Inside the compact yet intimate space of Rubanah Underground Hub, Sean Loh and Sheila Agatha staged their first-ever solo show for Sean Sheila’s Fall collection. Before the runway began, a tightly curated guest list—mostly editors, stylists, and designers—sat bathed in a haze of red light, an atmosphere that evoked an underground club at its quietest hour. Just as one wondered whether the entire collection would unfold under that disorienting glow, the lights came on—and out poured the models at an unhurried pace, some with smeared lipstick and dishevelled hair, as though hit with post-nut clarity in the early after hours.
This was, at its core, a revisit of the signatures that have defined the label since its founding in 2012. The show played out like a remastered album—enhanced, updated, with the noise reduced.
There was the familiar floral embroidery, reimagined this season on a pair of deconstructed pants, as though a suit jacket had been peeled downward to form an abstracted peplum around the hip. On outerwear, handstitched lines mimicked pinstripes, adding tactility. Elsewhere, Sean and Sheila’s affection for imperfections emerged through crinkled boudoir-pink shirts, their soft folds peeking out beneath sharply tailored jackets.
Sean Sheila continues to distil and sharpen their knack for combining the everyday with a subtle sense of drama. Wardrobe staples, like the motorcycle jacket, drew the eyes with exaggerated silhouettes. A pink corset top offered quiet sensuality, its architectural boning creating soft folds that flared like batwings, paired simply with white flared trousers that were sliced open at the back—flashing glimpses of bare thigh as the model sauntered past.
And yet, it’s hard to shake the sense that, for a first solo runway presentation, the collection could have landed harder. The tightly controlled curation of guests suggested a celebration—an intimate reflection on the brand’s DNA. But one couldn’t help but wish for a bolder gesture: a hint, however subtle, at where Sean Sheila intends to go next.