Hands. For someone working in the arts, these are the tools of our trade. Nowadays, we may not think of them as such with the ever increasing aid of machines and technology. Personally, the hand is still very much a tool of my craft. I sketch with pencil and paper; I draft my patterns by hand; I create my designs with them. Fashion is an art form – the art of making clothes. Throughout the brand’s five-year journey, this concept has always been at the core of our work and we pay emphasis to the human component needed to bring these garments to life. This collection is a celebration of all the hands gifted with the task of bringing beauty into the world.

The notion of the body is considered throughout the collection. Abstracted breast forms are created with hand-finished inlay of fabrics. Meticulous pattern work playing with the lines of the torso is explored in various silhouettes. Fluid bias-cut dresses skim the curves of the body and add to the feminine allure – they float and dance as one walks. The tailoring is sharp, yet soft. The way pieces are held together along the seams with hand-knotted ribbons gives it a delicate touch. Satin sleeves simply hang from cotton shirts with a couple of buttons.

The fabrics invite you to touch and tempt the hands. Denim fabric with needle-punched scratches, cotton woven with feathery fil-coupé yarns, hand-woven satin, stripe shirting and wool silk crepe – these come together in a harmony of joyful colours.

The hand has always been a subject of fascination throughout the history of art. Artists express their own characters through hand gestures in their paintings, whether through Eve’s hand holding the forbidden fruit in Albrecht Dürer’s Adam and Eve, or in the paintings of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres who painted some of the most beautiful hands in the world. Raphael’s La Fornarina continues to cast a spell on us with its mysterious beauty. The collection culminates with a group of silk organza pieces with hand-painted canvas panels buttoned on the front, a collaboration with Thai painter and my father, Chatchai Puipia. This series draws upon the works of these great masters. We bridge the worlds of fashion and art, adding a depth of artistic imagery that characterises our clothes. This is our testament to the beauty created by hands.

Images by Lee Wei Swee