THE PROCESS

Offering elegant summer gear from dresses to beach cover-ups and kimonos, womenswear label Akosee was started by Anna McBride in 2015 out of her love for travel (the name is an acronym for her favourite destinations: Australia, Kerala, Orpheus Island, Sunshine Beach, Essaouira). The brand got its start by collaborating with boutique resort Azura Retreats on a men’s swim shorts collection. The resort later became a stockist for Akosee’s first capsule women’s collection, and the brand has grown from strength to strength since, stocked at boutiques in Singapore as well as hotels and resorts in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Monaco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Seychelles, and the US.

The brand didn’t start with local production, but the pandemic helped Anna see things differently. From its latest collection titled Monochrome Stories onwards, half the pieces will be made in Singapore, and half in Indonesia. She says:

“During this slower period, we realised we had the time and resources to produce part of it ourselves. This means complete control over production, and it’s easy to make changes quickly.”

While Anna hopes to increase the ratio of production in Singapore, the shift is gradual as the brand does not work with factories. “We do all the pattern- and samplemaking here,” she says.

This is also in line with Akosee’s main goal: sustainability. In-house production cuts carbon emission by reducing the need for air transportation. “We hope to be more transparent with our supply chain and be able to share this with customers,” says Anna.

The label is moving forward with its sustainability goals by using existing fabric for its next collection. “We’ll design around the materials we already have,” says Anna. “We also have exciting upcycled designs coming up.”