Every Bloom Empancipates Its Joy

Designer Of The Year 2021, Denise Yeo (also known as Miao), tells all about inhibiting childlike senses and never replacing them even as we enter adulthood.

- Manfred Lu

HI MIAO, IT'S GREAT TO SPEAK WITH YOU AGAIN! CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE MEN'S FOLIO DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 2021 COMPETITION. COULD YOU TELL US HOW YOU FELT WHEN YOU FIRST LEARNED OF THE RESULTS, AND HOW YOU FEEL NOW?

I was ecstatic when I first received the news! Being crowned as the Designer Of The Year was an incredibly humbling experience. I remember not being able to process it until weeks later, as I've only stepped into the world of fashion for just a little over a year.

Since winning the competition, I began putting more emphasis on the processes in my work, and did more thorough research in my area of interests, as I realised the importance of having conceptually strong ideas that are able to be translated into tangible forms.

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR WINNING COLLECTION. HOW DID IT ALL START AND WHAT WAS THE PROCESS LIKE?

I first began by looking at the design brief, which asked for a collection that is inspired by the theme Brave New World. I thought that was relevant in the current pandemic we were facing. The brief also asked for looks that were wearable and commercially viable, so I began developing the collection by looking into my own wardrobe, analysing the silhouettes that I enjoy wearing and the clothes that I had in my online shopping cart (haha).