The Fall/Winter 2011 trunk show on Nov 18, Singapore’s first introduction to this global street wear line, was a sneak preview of the New York-based clothing line. The ‘Auto Shop Collection’ is the theme for Staple Design’s Fall/Winter 2011 collection and was also meant to get people excited and anticipate the official launch set to take place around mid 2012 or later.

A collaboration between STAPLE in New York and SUP Clothing in Singapore for the Fall/Winter 2011 designs, the limited edition pieces consist of a collection of t-shirts and caps, in very limited quantity.

SUP, an independent clothing company, focuses primarily on apparel. The apparel brought in range in brands like OBEY, 9Five, Flying Coffin, etc. SUP clothing is inspired by skateboarding, punk and hip-hop cultures that centre on everyday life. The brand aims to reach out to everyone through the clothes that they bring in.

Staple Design tees may remind you of any street menswear label. However, the limited edition collection from Staple Design’s collaboration with SUP clothing might just intrigue you.

In an interesting twist, the tee design is actually a fusion of the Merlion, an icon of Singapore, and the Empire State Building, New York City’s world famous attraction and landmark. If you look at the design from afar, you’ll probably see only the Merlion, but scrutinise the details, and you’ll realise that the Empire State Building forms the mane of our famous lion-fish symbol. That’s not all there is to it. Even the concept behind the logo for this collaboration is just as amusing as the shirt design – it incorporates both words: Sup and Stpl (Staple Design’s logo) together in a unique fashion.

The Fall/Winter 2011 trunk show on Nov 18, Singapore’s first introduction to this global street wear line, was a sneak preview of the New York-based clothing line. The ‘Auto Shop Collection’ is the theme for Staple Design’s Fall/Winter 2011 collection and was also meant to get people excited and anticipate the official launch set to take place around mid 2012 or later.

Having forged multiple alliances with some of the biggest brands in both the street and sporting industry such as Converse and Nike, Staple Design, by Jeff Staple, prowls the streets with a new stash. Consisting of an appealing mix of neatly designed utilitarian outfits, the collection is coupled with their already signature STAPLE style – their basic graphic t-shirts.

Since its founding in New York in 1997, Staple Design unveiled the entire STAPLE Fall/Winter 2011 Collection, for the first time in Singapore. Lucky for us in here, we get first dibs on its classic all-American workshop themed collection.

Street style? Check. Street credibility? Check. The new collection has definitely managed to create highly functional street wear . Many loyal Staple Design fans may be taken aback by the lack of colour  but it embodies the direction that Staple Design has been venturing towards in the past few years.

Sabrina Li, a representative of Staple Design told UrbanWire about how the collaboration started. “We went to New York and were looking at a few trade shows. Jeff Staple was at one of the trade shows so we talked about his philosophy and the work that goes on behind his brand. My company really liked his concept so we approached him and proposed to bring Staple Design into the fray of Singapore’s street culture, in its purest form.”

What keeps Jeff Staple’s designs fresh is how he religiously sticks to different themes, eschewing trends when it comes to designing a collection. For example, this upcoming collection deals with certain eras, vintage with a flair of the futuristic, along the lines of the DeLorean (time travelling car from the movie Back To The Future).

The Fall/Winter collection has 2 lines – the basic T-shirts and caps and the cut and sew line, which veers more to menswear, both defined by the colours and the cut. The cut and sew line is a little more subdued and uses materials like cotton and linen and incorporates various patterns like polka-dots, while the T-shirts are classic styles that are dictated by the theme rather than the season. For example, Staple Design doesn’t believe in employing the “usual” spring/summer hues of orange, red or yellow, but rather, colours that best project the concept.

Photo credits to Sup, Peek-ture & Noel Teo.