The whole "chemical engineer turned fashion designer" storyline have served Malaysian-born fashion designer and former -- you guessed it -- chemical engineer Evon Tan well. After all, it's not everyday that someone would swop the lab coats and microscopes in the exciting realm of chemical engineering for the mind-numbing world of luxurious fabrics and vibrant colours. Funny, we know.
But in all seriousness, it's a path less travelled, and a gutsy move for somebody who's officially trained in dealing with the absolute and the factual. Not that that mattered to Tan, who always knew she'd end up in the abstract world of fashion one day.
Check out also our interview with celebrated local designer Frederick Lee.
"I was a dreamer from young and I have envisioned myself doing tons of things each time. It is not a surprise that I ended up [in] fashion designing," she elaborates. But in true Asian style, she chose to major in chemical engineering at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia because "that was marked as the best course". Tan eventually followed her true calling, and so, instead of working on things like "cleaner and greener fuel for future generations", she's now the proud owner of her very own fashion label, Armoire.
Never mind that her fashion education didn't come from traditional means. Armed with an innate sense of style and a keen understanding of what works and what doesn't, she exploded onto the scene with her first ready-to-wear collection in March 2011 in Singapore, followed quickly by a flagship store in Malaysia and a Spring/Summer 2012 Bridal and Evening Gowns Collection.
And contrary to what the elitist might argue, her degree in engineering had helped, rather than hindered.
"I tend to experiment more than usual with the actual fabrications and push the boundaries," she says. "You learn the importance of troubleshooting through engineering, and from that, you can see how my designs are evolving".
Rather than shun her engineering background, Tan proudly incorporates it into the tagline of Armoire: "To engineer the perfect dress". The dresses thus, as you would expect, are created based on modern simplicity and fine tailoring, with structured yet feminine silhouettes that affords effortless style.
These days, Tan shuttles back and worth between Singapore, and her hometown, and has major plans for the homegrown brand coming up in the near future. We catch up with her in the midst of her busy schedule, and fired off some quick questions.
LifestyleAsia (LSA): Which three words would you use to describe Armoire?
Evon Tan (ET): Sophisticated, classic and confident!
LSA: How has the support been so far for Armoire in Singapore? From what we've seen so far, support for Asian labels and designers have always been lukewarm here. Do you agree?
ET: The support has been great! Established designers has been really supportive with their advice, and the Singapore government has been great at promoting local labels, especially [with] supporting fashion trade show such as Blueprint.
LSA: If you had the choice, who would you design a collection for? You can choose anyone in the world, dead or alive.
ET: I would definitely design a collection for Zooey Deschanel. Her quirky and fun-loving nature just makes her an amazing muse!
LSA: Where do you get inspiration for your collections from?
ET: I get inspired by my surroundings especially from my travels.
LSA: Where do you want Armoire to be in the next five years?
ET: I have great expectations for Armoire! I see Armoire entering major designer concept stores in major fashion capital such as London, New York, Paris and Milan.
Most importantly, I see Armoire hitting the runways in Milan in five years time!
Armoire is currently stocked in Singapore boutique Victoria JoMo Designers; 47 Haji Lane and departmental store P2- 13 Parco Millenia Walk Marina Bay.