Left: Gown with butterflies. Inspired by a 19th-century porcelain bowl from Gn’s collection, this gown features designs that were originally hand-painted and reflects Gn’s deep admiration for Asian Art. | Right: Coat with dragonflies, butterflies, and “pagoda” shoulders
Andrew Gn: Fashioning Singapore and the World is an exhibition that traces the fashion journey of one of Singapore’s most prolific designers and celebrates his major gift to the nation. This is ACM’s largest exhibition celebrating a contemporary Singapore fashion designer. Through five sections and over 100 representative works, it explores Gn’s roots in Asia, cross-cultural expressions of Asian and Western art in his work, and celebrates the distinctive aesthetics, craftsmanship, and global impact of the House of Andrew Gn. With an emphasis on inclusive and contemporary representations of Asia and fashion, the exhibition aims to celebrate local talent and inspire the next generation of designers.
From North America and Europe to Asia and the Middle East, Gn’s luxury, ready-to-wear creations adorn powerful women in politics, high society, and the entertainment industry. Emma Stone, Fan Bing Bing, Maggie Cheung, Kareena Kapoor, Kit Chan, Lady Gaga, Lily J. Collins, Queen Rania of Jordan, Yang Mi, and many others have worn his creations — in print and screen, and from red carpet to royal catwalk.
The exhibition reveals Gn’s diverse sources of inspiration, which include art, fashion, literature, film, and his Singaporean roots, and explores how they offer a wealth of access points to discover diverse Asian cultures. Echoing Singapore’s history as a cross-cultural port city, Gn’s works blend Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian, and Peranakan influences. Many directly resonate with objects in the ACM collection, such as Chinese porcelain, Indian textiles, Indonesian batiks, Iznik ceramics, and other forms of hybrid material culture.
ACM will also organise a series of complementary family-friendly programmes, guided tours, lectures, and weekend festivals. This includes a talk by Andrew Gn in conversation with Jackie Yoong, ACM’s Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles, and Circe Henestrosa, Fashion Curator and Head of the School of Fashion at LASALLE College of the Arts.
Venue: Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore
When: 27 May - 17 Sep 2023,
By: Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM)
