Youths in Balaclava follows the development of a Singaporean collective whose friendships and shared cultural interests became a way of working together. Beginning in Singapore in 2017 and continuing in Paris, the project considers how a group develops its own terms of expression as its work moves into a wider fashion industry.
The photographs began as an independent project during a separate commission for the opening of Dover Street Market Singapore. Time with the collective opened an account of the city beyond its familiar image as an orderly financial centre.
References from punk, American pop culture and K-pop met the group’s own experiences of growing up in Singapore. They styled themselves and one another, using clothes, music and shared spaces to work through those connections. The portraits developed collaboratively alongside photographs made during time spent with the group.
The resulting book, Youths in Balaclava, was published in 2018 with support from Dover Street Market. Introductions to DSM developed into opportunities for the collective, including showing at Paris Fashion Week. The continuing work follows this shift from a local circle of friends to an international setting.
“We are a by-product of the cultures that come before us.”
Kash, 2017
The book
Youths in Balaclava
Published in 2018. The edition is sold out.
- Photography & book design
- Ryan O’Toole Collett
- Typography & interview layout
- Ashton Thornton
- Printing
- Westdale Press, Cardiff
- Produced with support from
- Dover Street Market
- Published
- 2018
- Edition
- 1,000 copies