Raffles News // February 2014

Hottest up-and-coming fashion and design stars of Raffles Sydney

Sydney, Australia - Raffles Sydney’s annual graduation show is a huge event recognised by the industry as one of the most important dates in the calendar for previewing collections from the best young design talents around. The work showcased on 10 December 2013 combined a fully professional runway fashion show with a cutting-edge exhibition of the latest in graphic and interior design, digital media and photography. The event themed “New Byzantium” was the culmination of three years’ work for graduates.

Guests in attendance included fashion designers and industry, bloggers and VIPs such as actresses Isabelle Cornish (Puberty Blues) and Ella Bowman (star of upcoming feature films Groomless Bride, Discarded and Almost Broadway), along with fashion designer Phoenix Keating (who dressed Lady Gaga during her last Australian tour).

The night provided a look at the extensiveness of the work emerging from Raffles Sydney and highlighted the level of talent shown by the Raffles Designers, all of whom embodied the college’s spirit of inspire, imagine and innovate.

Luminary Raffles alumnus Brett Cameron shares his path to
success

Singapore - Ever wondered how Raffles alumni become successful in life? Raffles Singapore invited its luminary alumnus Brett Cameron, whose work won the “Design of the Year” accolade at the “President’s Design Award 2013”, to share his path to success.

Brett graduated from Raffles Singapore with a Master of Design degree, majoring in Interior Design. He is currently the creative director of Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd. On top of winning Singapore’s most prestigious design accolade, Brett has also won numerous awards such as the Singapore Design Awards. With more than two decades of working experience, he is now a highly qualified interior, exhibition and museum designer.

An in-depth interview here with Brett revealed his design inspirations and how Raffles Singapore has enhanced his personal growth and career development.

Raffles American School receives WASC accreditation

Iskandar, Malaysia - Raffles American School (RAS) is now an accredited institution by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, USA (WASC).

This is a significant achievement for RAS, which is just into its second academic year, particularly given the unanimous decision on the part of the WASC Executive Committee to confer RAS with this prominent accolade. Only the most accomplished schools receive immediate accreditation by the WASC Executive Committee without delay for a full Commission vote. This is a clear validation of RAS’ strengths and true focus on student learning.

WASC is a world-renowned accrediting association and one of six regional accrediting agencies in the United States. The philosophy of the Accrediting Commission for Schools centers upon three beliefs: (1) a school‘s goal is successful student learning; (2) each school has a clear purpose and school-wide student goals; and (3) a school engages in external and internal evaluations as part of continued school improvement to support student learning. WASC encourages school improvement through a process of continued evaluation and to recognize, by accreditation, schools that meet an acceptable level of quality, in accordance with established criteria. WASC means “We Are Student-Centered”.

RAS’ vision is to be a learning institution that empowers students to achieve their academic and life potential, with rigorous and rich academic and co-curricular programs designed to encourage student growth through a learning outcome approach, acknowledging multiple types of intelligence and paths to learning. Offering an American Pre-K-12 curriculum program with Advanced Placement Offerings in high school, RAS students are well prepared for entry into universities worldwide.

RAS is currently operating at a temporary location in the Anjung Neighborhood Center in Nusajaya, the growing Iskandar Development Region in Johor. Its permanent site in the vicinity is designed by the New York Architectural firm of SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP). Construction is targeted for phase one completion for Kindergarten through Grade 12, including full boarding capacity in the 2014-2015 school year.

Innovator of tomorrow from Raffles Delhi

New Delhi, India - Even before Subinay Malhotra graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Raffles Delhi, the Product Design student already received a job offer from New York and a request to commercialise his work for high-end hotels in Dubai.

Not only that, he has a number of works featured in many design publications and websites such as Casaviva, GQ Romania Magazine and Yanko Design.

His “Flasso Milk Flask” in particular is highly sought after by a few companies; one of which even asked to produce his product for luxury hotels in Dubai.

“I love to create unique ideas and present them to the public. My creations have to be extraordinary because there are many product designers out there,” Subinay said.

When asked about his source of inspiration and motivation, Subinay attributed it to Raffles Delhi. “At Raffles, we are taught in a creative and entertaining manner by an international faculty with a wealth of industry experience. This constantly cultivates and motivates oneself to seek improvement. Moreover, we have the opportunities to learn from a team of committed creative practitioners to bring out the potential in us,” he said.

