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New Ceremonial Attire for FESPIC 2006 Athletes

Keep the old red jacket and beige pants. In 2006, the 9th FESPIC Games contingent is set to make a splash at the Games with its first new designer ceremonial attire.

Designed by Mr Hayden Ng, apparel designer for National Day 2001 to 2003, Singapore’s new ceremonial attire is set to create waves at the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled 2006 (FESPIC) in Kuala Lumpur this November. The Singapore contingent will be making its first official Games appearance during the opening ceremony in the designer attire. A red blazer or bomber jacket with beige pants has always been the ceremonial attire for Singaporean athletes for march-pasts of major international sports competitions regardless of the county or climate.

However, learning from experience in past competitions where athletes and officials were sweating even before the start of the Games wearing the heavy jackets, and smudging their beige pants from the friction with the wheelchairs, the Singapore Disability Sports Council decided to design a new set of ceremonial attire to be used by the contingent during the march-past ceremony and other formal occasions.

Inspiration for the contingent’s new ceremonial apparel designer, Hayden, came from our late President, Mr Ong Teng Cheong’s, dream of a national costume - the ‘Orchid Shirt’.

The mandarin-collared and wine-red tunic, embroidered with vibrant orchid motifs, with black elastic pants and shoes is the product of his inspiration. It was designed to help the athletes adapt to the tropical climate of Malaysia – host country of the 9th FESPIC Games while ensuring ease of wear regardless of the athletes’ disabilities. The whole attire is also designed to instil a sense of pride for the athletes as “Ambassadors” of Singapore.

The ethnic outlook with the mandarin collar blends especially well with the FESPIC Games as many of the participating Asian countries can identify with the details. The collar, motif and tunic style are familiar to countries like Philippines, Thailand, China and India. This ideally represents Singapore’s aligned vision of a rising Asian Strength.

The multi-coloured embroidery of our national flower gives it a strong national identity, justifying the exclusion of our national colours from the costume. The myriad colours of blue, green, yellow and purple represents the four races of Singapore. These colours blend seamlessly, symbolising the harmonious mix of the people in Singapore with a strong emphasis on the country as a globalization nation.

The crease-free fabric grants more functionality for athletes who need to travel frequently for competitions, as well as those who are wheel-chair bound. The fabric portrays a dignified look without leaving a harsh impression.

The elastic pants allow the wheel-chair bound athletes to slip in and out of the pants much more easily, providing more convenience for the caregivers of the severely disabled.

Mr Kevin Wong, Executive Director of the Singapore Disability Sports Council comments, “The tunic helps create a sense of identity for our elite athletes with disability and it was designed to be functional and easy to use.”

“We plan to make this an annual initiative to get fashion and creative designers to develop creative designs for the disabled. Many thanks to Hayden for his generous support”, he added.

View the first unveiling of the ceremonial attire at the joint flag presentation ceremony of 9th FESPIC Games and 15th DOHA Asian Games (link to article on joint flag presentation) in our photo gallery (link to photo gallery).

About Mr Hayden Ng

The first professional fashion designer commissioned by the Singapore Disability Sports Council to design the Singapore contingent’s ceremonial attire, Mr Hayden Ng is no stranger to designing for national functions. He was the first professional designer hired to create the wardrobe for National Day Parade.

From 2001 to 2003, Hayden was the sole designer for the National Day Parades. In 2003 alone, he single-handedly designed over 30 costumes for 7000 people.

The owner of a successful and tasteful boutique at 88 Club Street, Hayden has had his rub with stars. He casually spins off design ideas while flipping through photographs of Fan Wong and Stefanie Sun wearing his designs. Then he, reasons with ease on the design features, as he speaks from 23 years of experience in fashion design, and another 11 in theatre costume design. Hayden has designed for major stage productions like Beauty World and M Butterfly.