It’s risky. You’re being reckless with your life. You’re wasting your time. It’s not going to be easy. Are you sure? Chances are, if you took the artistic route in life as a career path, you’ve heard at least, (if not all) of these in some sort of variation at least once in your life. This was true for Joseph Singh who for a large part of his life says, “I thought I was going to be a doctor because I thought that was the proper thing to do. Until 2006 when I decided that becoming a doctor wasn’t my thing.”
And what a good thing that it wasn’t. Just shy of graduating with a B.F.A. from Parsons, Singh has already garnered quite a bit of attention from those in the know as being a fashion talent that should be watched. While at FIDM, Joseph Singh’s complex robe design produced the most revenue out of 110 styles for Discarded to Divine. In 2012, the CFDA gave him an Honorable Mention for the Scholarship Award, and he’s already mentioned in Bina Ablings ‘Fashion Sketch Book 6th Edition,’ as well as Lisa Springsteel’s 2013 ‘Becoming a Fashion Designer,’ which interviewed Singh while he was interning at Donna Karan Collections.
As exuberant of a personality and crazy of a character as Singh can be, it’s almost surprising when he sites his inspiration as, “Dark things, the mystery of things such as a cave, a funeral. I love learning about the unknown and taking that into a concept. Also, I’m fascinated by the interaction between people and their surroundings; body versus space, the order and arrangement of things around me, the contrast of opposite ideas. Fabric is a starting point. In my attempt to distort the relationship between body and space, I start out by draping and playing with layers. The result is creating dimension by pulling shapes and placing them on the human body.”
Citing Balenciaga (specifically Nicolas Ghesquire), Christian Dior, Rick Owens, Proenza Schouler and Victoria Beckham (Singh proudly admits an avid love for the Spice Girls) as fashion inspirations, it’s not hard to see the influences in his own designs. High quality fabrics, manipulated shapes, and a meticulous attention to detail that is becoming known for and crisp, clean lines with just a touch of Gothic splendor.
Pleated leather, and beautifully draped silks, is what sets Joseph Singh apart from your average fashion design student. And while there’s countless creative talent out there, once in a blue moon,
you get someone who was meant to be a star. “I would love to get to know the industry and of course have my own line out one day, but unless I get discovered soon and someone decides to financially back me (Singh laughs good naturedly here). I would like to take things as they come. I’m open to anything that comes my way.
It’s scary knowing I’ll be graduating soon because then it’s reality!
But I’m ready.”
Ready indeed and we’re guessing that Singh doesn’t have much to worry about as his designs are catching the eyes of in-the-know fashion people everywhere.
josephsingh.com
Text by Ida Hsiang