Raffles Creative Practitioner Bruno Oro is a frequent winner of the International Design Award with many other accolades under his belt. Subinay said, “Bruno has been my mentor who taught me the essence and simplicity of design. He is the most influential designer who has inspired me.”

Omar from Mexico is another creative practitioner whom Subinay is grateful to for grooming him into a talented Raffles Designer.

Subinay will be moving to New York to work as a 3D modeler after graduation. Groomed by Raffles Delhi, the work-ready graduate will be able to adapt to the work environment quickly and soon blossom into an innovator of tomorrow.

Raffles Singapore students shine at boutique hotel’s wall mural competition

Singapore - Interior Design students from Raffles Singapore won the top awards at a wall mural competition organised by Hotel Clover the Arts. Devina Chandra, Vini Kurniawan and Angel Jayayanti emerged as the grand winner, whilst Daniel Ade Christianto and Lediana clinched the second runner-up award.

Hotel Clover the Arts, a new art-themed boutique hotel, hopes to create a platform for young, budding art and design students to showcase their talent and works through its wall mural competition. Selected masterpieces will be painted on the walls of each of the hotel rooms to instil a unique look and identity.

The winning team won over the judges with its fun and creative way of presenting travel information about Singapore, through a design that resembles the diary entry of a vintage travel journal. The other Raffles team also won praises for its wall mural themed “The Blossom Island”, which uses alluring flowers to represent the beauty of Singapore.

Raffles Creative Practitioner Louis Albert Dube was proud of his students’ achievements. He said, “This competition is a good platform for our students to explore and showcase their drawing talents to the outside world.”

Raffles Designer on the HITLIST

Mumbai, India - A Multimedia Design student from Raffles Mumbai was featured in the HITLIST section of the MiD DAY, a daily print media that is widely read by the youth community in Mumbai. It is another testament of quality craft by Raffles Designers.

Pratik Dinesh Luharuka is the co-founder and creative brain behind URBN INCLINATION. His designs, which express and reflect the cool and carefree attitude of Mumbaikars, are popular with the youth community and those young-at-heart. Pratik sold an estimated 800 pieces of his T-shirt designs at the recent “Mumbai Film & Comics Convention”.

A few of his designs – “Pandu”, “Everything is Fair in Love”, “War and Local” and “Bhai” – were given a special mention in the article. The primary concept of Pratik’s designs concurs with the adage “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

Congratulations to Pratik for his achievement and exemplifying the true Raffles quality of Success by Design!

New faces in the Raffles Singapore family

Singapore - The new year brings new faces! Raffles Singapore warmly welcomed more than 150 students this January. The new cohort of the Raffles family hails from all over the world, including Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The Raffles Orientation Day was filled with informative activities to familiarise new students with the environment. Raffles Singapore would also like to thank Samsung for the exclusive collaboration in offering special packages of its latest tablets for staff and students.

Raffles Singapore alumnus opens concept store to support local designers

Singapore - Raffles Singapore alumnus Alfie Leong recently launched his second edition of Workshop Element (W.E.) store at Westgate Mall, which is Singapore’s latest mega mall for high fashion. It was double happiness for Alfie, who was “Designer of the Year” at the “President’s Design Award 2013” a week before the opening.

Alfie shared, “Based on my experience, I hope to share with other local designers about running a business and designing at the same time. Through W.E., we also exchange ideas constantly.”

W.E., a retail pop-up store that showcases collections by local designers, was initiated by Alfie himself. The store’s debut launch in August 2012 at Wisma Atria comprised a line-up of 19 brands and 16 designers and curators. This year, W.E. brings together emerging and veteran fashion designers under one roof. Twenty-one designer labels can be found in this store, including Reckless Ericka and A.W.O.L. Labels that were available in the first edition can also be found in this second edition store.

Do show your support for Alfie’s efforts in promoting the local fashion scene by visiting the W.E. store today.

Raffles Singapore students elected as office bearers of the Singapore Psychological Society Youth Chapter

Singapore - Applied Psychology students Jyotsna Krishnan and Adrian Mylliem from Raffles Singapore have been appointed as Secretary and Student Liaison respectively by the Singapore Psychological Society (SPS) Youth Chapter. The students were elected as its first set of office bearers.

