IT WAS third time lucky for Joel Xiang, 21.

At his third attempt, the La Salle School of the Arts fashion design student finally won in the Code Jeanius competition, held at Bugis Junction.

The judges for the competition were fashion designer Frederick Lee, Lee Cooper sales manager Ainslie Chan and The New Paper columnist Yeoh Wee Teck.
Mr Xiang’s bold and original design pleased Mr Lee.

Mr Lee said: “I was looking for something different, something out of the box.”
Mr Yeoh added: “Joel’s final product showed that he had thought through the process.

“Given the time limitations, I looked past the workmanship and rewarded the idea behind it instead.”

In its fourth year, Code Jeanius was two competitions in one: A jeans redesign competition and one for the model showcasing the winning design.

Nine designers were shortlisted and they had an hour to come up with an original creation on the spot.

All they had were an old pair of jeans and simple tools such as a scissors, needle and thread.

Mr Xiang said: “I was inspired by the punk look of Japanese rockers and desired to experiment with the traditional kimono and jeans.

“I am really glad that my efforts paid off. ”

Using a pair of jeans, he created a punk-inspired kimono jacket which could be also be worn as a hoodie.

For his effort, he won $2,000 worth of products and a trophy . He also attributes his success to his “muse” and model Ben Wong, 21.

Mr Wong, a student, won as well.

As the model paired with the winning designer, he received $150 worth of shopping vouchers, a trophy and a chance to appear in a fashion spread.
The prizes were sponsored by CapitaLand.

Mr Wong was the only male model to have worn distinct eye make-up to complement his look, receiving many weird stares.

But he said: “It’s part and parcel of modelling.”

Now, he’s encouraged.

He said: “I think I’m going to pursue my interest in modeling.”

The first runner up was Stella Wong, 37. This financial and marketing executive impressed the judges with her ‘Go Green’ design.

Miss Wong turned her model’s old jeans into a pair of above-knee shorts and a sporty jacket.

Inspiration

She won $1,000 worth of products and vouchers as well as a trophy.

She said: “ I was inspired to create a design that would reflect the importance of saving the environment.”

“I feel that Code Jeanius allowed me to do so, as well as have fun being creative at the same time.”

Mr Yeoh said it was a close fight between first and second place.

He said: “I like how she transformed a pair of old jeans into two separate pieces. Hers was completely functional but perhaps lacked the “wow” factor.”

In third place was designer Cherin Sim, 23. She walked away with $700 worth of products and vouchers, and a trophy.

This article was first published in The New Paper.