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IT was May 5 and the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) on Fifth Avenue, New York, were festooned with artistes, industry movers and photographers waiting for fashion’s biggest night to pull back its curtains.
The Met Gala, a charitable event, is unironically the most coveted night of the year for the beau monde – orchestrated by Anna Wintour, it is a stage for pop icons, Silicon Valley leaders and designers alike, to make a couture declaration.
One designer making his statement is our very own Dickson Lim, who woke up to find his signature avant-garde tailoring Shuriken Blazer featured in The Wall Street Journal, worn by Beyonce’s stylist Ty Hunter.
Sitting down with theSun, Lim reminisced about the wild night, giving us an inside scoop into his world as one of the nation’s youngest designers.
Hunter’s DM
“He dropped me a DM (direct message) saying he wants to wear my design to the Met Gala,” said the 26-year-old designer.
Lim hilariously quipped that he had actually forgotten about the deal and Hunter had to DM him again, asking for his bespoke creation.
“He (Hunter) turned down other designers just to wear (mine) at the Met Gala. It’s a big and special moment – but it’s actually a very simple process that happened through an Instagram DM.”
He then revealed he runs a one-man show and does not use a middle-person to run his business.
“Because I know where my designs are and which ones are available. So, I’d rather do it myself.”
But he has never really planned for his career to skyrocket in such a way that put him and his designs among legacy fashion houses and designers – what more to have the Shuriken Blazer grace the Met steps.
“I have never expected any of this to happen. Even this interview with theSun. It was never part of a plan.”
Tailor’s son
Lim shared people thought his passion for drapes and hems was a waste of time, a joke even, but representing his country proves his career is far from just a “phase”.
Choosing not to heed the naysayers, he stays focused on doing his best work and being the best in everything he does.
A tailor’s son, Lim never really saw his future in the same field as he could not imagine being confined to the walls of a tailoring shop, and he confided that he initially aspired to be a movie director.
“But I knew it was impossible. I have no connections (to pursue that dream). I gave that up and thought I would just help my parents – but I hated tailoring.”
Refusing to be boxed in, he started making his own clothes and admitted people thought he was odd at first. However, the bliss that he felt in making and designing his clothes only pushed him to do it more.
“Slowly, people started to notice my work. Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
With no formal education in fashion and learning his craft from YouTube, nothing about Lim’s journey was conventional. Not cut from the same cloth, his unorthodox fashion journey meant he was willing to push boundaries and break the rules – a true renegade, as one would surmise.
“I want to push barriers because I have never learnt the rules. I don’t know what the (rules) are. So I just do whatever I believe I can achieve.”
Lim quietly confided that his parents initially had some reservations about his choice to learn tailoring.
“They would ask if I could learn this (tailoring) in a month. They kept saying, ‘Do you think it’s easy?’”
Despite his parents’ scepticism, he never backed down and trusted himself the most.
“I told myself I’m not letting them set any limitations on my potential.”
Building DL’s identity
Lim said his process relies on trial and error but believes that ultimately his entrepreneurial intuition is what got him this far – establishing his reputation as a businessman cum fashion designer.
“You cannot just be creative in your work. You’ve got to be creative in running a brand. You’re selling people something – how to make people like you?
“How to make yourself someone worth following… someone different?”
The couturier who leverages social media to build his brand, Dickson Lim (DL), conceded he does not have connections within the industry and has been lone-wolfing it by building a unique identity with something as common as suits.
“The suit is the soul of a fashion house. It is the backbone. So if you can master that – then do it differently, it gives you a unique selling point,” said Lim, who grew up watching his parents sew for women and men, working on attire such as baju kurung, baju kebaya and suits.
His seamster father and seamstress mother taught Lim a profound lesson as he watched them work: Clothes are not gender conforming and despite societal rules, the fundamental craft remains the same.
Lim carries that philosophy through his gender-neutral designs. Although known within the industry as a menswear designer, his masterpieces are an amalgamation of femininity and masculinity with bold statement cuts.
“I grew up with both points of view. I don’t really think if it (my design) is for men or women. I designed it the way I want it to be. What’s important is that I want it to be something people have never seen before.”
Salience is Lim’s ultimate goal.
“When you see a DL design, you’d know it’s DL design.”
He shared his garments have to represent his brand without a “label” – it has to be memorable and digestible.
Zero comfort zone
To achieve that exclusivity, Lim said a good challenge keeps his brand and creativity fresh, new and forever pushing boundaries.
“It needs to be a challenge for me. For instance, when I envision a design in my head, I think about translating it into real life.
“Constant challenges help me create better designs. So, I always try to do something I’ve never done before.”
As Lim continues to test his artistic limits, the business savant and auteur noted a concrete five-year plan is not on his moodboard. But that does not mean he operates without a direction – rather, his strategy involves deliberate, day-by-day execution.
“Having a plan is great, but what’s important is execution and action. You have to keep improving every day. Take one step forward, every day.
“For example, am I creating the best design today? Am I improving? What is the social media trend right now? Am I adapting to it? Just necessary, small steps to go forward and trusting the results to take care of themselves.”
While Lim may not have a strict five-year blueprint, his vision for his brand extends far beyond fashion. Open to partnership, he wants to revisit his abandoned dream with the connections he has made through the fashion industry.
“I’m very open to partnerships.”
The young designer said without partnership, his brand can only go so far but with a team of people with different expertise, it can help DL “take it to the next level”.
“I don’t want DL to be just a menswear. I want it to be an IP (intellectual property). Like a film IP – that way I can do short films and movie production.”
He also wants to give back to the community through education, such as online masterclasses and expressed a desire to introduce tailoring to more people, inviting them to embrace the dying art form.
All eyes on Lim
But before he fulfils his lofty ambitions, there is one thing that he still needs to do for now – fashion week.
A visionary man, Lim is poised to carve another design manifesto while reaffirming his signature style at the upcoming local fashion night in August.
Returning to the local runway, he sees fashion week not just as a showcase but a reminder of how far his six-year independent practice has carried him, as he once again promises to push boundaries.
Dropping a hint, he revealed two things to expect: Unprecedented design techniques and colours.
“I did a lot of black and white for my previous collection, so I’m bringing back colours.”
Passion, privilege, perseverance
Beyond the excitement of fashion week, Lim reflected on the philosophy that has guided his career. Having built a formidable, sustainable brand out of the sheer pleasure of making his own clothes, Lim believes the journey to success on the road less travelled is multi-layered – but at the core of it all is pure, unadulterated passion.
“It’s very important to know what you’re good at and the cards you’ve been dealt with.”
Noting that access to privilege can open doors to opportunity, Lim implied success is rarely linear but challenges can be turned into an advantage. For him, that came through his tailoring background.
“I was born into a tailoring family – although it’s not a family in the fashion industry (per se), I started from tailoring and slowly developed my brand from there.”
Yet, Rome was not built in a day. Lim said to move mountains, one must be open to learning and to failure.
“Don’t think that you’re better than others. Always have the mindset of a learner. Learn how to take rejection and learn how to take failures.”
He maintains the conviction that failure is key to success because how else would we learn. And achievements would not come to fruition without “doing it with passion”.
READ MORE:
Malaysian designer Dickson Lim makes groundbreaking Met Gala history
