ANDROGYNY

Understanding the fundamental of androgyny is vital as it differs from the society´s idea of beauty in woman. There is a subtle realisation that the inner aspect oneself is a mixture of the dichotomy of traits stereotypically associated with men and women. To say that all women are passive and all men are aggressive is an ambiguous statement. While tendencies may exist, it is safe to say we all belong somewhere in between.

Max.Tan’s/S 2017 explores in breaking gender boundaries with femininity intact. Corsetry laces are used to shape the torso in a masculine manner, while tailored pants are slashed to allow it to fall in a feminine manner. Or there are pieces like a blazer with shoulder cuts and ruffles that embodies both spirits, female and male. This constant coalescence of details from the women and silhouettes from the men creates an amicable contrasted outcome, allowing them to meet at a universal point.Androgyny is more than just boy in frocks and girls in suit, it is an attitude that goes beyond the unspoken rules of gender.

CLOISTERED

Max.Tan is not a new name in the fashion industry anymore. It´s a brand defined not only by draping, soft geometric forms of modified Asian cut, but with the ability to unify opposites, at first sight even extreme contrasts like for example poetry and avant-garde, in a harmonious way. This time, for his official 12^th collection, these opposites were defined by militarism and religion. What can be the conjunctive point between those two?  Strive for the universal peace, becoming a true longing.

"In the absence of peace, everything ceases to exist. The universal formula of peace remains a divisive issue. Humans believe in the efficacy of two opposite extremes – military and religion, to attain peace. We live in the wold where different ideologies strive for the same ideals. When different beliefs are in search of a common ground, possibilities are endless. Fall/Winter 2016-17 explores the spirit for co-existence in a society’s paradigm of peace. Drawing inspiration from two different sets of uniforms, the collection transcends military and religious norms. Vulnerability is seen between seams secured with hardware tools. Fragility is revealed with an exercised sense of control. A continuous composition of the opposites, it is about the strong and the weak, the peace and the violence, the freedom and the seclusion", as designer described his point in the collection´s official statement.

TO MIND - MAX.TAN

MAX.TAN is an androgynous geometric minimalistic tailored Women's RTW brand from Singapore, awarded by Modefabriek in Amsterdam, Vogue Nippon, Vogue Paris and Surface Asia.

After graduating in 2006 at the top of his school in Fashion Design from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, he went on to show his first collection at the Singapore Fashion Week in 2007 and was awarded the second runner-up position at the Singapore Fashion Designers Content. With the recognition that he received from the competition, Max started his own label max.tan and continued to create one-off pieces and capsule collections to meet the increasing demand for his designs. The label made its debut with the full-fledged S/S 2010 “Pressed” collection at PARCO next NEXT, a fashion design incubator project jointly created by Parco Singapore department store and the Textile & Fashion Federation (TaFf). Max describes himself more as a garment engineer rather than a fashion designer. While retaining a penchant for austere moods and somber inspirations, his cuts are amazingly innovative and playful. Although much of his attention is paid to tailoring, his real talent is revealed through the unexpected silhouettes generated through the twists in his designs and his constant challenge to the rules of drafting and tailoring. Apart from designing for his label, Max also lectures at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the Laselle College of the Arts in Singapore.

Serious but never severe, minimal but never simple, fragile but never weak is the brand´s design. Experiments with quirk cuts and expanding on extremely simple ideas define the max.tan language. Maximizing on minimalistic ideas, this complex language results in details that are sometimes blown out of proportions. Much of the label’s attention is paid to tailoring and draping while creating unexpected silhouettes and austere moods. The garments play with volume, modified shapes and use, masculine, feminine, oversized, undersized, deconstruction, reconstruction and transformation. These factors form the underlying DNA of max.tan. The label advocates an alternative and quiet fashion lifestyle.

Infinity may be everything, but it’s also nothing. Max.tan’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection introduces the abstract concept of everything probable and impossible, the limitless, the unbounded, and the unconventional.

Will it be possible for a garment to have no ends? No conventional hems, nor cuffs?

The exploration of this vast idea results in hybrid garments with no hems; end of garments are lengthened and flipped up, transforming into another garment, e.g the hem of a shirtdress is extended into a jacket bodice, morphing a two-piece garment into one. Sleeves are conjoined together with fabrics flowing one side to another, leaving a drape behind the wearer. Inspired by the curves of the Infinity symbol, curved seams are tactically used to create the main silhouette of the collection; Volumes. Pieces are hung onto the wearer’s body lightly; yet creating big shapes and forms.