Priscilla Shunmugam

Priscilla Shunmugam (born 17 July 1981) is a womenswear designer. She lives and works in Singapore.
Shunmugam is the founder and designer of the womenswear label Ong Shunmugam.

Background

Shunmugam was born Priscilla Tsu-Jyen Shunmugam in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to a Chinese mother and an Indian father. At age 20 she was accepted to read law at the National University of Singapore. Upon graduation, Shunmugam worked briefly as a lawyer before leaving the profession. In 2008, she spent a year in England, where she studied dressmaking and pattern cutting.

Career

She returned to Singapore in 2009, and launched the debut Ong Shunmugam collection, Orientalism, in December 2010. Guardianship, a collection of modern cheongsams, followed in September 2011.

In May 2012, Shunmugam was invited by the National Museum of Singapore to present a public lecture as part of its landmark In The Mood For Cheongsam exhibition. "Cheongsam, Dim Sum 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 Designer of the Year at the 2012 Elle Awards in Singapore.