Ballad of the Little Red Dot
and the Hues it Brought Forth
Part of “Singapore: A Design Thesis in the Making”
for Singapore Design Week 2025
Rooted in my love for nature, this work reflects on Singapore’s green spaces as a philosophy of care, where biodiversity meets urban life. Using native plants and slow processes, it imagines textiles as gentle resistance and ecological memory, aligning with Singapore’s ongoing inquiry into space and futures shaped by nature-led design.
Upon the isle where rivers gleam,
And ordered trees take root,
A garden city shaped its dream
Yet nature bore the fruit.
But gardens planned are gardens still,
Their roots know how to roam;
Curated paths can teach us still
How nature makes a home.
The people’s care, the planter’s hand,
Made shaded streets and air;
And in return, the grateful land
Gave colours rich and rare.
Each shade will fade, each leaf will fall,
Yet meaning lingers deep;
In cloth, in soil, in hands of all,
The memory we keep.
With quiet hands I draw these hues,
From bark, from leaf, from stone;
A gift returned, both old and new
The city and its own.
Concept
Nature Reclaiming – the quiet takeover of human-made structures by organic elements
Decay & Texture – organic growth, weathered surfaces, and the beauty of transformation
Craftsmanship & Textile Techniques embroidery, layering, resist dyeing, fabric manipulation
Material Innovation – orange fibre fabric, bioplastics