Singapore Bilano 2022
This work was part of an exhibition titled "Dellaboration" that made its debut in Re-route Festival | Singapore Design Week 2022. The exhibition explored ways to provide an alternate storytelling of the Little India district in Singapore by using design to augment and spotlight commonly found commodities within the area. This collective research gave birth to new products that re-interpreted the original artifacts and revealed unique intricacies about Indian culture.
Description
Gold is a hallmark of Indian culture, sought after as a symbol of wealth and status. However, not all that glitters in Singapore's Little India district is gold, as many shops still proudly sell and display faux gold-plated jewelry and accessories.
As an amusing commentary on the air of deception that pervades Little India, the project aims to spotlight another ironically local brand - (Swiss) Bilano - that produces replica designs of Swiss watches. By removing the original watch faces and modifying each bracelet to include more brand-imprinted clasps, the product subverts gold as the centrepiece and instead celebrates the brand prints as the key feature of each bracelet. In doing so, the work encourages one to scoff but likewise marvel at this paradoxical piece of 'Singapore design".
4 different bracelet variations were created for the exhibition, and packaging was designed and showcased to reimagine the product as a fresh, speculative take on Singapore souvenirs.
Process
Walks around the Little India district led to the discovery of Milan Gifts SG - a gift shop unique to the area that sells an assortment of affordable souvenirs for Indians to purchase and bring back for their friends and family in India. Through observations and research, I discovered that the gift shop carried an extensive line of watches from a local brand "Bilano" that was infamously known for their faux line of Swiss watches. Most of these 'Swiss' watches were silver-plated and imprinted with a logo visually akin to the Swiss flag.
To me, the discovery of this deceptively local brand served as the most interesting insight and takeaway from my adventures around Little India. Hence, I explored how I could exaggerate and further spotlight the brand by modifying the original timepieces into luxury jewelry/statement pieces. Eventually, I worked with a professional jeweler to disassemble and create the modified bracelets.
