It is no secret that I love South East Asia, and discovering designers from the region who are less known in the west. I especially love it when these designers show us that clothing for hot climates needn’t be boring, and case in point is stunning label Yumumu. Designer Lu Yilin is intrigued with the cut-out shapes and layering of paper doll’s clothes, and shows she is a constructivist master with Yamamoto and Pugh like tendencies.

The “East Asian Misfits II” collection has obvious references to japanese tradition with the intricate origami folding, but has a clean, modern take that is very now.

Restricted to a neutral pallette, the excitement derives from the treatment of the fabric: folded, pleated, assymetrically draped and impeccably stitched.

(Photos from hair stylist on the shoot, Andy Razali of Andy and Weave)

On the leggings, Japanese shibori dyeing technique is used to great effect

Yumumu is stocked at Singapore’s cult stores Blackmarket and Antipodean as well as its Flagstore in Parco at Marina Bay and Eclecticism on Orchard Road.

About her label, Yulin says: “Yumumu is Mandarin for ‘Rain, Wood, Wood’. The three Chinese radicals come together to form the ‘lin’ character of my name. Their elemental nature echoes the undated appeal of the designs. Also, I like how it sounds like the mumblings of our universal language – babytalk.”

Worth a look when you’re next in Singapore, or you can check out the Yumumu facebook page or enquire at info@yumumu.com