Take one look at Beyond the Vines’ website or social feed and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was created by designers with decades of experience, such is the polished, defined look and feel of the brand. But the clothing and design studio was set up by a husband and wife team with a background in real estate. “Neither my husband and I have any prior formal design education”, says co-founder Rebecca Ting. “We really just figured out what the industry needed, what we felt we had to give and then sort of started from there.”

Things moved fairly quickly following the brand’s launch in 2015. A clear direction and brand identity was captured early on, with clean, pared back pieces becoming signatures. Beyond the Vines isn’t just another minimal brand though. Boxy cut jersey polo shirts come with short plackets and contrast logos on the chest; tapered, pleated trousers feature drawstring waistbands and subtle contrast stitching, and innovative luggage solutions include the Dumpling bag, with its elasticated opening that mimics the shape of the iconic food. Each piece is extraordinarily lightweight, designed for the tropical climate of Singapore, where Beyond the Vines is based, and is rigorously tested to ensure it’s as functional as it is stylish.

“There is a lot of design intent”, says Ting. “We take a long time to design one product. We test it over a long time. We put the sample through many many different weathers and conditions before we roll it out”. Perhaps most impressive though is the price point. Beyond the Vines is a design led brand, with relatively small production runs and impressive attention to detail. These are pieces that are made to last, both in a style sense and also with durability and quality construction. But they are accessible. “How we started Beyond the Vines was really from the point of seeing how design should be accessible to all. I think when we set out having that as a mission, we felt that good design can also be good business. We crafted the brand to have that duality, where it needed to be super innovative with designs and products that people actually want to use, while also remaining super competitive within the industry.”

How exactly does the brand remain so reasonable? “We’re a business that sells direct to the consumer”, says Ting. “We’re not at marketplaces, we don’t really do distribution wholesale types. So as a brand all of that left over margin can then be passed on to the consumer. I think they feel like ‘I love your product but at the same time it doesn’t break my bank, and I don’t have to sell a kidney for it’. They’re not so precious with it because it didn’t cost them that much. So then they use it on a day to day basis, which is exactly how it’s supposed to be and what each piece is designed for.”

Rebecca’s take on Singapore:

We really like Le Bon Funk. They do this chicken thing – it’s so super delicious. And they have this delicious artichoke dish. And the wines are really great. It’s very chill. Just great solid food. The location is great, the music’s great.

Our Hawker Centres are the best, the food is so good. I think it’s a huge part of our culture. I mean, it’s what you eat growing up as it’s so economical. You can get a really good plate of fried noodles for like three bucks, which is maybe two pounds and is delicious.

Obviously there’s Newton Hawker Centre. It’s massive.They do these really thick chilli crabs, and your sambal stingrays which are spicy and so delicious – they barbecue it in banana leaves. There’s always time for some prata – it’s a little doughy thing that they pan fry and then eat with curry. I don’t know how people stay in shape.

I would start the day at a Plain Vanilla. We love the coffee there. The pastries are great for breakfast as well. There’s also Burnt Ends Bakery at Dempsey hill that does really good donuts. They sell out in like 30 minutes. The classic doughnuts are just amazing.

I think the National Gallery generally has pretty good works. There’s this other gallery called STPI. They do a pretty good artists-in-residence. Of course the Arts and Science Museum. We like to bring the kids to that one because it has interactive exhibitions. They often do exhibitions with TeamLab, the Japanese art collective.

Explore Rebecca’s work at beyondthevines.com

Shot by Juliana Tan