For these four Singaporean fashion brands marking a decade in the business, success was born of breaking free from industry cycles. After spotting a gap in the market for thoughtful yet accessible designs, Our Second Nature’s Velda Tan took a leap of faith in launching her own label; the trio of best friends behind Tria The Label did much the same with their fabric-forward designs. Similarly, for Anothersole and Rye, minimalism might be their language of choice, but heritage and innovation are no less important.
Ten years ago, these homegrown gems refused to compromise, instead betting that the market would eventually catch up to them. (It did—with resounding success.) Ahead, GRAZIA Singapore takes a closer look at their singular journeys.
Our Second Nature
When Velda Tan founded Our Second Nature, it was something of a quiet revolution. Tan was no stranger to Singapore’s fashion scene, having previously run labels including Love, Bonito and Collate—and it was that entrepreneurial experience that let her identify what she saw as a glaring omission in the market.
“At the time, the market felt quite polarised between fast fashion and high-end designer labels,” Tan says. “With Our Second Nature, we found a quiet middle ground—thoughtful pieces at an accessible price point, designed for everyday life.” That philosophy—ideology over financial metrics, long-term success over immediate returns—was an uncommon one to champion at the label’s founding. It asked a certain patience and faith of Tan, her team, and their customers. A decade on, with slow living and creative sustainability now at the forefront, it is fair to say the gambit has paid off.
Our Second Nature approaches its tenth anniversary with a renewed focus on the values that have always guided it. The label is known for breezy, versatile silhouettes—and for all the understated elegance of each piece, its signature prints are instantly recognisable. Be they geometric patterns or intricate florals, the label’s prints are grounded in everyday moments and memories. As an entrepreneur and mother of three, Tan has lived through her share of milestones—but the memories she and her team choose to translate into their designs are of a quieter sort. They commemorate the small details of a life well lived: sunlight through a stained-glass window spotted on holiday, the smell of crisp linen as you slip between freshly washed sheets. “Storytelling at Our Second Nature is less about creating something aspirational and more about reflecting real life in a slightly more considered way,” Tan says.
The label is marking its tenth year with a series of anniversary collections, the first a whimsical, vegetal-patterned capsule titled Mise-en-Place. The French culinary term translates to “everything in its place”, and refers to the act of laying out each ingredient and tool before starting a recipe. For Tan and her team, the collection’s mix of tomatoes on the vine and blooming florals also carries a metaphorical reading: the quiet preparation, work, and learning that has brought the brand to this point. “We want our customers to see themselves in the pieces, rather than feel they have to become someone else,” Tan says. Were the collection to act as a mirror, Our Second Nature’s customers would see not only themselves, but the result of a decade of considered design that places creativity above all else.
Rye
To buy a piece from Rye, the slow fashion label helmed by Bessie Ye, you must first venture to an offbeat, more vibrant side of Singapore. Each of the label’s two boutiques sits in a creative, culturally rich enclave slightly removed from the city centre—the understated Eastside space in Joo Chiat, or the flagship at the creative cluster New Bahru. These locales mirror Ye’s eclectic approach to design, as do the boutiques themselves, which draw on sources as varied as Sri Lankan architecture and Teochew craftsmanship.
Translated into a sartorial language, Ye’s eccentric roots take on a minimalist, understated slant. Rye’s clothing is designed to be effortless and versatile, unbound by occasion or genre. Most pieces are made from breathable fabrics in quiet earth tones—camel, ochre, slate grey—yet each carries an unexpected quirk: a sculpted drape that reveals an open back, a bell sleeve adding a final flourish to a simple shift dress.
The philosophy was shaped by Ye’s time in fast fashion, an experience that taught her the value of timelessness and heritage in design. Ten years into Rye, with two boutiques anchoring Singapore’s creative community, Ye’s approach is proof that success is all the more satisfying for being savoured slowly.
Anothersole
Benny Chee and Phoebe Charn had been business partners for more than 15 years when they decided to launch footwear label Anothersole. Perhaps it was that enduring partnership that gave them the patience for an ambitious brief: a shoe bridging comfort, style, and sustainability, while remaining affordable.
The goal sent them into a years-long research process, working with Italian and Brazilian footwear specialists and testing every variable from weight to texture. When they finally launched their signature Anytime flats—a sleek leather lace-up—it was with the confidence that they had made something to withstand time.
Even so, the victory did not stop them from pushing further. In the years since, the pair have introduced sneaker, ballet flat, and Mary Jane silhouettes, added accessories, and made sustainability and charity central pillars. As Anothersole nears ten years in business, it does so with a story of homegrown innovation, written one step at a time.
Tria The Label
The three best friends behind Tria the Label have spent close to a decade behind the scenes, juggling design and marketing with full-time jobs in finance and consulting. But as they mark the label’s tenth birthday, they have chosen a change of pace: stepping in front of the camera, putting their faces to the name.
“Ten years and 41 collections later, what amazes me still is that a conversation between friends somehow turned into all of this,” says co-founder PC Ng. Alongside fellow founders Sheralyn Tay and Jassica Lee, Ng launched Tria in 2016 as a passion project among friends, a way to indulge their creative whims in their free time. Though none had a formal fashion background, the trio launched with a keen sense of what they wanted.
“There was a market for women like myself who appreciate good fabric or a well-designed piece, but might not know a tailor to get clothes made,” Ng says. Tria was envisioned as a midpoint between a fashion house and a bespoke tailor, its pieces produced in slow, deliberate batches and tailored to individual clients. The label operates largely on pre-orders and custom fittings.
In the early days, the women held trunk shows and fitting sessions at Lee’s home, encouraging clients to see and feel the pieces for themselves. That physical proximity matters to Tria for more than sizing. It emphasises the element at the heart of the brand: fabric. “Fabric always comes first for us,” Ng says. “We select fabrics that offer a little something extra—colour, pattern, texture. There is always something special in our selections.” The trio source materials locally and abroad, often returning from Thailand, Japan, or Europe with suitcases laden with cloth that caught their eye. They then begin the design and creation process, working with local tailors and seamstresses on weekends to bring the pieces to life.
It is a refreshing approach that has earned the trio’s label committed support from a like-minded community of women. “The people we’ve met along the way have been enormously generous, and that’s not something we take for granted,” says Tay. As they mark a decade in business this month, it is fitting that they call the milestone a birthday. Tria is a love letter to fashion—a passion project Ng, Lee, and Tay have nurtured and raised from infancy to now.
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