Fashion has become an essential medium to communicate different narratives and a vehicle to develop ways of portraying, reimagining and exploring innovative ideas, systems and business models. Collaboration is at the core of the School of Fashion at LASALLE College of the Arts, where we encourage our students to collaborate and challenge preconceived notions of the fashion industry to create new possibilities. We train creative individuals to become storytellers, image-makers, curators, and producers. We adopt curatorial practice within our curriculum to foster the ability to observe, analyse and evaluate objects in their material culture through different lenses, interpret them with coherent and exciting narratives, and communicate these to different audiences.
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In Southeast Asia, especially in Singapore, the seasons are absent and we do not follow the Western calendar. This allows us to slow down, focus on our region, and develop a fashion language from this part of the world with a global appeal. We encourage our students to remain curious, be open to other cultures, and connect with practitioners worldwide to co-create and share their experiences. Cross-pollination was the perfect project to achieve this, as it was conceived to connect students and professionals from New York to other cultures worldwide, using the original exhibitions at the Museum of Fashion Institute of Technology (MFIT) as inspiration.

Drawing inspiration from the exhibition ¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today at the MFIT, curated by Tanya Melendez-Escalante and Melissa Marra-Alvarez, students from the Year 2 BA (Hons) Fashion Media and Industries (FMI) and BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles (FDT) at LASALLE, together with students from the Fashion Design, at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York established creative dialogues around the themes of ‘Myth and Rituals’, ‘Beliefs and Economics of Care’, and ‘Activism and Resistance’.

In response to the connecting threads between Singapore, New York and Latin America, students from both fashion institutions crafted diverse creative responses together. Their contributions include fashion garments, eyewear designs, brand identities as well as visually captivating imagery, bringing to life fresh perspectives of their collective future to celebrate diversity in craftsmanship and individual identities while illuminating the possibilities of interconnecting their world.

The cross-pollination culminated in a physical exhibition showcasing the student works at the Brother Joseph McNally Gallery at LASALLE from 10 November to 16 December 2023 and at the MFIT from 3 to 21 April 2024. This publication documents the dialogues between the FMI and FDT students, as well as the texts and contributions by the curator students, Allysa Barnaba and Dina Pritmani, from the Art History and Museum Professions Programme at the FIT.

I would like to thank Tanya Melendez-Escalante and Melissa Marra-Alvarez, curators of the ¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today exhibition at the MFIT, Valerie Steele, Director of MFIT, as well as the FIT faculty members, Assistant Professor Andrea Diodati for Fashion Design and Alexander Nagel, Chair of Art History and Museum Professions Programme for another wonderful collaboration.

A big thank you, too, to my amazing School of Fashion teaching team at LASALLE – Kathryn Shannon Sim, Daniela Monasterios, Lidya Chrisfens, Charles Rezandi, Adrian Huang, Rohaizatul Azhar, Cristina Kountious, Felix Sng, Alison Schooling, Michelle Zhang, Alvin Tang, Tasmin Fong, Liu Ting Zhi, Marcus Lio, Nadia Paulina Albertini, Naoko Koriyama and Thomas Wong. Last but not least, special thanks to bbase Design Group for the educational and resource support rendered to the teaching team and students.

¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today, on view at MFIT from May 29-August 27, 2023, celebrated the contributions of designers from the Latin American region and its diaspora, underscoring their high level of creativity and innovation and challenging the idea that there is a singular Latin American style. ¡Moda Hoy! was organised thematically, addressing topics including: Indigenous Heritage, Gender, Politics, Sustainability, Craftsmanship, Elegance, Art, and Popular Culture. These themes were synthesised and distilled into three main concepts: Beliefs and Economics of Care, Myths and Rituals, and Activism and Resistance, which were then interpreted by the students.
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With each Cross-Pollination workshop, it is exciting and rewarding to witness student’s interpretations of MFIT exhibitions, and how this programme unites students intellectually and creatively. Since 2009, Cross-Pollination workshops have been about decentering our understanding of the creative industries, highlighting that all localities have much to contribute to fashion and design culture.