The SPS was founded in 1979 with the aim of developing psychology not only as a science, but also as a profession in Singapore. The SPS Youth Chapter serves as a platform for all psychology students from various institutions to gather, share and network with one another in aspects such as studies, career choices and internship opportunities.

Raffles Academic Director Dr Monica Walet said, “I was elated and proud of our students who were elected to be part of the SPS Youth Chapter committee. This is the first time a private institution gets to be part of the circle. Being part of the committee delivers the message that our students are credible and possess leadership qualities.”

Jyotsna and Adrian have certainly illustrated the Raffles quality of excellence to their peers.

Founder of India’s top design firm speaks at Raffles Delhi

New Delhi, India - Mr Anuj Prasad, a renowned product designer who also founded “Desmania”, one of India’s top design companies, was invited to share his expertise with students and creative practitioners of Raffles Delhi.

Using interesting examples, Mr Prasad illustrated the significance of Sustainable Design in this modern era. He also shed some light on the different types of research – ethnographic research which is based on the observational talents of the designer, and psychometric research which is based on questionnaires – as well as their importance. He said, “Every designer should be more focused on ethnocentric research because it is your treasure.”

Mr Prasad also shared his experience and findings in the fields of Product Design and Graphic Design.

Product Design student Vidyut Naidu found the talk engaging and beneficial. “I really liked his lecture. In fact, I would like to visit his studio and see some of his works,” said Vidyut.

Product Design Programme Director Devon Foster said, “It is really great having Mr Prasad at Raffles Delhi to share his experience. It is always beneficial for students to hear from industry experts. They would be encouraged to know that Industrial Design could go really far in Delhi and beyond.”

Bonding at Raffles Delhi

New Delhi, India - Raffles Delhi has been active in organising events to provide opportunities for its staff and students, who hail from different countries, to foster bonding.

A fun activity of games and potluck was held recently at Lodi Garden, a park containing historical architecture from the 15th century, for international staff to mingle and know one another better.

Each person prepared at least two dishes for the picnic, thus giving participants the opportunity to savour food from different Indian cities and other parts of the world. This was the first time that Raffles Delhi organised a team-building picnic activity outside the campus for its staff.

Zurina Naicker, Creative Practitioner of Fashion Design, was appreciative of the initiative. “We loved the idea of this outing. The venue and atmosphere played a perfect role and it is a good interaction with everyone from different departments,” said Zurina.

Between staff members and students, Raffles Delhi also created moments for them to bond and know everyone quickly. To usher in 2014, a fun-filled evening, complete with costume themes, games and snacks, was held at the campus.

Deepti Sharma, Programme Coordinator of Fashion Design, said, “To be together in festivities is a wonderful thing. Raffles Delhi is a place where we spend nine hours a day. It is a home away from home and these students and colleagues are part of a family. It was great to welcome the new year with this part of the family with lovely music and yummy food.”

Fashion Design student Prerna Sawhney also commented, “It was a good idea to gather students from all departments for New Year. We had a great time together.”

Having enjoyed the bonding activities so far, it is no wonder that staff and students are looking forward to the next event.

English learning made creative

Singapore - The English Language department of Raffles Singapore organised a musical field trip for its students recently.

The purpose of this field trip was to expose students to the English language in a creative and entertaining environment. Raffles Creative Practitioner Michael Henderson hopes to encourage students to watch and listen to more English-speaking forms of media and entertainment, which would aid in the development of their language skills.

The students watched the “Grimm’s Fairy Tales”, a theatre production that included adaptations of classic fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. Most students commented that it was their first time watching a theatre production, and they enjoyed the experience. Others said they gained confidence to watch more English movies and plays independently.

The day’s activities also included a tour of the National Library, where students learnt about its operations and extensive resources available for library users. Emphasis was placed on students to be more proactive and responsible for their own learning.

This field trip gave students the chance to practise their listening and English conversational skills in a real life setting. They could also interact with their peers and strengthen bonds outside of the classroom.

With such positive response from the students, the English Language department is encouraged to organise similar field trips within the year.