Our Designers: LION EARL

LION EARL

"...purveyor of a discerning creative lifestyle"

LION EARL's designer Lionel draws inspiration from the Baroque period.

LION EARL's 'The Tree Lady' peplum jacket featured in DEW Magazine
05 Cinematic Issue.

Miss Singapore 2012, Karisa Sukamto, wearing one of LION EARL's designs.

Sneak preview of LION EARL's upcoming collection. Suzaku feather print mini dress
(inspired by the "Suzaku", Japanese mythical phoenix - a bird guardian of the South),
as seen on Singapore actress Joanne Peh above.

LION EARL founders Lionel Low and Hariz Yihao Lim met while serving National Service in Singapore. Coincidence put them in the same department, under the same officers, with similar scope of work, but it was their passion and mutual love of art that inspired them to launch LION EARL.

A hybrid of fashion, art and architecture, LION EARL “challenges the boundaries of the arts and aesthetics” in order to create stylish designs. Designer Lionel Low revealed their brand “aspires to be the purveyor of a discerning lifestyle in a world where we find balance between nature, the urban jungle and ourselves”.

Read on to find out where Lionel draws inspiration from, what “The Left Hand Book” is and what LION EARL has in store for customers!

Hi Lionel, tell us a bit about yourself and your business partner.

Both of us met during our army days and I guess it's pretty much coincidental as we were under the same department, same officers and we have similar scope of work! Being the only two that's so very into the arts, we shared common topics and even had ideas of future collaborations (which is happening now :)).

Why the name "LION EARL"?

It's actually a play on my name, "Lionel" but my business partner and I came up with the actual [name] by extracting the "ion" in fashion and "ar" in architecture to come up with "earl", hence our label name "LION EARL". And it also places a little hint that earl grey ince cream is one of my favorite desserts!

How would you describe your brand?

LION EARL is an experimental fusion that challenges the boundaries of the arts and aesthetics, seeking to synthesize a new dimension bounded by art, fashion & architecture, and translating that newfound dimension into genre-defying outfits. We aspire to be the purveyor of a discerning lifestyle in a world where we find balance between nature, the urban jungle and ourselves.

How would you describe your customer?

She is empowered, gentle with a strong personal.

What is a typical work day like for you?

Sitting with my different sketchbooks (my left-hand book/doodles!/fashion book) in a nearby tea place with my favorite bag and loopy (name of my mini wooden frog) hiding in my bag so I know I am not alone. It's always nice to sketch or read in an environment with music and people from all walks of life, in that we open up and see the world around us. Most of the technical construction drafts will be done at home where it will always be messy with different parts of it and papers flying all over the place. To end the day, I often end up sweating doing a clean up and that's another good way of burning calories if I have no time for my weekly jogs :)

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Mainly, my influences come from forms of architecture from different eras such as baroque and contemporary. I take references from their structure and line works as well as their texture and details. My secondary inspiration would be a mixture of music, paintings and philosophies. I have this book which I call "The Left Hand Book" that I only write or sketch with my left hand (I am a right hander). When I listen to music, I see shapes, lines and sometimes colors so I will record these down in the book. When I am doing my collection, I refer to it and extract scribbles that could be translated into silhouettes or design details.

What's the most challenging thing about being an emerging designer in Singapore?

Being in Singapore is definitely challenging and this aspect will never change, it could only get even more tense from now. Resources from good quality fabrics and suppliers producing our apparels are very rare, I mean it takes a long time to build up the rapport with [suppliers in order for] things to go smoothly according to the original vision. I guess, as a young emerging label we can also never run away from the fact that land in Singapore is scarce and that means high rental fees and very limited space to act as our studio or showroom.

What's next for LION EARL?

LION EARL will be focusing on a better quality range of womenswear for our customers, with the introduction of our very own digital prints from original artworks and a high end capsule range of gowns and dresses. Menswear will likely take place during the 2nd quarter of 2013.

Some of Lionel's illustrations:

Hand drawn with a felt tip ink pen and acrylic paint.

Inspired by the late Alexander McQueen. Illustration was done in oil, acrylic paint & felt tip pen.

To pre-order one of LION EARL's beautiful digital print dresses and more, visit our site once we launch! For more behind the scenes snap shots, check out LION EARL'S Facebook.