Knitwear Designer Bryan Yeo Melds Sentimentalism Into His Craft
In an exclusive interview with L'Officiel Singapore, the young designer talks about capturing memories in his work and his journey as a fashion creative.
Starting out as an Apparel Designer, Bryan Yeo has made a name for himself as a knowledgeable creative. Upon venturing into his journey at an internationally-renowned arts and fashion centre, Central Saint Martins (CSM) – University of Arts London, Yeo picked up the specialisation of knitwear. His works centre on knitted accessories and garments and have graced the likes of British Singer, Arthur Black, and Singaporean male actor, singer, and model Alfred Sng.
In an exclusive interview with L'Officiel Singapore, Yeo opens up about the inspiration behind his craft and the significance of sentimentality in his works.
Photographer: Freya Thomas-Taylor, Styled By: Abi Wood
How has the CSM experience fostered your expertise as a creative in Singapore?
The CSM experience was very different from the Singapore experience, and I have to admit that it was quite a culture shock upon entering university, mainly due to the difference in the approach to education in design. Singapore focuses on the end product, business, and layers and layers of restrictions while CSM focused on the development and process of work and getting to your final product and of course, fewer restrictions.
Personally, I prefer how I was taught in CSM as there was a chance for experimentation in work and development, allowing me to develop my own sense of stylistic approach in my design work. In addition, the "It's not where you end up, but how you get there" concept which I like, the uncertainty of how things would become eventually is quite a personal and sublime feeling. I would like to say I got the best of two worlds, having taught a more rigid approach in design and another very freeing, which has allowed me to pick and choose what is required in different scenarios and for different purposes.
You talk about immortalizing experiences and emotions of the human condition in perpetual eternity, how does that inspire your craft?
Memories are fleeting moments that are personal to an individual. This has been ingrained in my ever since I started thrifting, wondering about what the object has gone through, who its owner was and what that individual lived. Hence, I'm always looking into the past and within myself for inspiration. Before technology was introduced into modern-day society, humans desired ways of "capturing" these memories themselves, through portrait painting, landscape painting, inscription, plays, and writing. Hence, my way of capturing these moments is through my work and through the sense of touch and nostalgia, telling stories or experiences that are both very personal to me or to people around me.
Model: Serena from Misc. Management, Photographer: Ethan Lai
Has knitting always been something you want to pursue?
No, surface design was my main priority and the direction of where I wanted to go after graduating from Polytechnic. I knew for a fact that I wanted to go into fashion, but I wanted to focus heavily on touch and surface design. Hence, I chose knitting as it fit the criteria of what I wanted to pursue. In addition, I knew that if I was ever tired of the fashion industry I could branch out to do other industries like art or product design. Furthermore, I knew that there were not any other people who would have the experience of knitting in Singapore, and saw an opportunity to tap into that loophole.
How do you derive these unconventional knitting ideas?
Plenty of time, failed experiments, and annotating. I remember making an A5-sized knitted sample and experiment that took 12 hours. Knitting takes a lot of patience; one mistake and you may need to undo five hours of work and start from scratch all over again. Furthermore, the majority of the time, you get things that you want in the most unforeseen method and you find yourself starting all over again, trying to remember what you did and writing it down. Sometimes, knitting has a "multiverse" on its own. Hence, I'm trying to develop my own personal journal of knitting instructions of both failed and successful samples for myself, just in case, I can't recall what's the next step.
How do you stay up to date with your craft?
Making personal works for myself — small batched of objects that were for sale, and constant experimentation, I try to do one or two samples every week, making sure not to overwork myself but still have time to work on my craft.
What’s next for you after CSM?
At the moment, there aren't any concrete plans. I do have a few ideas, but for now, my priority is graduating and working on my final year collection.
