Her label, Esta, was already well established in Singapore and the region. She had a 50-strong tailoring production line that produced more than 6,000 pieces of clothing a month.
She was regularly exhibiting her work in all the fashion capitals of the world – Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney. In 1991, the Spain-based El Corte department store chain bought three of her collections, and in the mid-1990s she had set her sights on the US market.

It was everything that she had ever dreamed of.

When Esther was a child, her mother would take her to the fabric stores and let her pick the fabrics she liked. Her mother would then sew ‘beautiful pieces of clothing’ that delighted Esther. She was amazed that so many different things could be created from a piece of fabric, and she began to sketch designs and dream about becoming an artist.

After secondary school, Esther enrolled in the now-defunct Baharuddin Vocational Institute. She had wanted to study graphic design or advertising, but her grades were not good enough for those courses, so she settled for the dressmaking course.

In 1973, armed with her diploma in dressmaking, Esther began work at Nutmeg Tree, a haberdashery and fabrics store at Tanglin Shopping Centre. Inspired by the colourful cotton, seersucker and cheesecloth materials the store stocked, she offered design services to customers who had come to buy fabrics.

She then convinced the owner of the store to let her turn some of the textiles into ready-to-wear garments. The clothes Esther made were so popular with the mainly expatriate customers that her boss decided to turn the store into a boutique.

In 1976, Esther decided it was time to branch out on her own. She started her company, Estabelle Fashions, and soon she began to work with CK Tang on their in-house labels. When she launched in 1984 her Esta brand, which included a career-wear line and resort-wear line, Tangs put her collections on their racks and also gave her a concept corner.

“This was an extremely important turning point in my career – to have such an established and aspirational brand like Tangs carry my clothing. One year later, I was in all the other top departmental stores in Singapore – Takashimaya, Isetan, Daimaru, Tokyu, Yaohan, Galeries Lafayette, and Metro,” Esther said.

In 1990, the then Trade Development Board (TDB) set out to support local fashion designers and promote emerging brands, and arranged business missions for a select group of designers to take part in fashion fairs and exhibitions abroad. The designers were known as the ‘Magnificent Seven’, and Esther was one of the two women in the group.

These promotional missions gave the local designers invaluable exposure to what was happening in the top fashion cities of the world. Esther soaked up all the lessons and ideas she could on those trips abroad, and her business grew steadily. By 1995, she had four boutiques and 10 concept corners in Singapore, and 15 concept corners around the region.

But then came the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and many small businesses, including hers, were badly affected. The bottom fell out of the local fashion business.

Esther decided to adapt, diversify, and pivot. She started a corporate wear department, designing and producing uniforms for airlines, banks, hotels, hospitals, and statutory boards. This became her company’s main line of business.

In 2019, Esther decided to revive her fashion wear business and launched her Esther Tay Fashion label. Tangs once again carried her collection, and plans were made to take part in fashion fairs. But then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and the plans had to be put on hold.

Esther and her team used the pandemic down-time to trim costs, digitise operations, and emphasise efficiency and productivity. Policies and processes put in place to protect the business from future disruptions.

A positive outcome of the pandemic, thanks to the #supportlocal campaigns that were launched, is that companies and consumers are now more appreciative and supportive of home-grown brands.

“Being a pioneer veteran of the local fashion industry here in Singapore and in the region, I am very happy to see the shift towards more support for local brands. People are now proud to wear our local brand designs and that in turn makes me feel proud, having lived through the start and rise of our local fashion industry,” said Esther.

Her label, Esta, was already well established in Singapore and the region. She had a 50-strong tailoring production line that produced more than 6,000 pieces of clothing a month.
She was regularly exhibiting her work in all the fashion capitals of the world – Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney. In 1991, the Spain-based El Corte department store chain bought three of her collections, and in the mid-1990s she had set her sights on the US market.

It was everything that she had ever dreamed of.

When Esther was a child, her mother would take her to the fabric stores and let her pick the fabrics she liked. Her mother would then sew ‘beautiful pieces of clothing’ that delighted Esther. She was amazed that so many different things could be created from a piece of fabric, and she began to sketch designs and dream about becoming an artist.

After secondary school, Esther enrolled in the now-defunct Baharuddin Vocational Institute. She had wanted to study graphic design or advertising, but her grades were not good enough for those courses, so she settled for the dressmaking course.

In 1973, armed with her diploma in dressmaking, Esther began work at Nutmeg Tree, a haberdashery and fabrics store at Tanglin Shopping Centre. Inspired by the colourful cotton, seersucker and cheesecloth materials the store stocked, she offered design services to customers who had come to buy fabrics.

She then convinced the owner of the store to let her turn some of the textiles into ready-to-wear garments. The clothes Esther made were so popular with the mainly expatriate customers that her boss decided to turn the store into a boutique.

In 1976, Esther decided it was time to branch out on her own. She started her company, Estabelle Fashions, and soon she began to work with CK Tang on their in-house labels. When she launched in 1984 her Esta brand, which included a career-wear line and resort-wear line, Tangs put her collections on their racks and also gave her a concept corner.

“This was an extremely important turning point in my career – to have such an established and aspirational brand like Tangs carry my clothing. One year later, I was in all the other top departmental stores in Singapore – Takashimaya, Isetan, Daimaru, Tokyu, Yaohan, Galeries Lafayette, and Metro,” Esther said.

In 1990, the then Trade Development Board (TDB) set out to support local fashion designers and promote emerging brands, and arranged business missions for a select group of designers to take part in fashion fairs and exhibitions abroad. The designers were known as the ‘Magnificent Seven’, and Esther was one of the two women in the group.

These promotional missions gave the local designers invaluable exposure to what was happening in the top fashion cities of the world. Esther soaked up all the lessons and ideas she could on those trips abroad, and her business grew steadily. By 1995, she had four boutiques and 10 concept corners in Singapore, and 15 concept corners around the region.

But then came the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and many small businesses, including hers, were badly affected. The bottom fell out of the local fashion business.

Esther decided to adapt, diversify, and pivot. She started a corporate wear department, designing and producing uniforms for airlines, banks, hotels, hospitals, and statutory boards. This became her company’s main line of business.

In 2019, Esther decided to revive her fashion wear business and launched her Esther Tay Fashion label. Tangs once again carried her collection, and plans were made to take part in fashion fairs. But then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and the plans had to be put on hold.

Esther and her team used the pandemic down-time to trim costs, digitise operations, and emphasise efficiency and productivity. Policies and processes put in place to protect the business from future disruptions.

A positive outcome of the pandemic, thanks to the #supportlocal campaigns that were launched, is that companies and consumers are now more appreciative and supportive of home-grown brands.

“Being a pioneer veteran of the local fashion industry here in Singapore and in the region, I am very happy to see the shift towards more support for local brands. People are now proud to wear our local brand designs and that in turn makes me feel proud, having lived through the start and rise of our local fashion industry,” said Esther.