The 50 Shades of Grey in Menwear’s Fashion – Faculty S.R. Collection

You have not experience the TRUE 50 Shades of Grey if you had not stepped into the curatorial space K+ (03-14/15 Scotts Square) which is housing the new Menwear Label ‘Faculty‘ by Larry Peh (President’s Design Award 2014 winner).

This is co-founded by him together with local artist Lyn She and former brand director of WanderWonder, Mr Lenz Fan.

“We call it Faculty because the label hopes to use mental faculties, intelligence, grey matter, to overcome gaps in function. We want to produce clothing that men are comfortable in, and products that reflect a sense of style, intelligence and sophistication” were the words that were enunciated confidently from Mr Peh.

Invited by our friend, Gabriel, there was simply no way we could turn down his kind invitation to preview Faculty’s first collection (S.R.) despite that day being packed with 3 other events back to back. And so, we appeared in the closest possible colour theme..Black & White..





As part of the launch of this first collection, the trio have also collaborated with John Clang, ceramic craftsmen from Sueki Ceramics & Japanese indigo-dye artisans Buaiso to create an exhibition.

Catching a glimpse of John Clang’s artistic photography with my single shot of famous Japanese Malt whiskey, Hakushu which was one of the event’s sponsors.





As we paraded beyond Clang’s photograph, our eyes were greeted with the key feature of the collection: Denim. These jeans aren’t your regular kind which your eyes can picked up anywhere on the streets. The damaged selvedge jeans from Faculty are manufactured in Okayama, Japan & cut from 14.5-ounce denim produced by the renowned Kuroki Mill.

Born out of Larry & craftsmen responsible for some of the world’s most sought after denim brands, their one-of-a-kind denims are definitely something I think all denim-lovers shouldn’t miss out on.





Moving on to the shirts, T-shirts & trousers.

Even though most of the shirts might look simple on the surface, the details were sophisticated.

Firstly, everything is cut to fit smaller Asian figures which fits the local crowd better. As such, you won’t feel as though like you’re drowning in those clothes.





The cuffs on the Oxford shirt (below) were stitched with two buttons to give you the flexibility to adjust the size of its circumference – small if you are pairing it with a small vintage dress watch e.g. Rolex 6694 or large if you plan to go with the larger & macho-looking Panerai watches.

Clever details were also infused into the design of the trousers by designing the pockets of those chinos to cut further inwards so as to prevent the pockets from sticking out when you are seating down, thus maintaining that neat & preppy look.





Speaking of functionality, nothing beats the fact that the shirts are double chain-stitched along the front placket and side vents, thus making them extremely durable to withstand all sorts of challenges.

Also present was the series of high-fired crockery from Oontani-yaki no Sato in Tokushima, Japan by Sueki Ceramics. The unique tones and inimitable coloration are the result of more than 20,000 tests and trials, a keen testament to the rigorous procedures employed. Despite these, the ceramics were priced at an affordable pricing as shown below.








The colour palette of this collection is white, black & neutrals, so which means to say everything in this collection will match everything you already own. In fact, I had been wearing the stylish-looking socks which were sponsored to us on a daily basis; Not only do they paired well with my own clothings, the thick cushy texture makes my daily traveling by foot a much more bearable one.





Faculty’s debut collection is available at K+ (03-14 Scotts Square) for a limited period from 5 June to 2 August.

Personally, I feel that the staple clothes launched under Faculty projected sheer sophisticated simplicity ; they are extremely comfortable, simply stylish yet cleverly functional! I couldn’t agree more they have hit the sweet spot of local menwear’s fashion by marrying style to practicality. If the marriage of style & functionality is your kind of thing, then wait no longer in making your way down to Faculty during this period.