Happy 55th Birthday, Singapore!

Episode 44: What’s in national dress? For Singapore, this is a question that has evaded a satisfactory answer since we became independent in 1965. Do we privilege the cheongsam, the sarong kebaya or the sari? And what about dress for men? We talk about the difficulties of making a national dress that ticks all the boxes in a port-city that has embraced immigrants from around the region, and consider whether we should look back at history, to the present or into the future to come up with something sartorially meaningful and visually appealing. We discuss iconic garments that have represented Singapore internationally including the Singapore Airlines Sarong Kebaya uniform which French couturier Pierre Balmain updated and re-constructed in 1972, as well as the meme-worthy and questionable 2018 Miss Universe Singapore costume.