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Articles
Benny Ong: 21 years in the British Fashion Industry (1975-1996)
and his Design Philosophy
May Khuen Chung, Ms
This article is about the career and works of Benny Ong, a
Singaporean fashion designer in London from the 1970s to 1990s.
It aims to challenge some of the perceptions associated with Ong
and explain why he was able to survive and succeed in an
extremely competitive fashion industry in London. The study
begins with an investigation of Ong’s early experience in London
and how he became recognised as one of Britain’s top fashion
designers by the early 1980s. The research continues by
exploring Ong’s design philosophy. Besides applying discourses
on Orientalisation and self-Orientalisation, Ong’s works at the
National Museum of Singapore and those represented in British
magazines will be examined.
Historical and Traditional Building Techniques in Some Iranian
Vernacular Constructions, 2009
Amirkhani Aryan, Mr
Okhovat Hanie, Mr
The need for preserving historical constructions is not only a
cultural requirement, but also an economical and developmental
demand. In addition to their historical interest, cultural
heritage buildings are valuable because they contribute
significantly to the economy by providing key attractions at a
time when tourism and leisure are major industries. Herein, the
great Iranian tradition is as yet little known in the West and
there is much to be learnt both from it and the building
techniques which are integral with it. The Iranian vernacular
building tradition, which makes such ingenious use of natural
resources without the consumption of additional power, is still
alive. There is also much to be gained from understanding such
highly developed technology. Among different Iranian vernacular
constructions, ice-houses, cisterns and water-mills are the
subject of the main body of this article. Notes on wind-catchers
are also included.
Speaking for the Diaspora: Tamil Newspapers in Malaya and
Singapore as Instruments of Modernity, Protection, Reform and
Change, 1930-1940
Dinesh Sathisan, Mr
With very little works of scholarship focusing on Tamil
communities in Malaya, and with the bulk of them reflecting a
bias towards the histories of migrant plantation workers, this
study departs from such a focus to explore an intellectual
movement spearheaded by the Tamil press. This article explores
three Tamil papers published in colonial Malaya and Singapore
during the 1930s; the Tamil Nesan, Munnetram and Tamil Murasu.
These newspapers aspired to be instruments that spoke for the
diaspora, in an effort to protect their status and rights, and
at the same time, spoke to the diaspora on issues of individual
and social modernisation and reform.
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