Some wear their hearts on their sleeves. Others choose to wear it on their feet.
Tuckshop, a homegrown label, has recently launched a series of three shoes inspired by various local dishes. In celebration of the nation’s 55th birthday, the hungry minds behind the brand – a collaboration between online fashion store Out of Fun and Singaporean visual artist Aqil Lutfi of Clickje Studio – have taken hearty hawker grub of laksa, nasi lemak, and roti prata, and reimagined them as modern footwear.
“It didn’t take long for us to decide on local dishes as the anchor of our design,” says Out of Fun designer, Robin Ho. “We felt that food best represents us as Singaporeans love to eat.”
The Laksa Air Force 1 (US 9) is a vibrant recreation of the curry noodle dish, invoked by spicy swirls of red, orange, and yellow on the shoe’s upper. Specks of green, similar to the final garnish of laksa leaves, complete this bright and bold number. On the other hand, the Roti Prata Air Jordan 1 (US 9) comes with a neutral colourway, dominated by varying shades of brown and khaki.
There’s also the Nasi Lemak Air Max 90 (US 8), which comes with a white base to represent fluffy grains of coconut rice. Side dishes, or elements, help bring the look together: there’s the patterned banana leaf overlay, egg-coloured swoosh, with accents of chilli red and toast brown. Even the box the shoes come in has been cheekily redesigned. On it, there’s the ‘serving size’ of the footwear, together with an ‘ingredient list’ of elements that inspired the design itself.
Aqil shares: “The design process started with us researching various ingredients that make up the dishes. The rich colours, unique textures, and aromatic spices became the main aesthetics of our designs.”
HOW TO GET Only one of each pair is available via raffle. Each raffle ticket costs $3, and can be purchased by sliding into @click.je’s DM. The raffle will end on August 14 2020, 9.30pm, and Tuckshop will then host a live draw to announce the winners.