10qq with islean.

 Powerful - Sexy - Sophisticated - Chic. If I had to sum up ARC's aesthetic in four words, those would be the four I'd choose. No one, I repeat NO ONE, knows power-dressing the way Islean Valath does, and that's why every woman needs an ARC piece in her wardrobe - for kick-ass, no-nonsense sophistication. In my mind, the ARC woman is the urban, polished CEO with the world at her manicured fingertips who wears heels as high as her achievements and champions a wardrobe of professional, understated elegance laced with bold sexiness. While we can't all be that CEO, we can sure as hell dress like her with price points of $150 for a skirt to $358 for a dress. ARC echoes the clean aesthetic of sparkling urban life, and achieves a unique sexiness while maintaining generally conservative cuts. With excellent quality and a design philosophy like no other, ARC stands out in the Singaporean design scene as the pioneer of modern, feminine dressing. Islean describes her brand vision as follows:

"A segment of a circle. A curve. The make-up of a woman's body. ARC is inspired by the curves that govern the female form, seeking to draw attention to that which should be, and to hold back what is best veiled... The juxtaposition of the hard-edged and soft curves echoes a balance that all modern women must find: somewhere between fragile and hard, strong and delicate."

1) What's your favorite way to spend a Friday night? Catching up with my best girlfriends over a good meal. I don't get to see them often enough due to our travel and work schedules, so it's always such a treat to meet up. We don't frequent clubs and bars at all, but prefer to chill over a good meal in Katong where we grew up together, or somewhere in the Little India/Bras Basah areas. Invariably we'll end up having a great time, laughing our heads off over something or other. Of course it's always a feast, ending with someone whipping out a box of cupcakes or local kueh they had bought along the way. We're all pretty consistent and passionate about yoga and gymming, so we never feel guilty going crazy with the desserts.

2) What are some of your daily online reads? I love the crisp sounds of a publication being flipped early in the morning. I do read online mags but there's nothing on the web that's a daily habit.

3) Name a celebrity you'd love to dress in your designs: Natalie Portman. She's the perfect combination - intelligent, grounded, doesn't take herself too seriously, amazing at her craft, wacky funny, and if all that isn't enough, she's got a flawless face and body.

4) What's a color you'd never wear? Cyan blue. It really doesn't work with my skin tone. Might be great on someone else, but just terrible on me.

5) What's something you always have with you? I hate to admit this, but its my iPhone. Yes I know, people are now completely glued to their handheld devices, causing big shifts and possibly detrimental effects on our social paradigms, not to mention really embarrassing facial expressions on the trains as we attempt to get to the next level of Candy Crush. I can't help it though, I'm addicted to my machine! I don't actually play any games at all. For me it's emails, whatsapp and googling - you see I just HAVE to find the answer to any question I have. Immediately.

6) Name a designer you look up to/are inspired by: There are so many, but for a long time now I've been a huge fan of Haider Ackermann. His work is just phenomenal and he's got such a strong, recognizable voice in his creations.

7) What's your least favorite food? I was forced to eat this 3 times a week when I was a kid: steamed whole fish with ginger & Chinese wine. The smell and slimy skin of the fish made want to puke, and the eyes of the fish staring at me from the plate freaked me out.  Kind of like the Mona Lisa eye-contact effect, except not very pleasant because it's a dead fish...

8) What are your thoughts on Singapore's fashion scene? There's definitely more and more interesting street fashion in Singapore that I've noticed in the past couple years. Every time I see someone, young or old wearing a great outfit styled in a unique, imaginative way, I think to myself, "How awesome, this is the next stage of our development in Asia: creative personal growth." Not merely in small alternative pockets of society, but throughout the mainstream, there is burgeoning recognition that personal expression / individuality are things that aren't to be feared and rejected.

9) Something you've never done but you'd like to try: Bit of a cliche, but for me it really is bungee jumping. I have family in New Zealand so it's long overdue; on my next trip I will have to make good on my self-promise to take the plunge, so to speak...

10) What are your dreams for the future? Being invited to show my line at one of the major cities' fashion weeks is a real dream.

What do you think of Islean's designs and ARC?