Ho Ching’s 'uniquely Singapore' gift to the Obamas, made by S’pore Peranakan designer
The shawl Peranakan fashion designer Raymond Wong designed for First Lady Michelle Obama. Photo: Raymond Wong
SINGAPORE – He is a seasoned Peranakan fashion designer who once created a kebaya for Singapore’s First Lady Mrs Mary Tan, and is no stranger to custom requests for “official occasions”. But, the request to create a shawl for the US First Lady Michelle Obama still took Mr Raymond Wong Sin Kang by surprise.
The call came sometime mid-June from an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Wong, 37, recalled.
His brief: It has to be uniquely Singapore. And, he only had about two weeks to come up with the design and deliver the finished product.
Mr Wong, who has been making kebayas for over a decade, usually takes two to three months to make a custom kebaya.
The shawl was a personal gift from Ms Ho Ching who gave it to Mrs Obama during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s recent state visit to the US.
Mr Wong, whose work includes work crafted for the National Heritage Board, said he was “honoured” to have been picked to create the shawl.
The finished creation was a lovely embroidered teal shawl made from Swiss voile cotton that featured Singapore’s national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim, and Singapore’s national butterfly, the Common Rose butterfly.
“When I (found out) it was for Mrs Obama, I went to do a search online to see what colour suits her best,” said Mr Wong, who works with Rumah Kim Choo at East Coast Road. He added that he chose teal because he felt the colour could fit what she usually wears, and contrasted nicely with the colours of the Vanda Miss Joaquim.
Also sewn onto the shawl are more than 200 Swarovski crystals. “The Swarovski sew-on crystals have more cuts than the iron-on types, so it gives off more glitter. When it catches the light, it looks like dewdrops on the flowers,” said Mr Wong.
On the choice of material used, Mr Wong said he chose Swiss voile cotton over a silk because “embroidery on silk sometimes looks very (tacky)”.
“Swiss voile is very strong and good for embroidery, especially if you want to have a Peranakan feel. It’s not cheap, but it is light, comfortable and it’s very fine,” Mr Wong said.
Given the short time he had to create the shawl, Mr Wong said: “When we heard it was such a VIP, my (staff) and I worked hard to get it ready.”
“I didn’t make them work every day and night,” he joked, adding that his team planned a schedule and “made sure we met our targets”.
Mr Wong declined to reveal how much the shawl cost.
The shawl was just one of the personal gifts that Ms Ho Ching had brought for Mrs Obama. Ms Ho also gave Mrs Obama a set of espresso cups, two tall mugs from Pathlight School’s The Animal Project collection, as well as a Supertree artwork by Pathlight student Glenn Phua.
Glenn was also the artist behind the detailed line drawing of the Tanglin gates at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which was presented to China’s President Xi Jinping when he visited Singapore last year.
Ms Ho Ching also presented a set of The Animal Project mugs to Mrs Mary McGurk, along with a line drawing of animals.
The McGurks — Frank and Mary — were the military sponsors who hosted Mr Lee in their home some 40 years ago, back when he was attending the staff and command course at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
