for having collections that all looked the same. Plus I always wanted to come back home and do it.

So whats next in line for AL&ALICIA?

(laughs) We’re gonna reinvent rain boots. I don’t know why Singaporeans haven’t taken to them yet. People look at you funny when you do wear them. Yet they’re so functional and practical, especially in our weather where there tends to be rainy seasons. Even if it just rains for a while and is sunny after, New Yorkers would still keep their rain boots on and they’re outfits still look perfect.