Priscilla Tsu-Jyen Shunmugam (born 17 July 1981) is a Malaysian-Singaporean

womenswear Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

designer. She is the founder and designer of the womenswear label

Ong Shunmugam Ong Shunmugam is a Singapore-based contemporary womenswear label founded by designer Priscilla Shunmugam. It is designed and made across Asia and offers ready-to-wear ranges and bespoke designs. Known for its innovative take on the cheongsam an ...

. Her company is named after the surnames of her Chinese mother and Indian father. Her clothes have featured in

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

and stocked in Pixie Market, a New York based company.

Early life

Shunmugam was born in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia, to a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

mother and an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

father. At age 20, she was accepted to read law at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

. Upon graduation in 2006, Shunmugam worked briefly as a lawyer before leaving the profession. In 2008, she spent a year in England, where she studied

dressmaking A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...

and

pattern cutting A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

Career

She returned to Singapore in 2009, and launched the debut Ong Shunmugam collection, ''Orientalism'', in December 2010. ''Guardianship'', a collection of modern

cheongsam ''Cheongsam'' (, ), also known as the ''qipao'' () and sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the , the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people. The cheongsam is most often seen ...

s, followed in September 2011. The name of the company is an amalgamation of the surnames of her Chinese mother and Indian father. Shunmugam has stated that the transition from law to fashion was a "very hard time" as she made a lot less than as a lawyer initially, though she has since broke even and has become more comfortable financially. In May 2012, Shunmugam was invited by the

National Museum of Singapore The National Museum of Singapore is a public museum dedicated to Singaporean art, culture and history. Located within the country's Civic District at the Downtown Core area, it is the oldest museum in the country, with its history dating back to ...

to present a public lecture as part of its landmark ''In The Mood For Cheongsam'' exhibition. "''Cheongsam,

Dim Sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

or Me?''" explored the cheongsam's history through several identity changes in the context of Singapore's past, present and future. Shunmugam and the ''Guardianship'' cheongsams were also featured in the Museum-produced book of the same name. In August 2012, Shunmugam was the only woman in fashion to be featured in Style Magazine Singapore's 10th Anniversary's list of ''The New Guard'' – a shortlist of “game-changers and taste-makers doing things their way”. In November 2012, she was voted

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Designer of the Year at the 2012 Elle Awards in Singapore. In 2015, she was named as

Her World ''Her World'' is a monthly English-language magazine published in Singapore targeted at the female professionals reading market. It is also the first English-language women's magazine to be published in Singapore. History The magazine was publi ...

magazine's Young Woman Achiever. In 2020, she announced the launch of her first overseas boutique but it was shut due to COVID-19 even before it was officially opened to the public. Ong is said to be a "leading figure in the Asian design community", whose brand is inspired by the "cultural complexities of Malaysia and Singapore." In mid-2024, she collaborated with The Coconut Club, a Food and Beverage establishment, on a fashion collection.

Controversy

In March 2022, Shunmugam had made racist remarks during an online panel discussion entitled "ACMTalks" organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum during 2021. She has since apologized for these comments, accepting that her comments were "clumsy, hurtful and insensitive".

References

External links

Ong Shunmugam website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shunmugam, Priscilla Singaporean fashion designers Living people 1981 births People from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Indian descent Malaysian emigrants to Singapore National University of Singapore alumni 21st-century Singaporean lawyers