Toxic Friends Co: Hypebeast-Style Clothes With SG Culture & Pop References Designed By NTU Student

Streetwear lovers, here’s a new local streetwear apparel to support: Toxic Friends Co.

Toxic Friends Co. differentiates itself from other streetwear brands by infusing Singaporean culture to its line of clothes. To get a better idea, the “young money” shirt design draws inspiration from the Singapore currency and the popular rap lingo.

You’ll be surprised this online apparel is helmed by a Nanyang Technological University student, Brendan Kor. He is a year one student at NTU School of Art Design and Media.

Brendan said “Singapore is a very censored country and I wanted to challenge the boundaries. To break the western hype brands, I wanted to incorporate oriental influence and at the same time, do some social commentary.” Hence, the designs are heavily focused on the local scene and orientalism.

As for coming up with a unique company name, The Toxic Friends Co (损友公司), Brendan shared that 损友 was adapted from the commonly used lingo “toxic” among teenagers, which he found really catchy.

One piece that stood out was the Fairprice Shirt (S$22), inspired by the famous Supreme logo. Obviously, it costs significantly lesser than the exorbitant Supreme shirt. And wouldn’t it be funny to wear this to grocery runs? Totes doing it.

The Fortune RIP Cat shirt (S$29) is another design that only true blue Singaporeans will understand the reference. Here’s another reason to support local right?

This Toxic Gas Shirt (S$29) is a must-have, and can we just say how ingenious it is to incorporate the word “toxic” to our local gas company’s icon. It’s really a pity how under-the-radar this apparel is.

Besides clothing, they even have tote bags to go with the line of outfits. With how great they look, I won’t be surprised to find myself dressed top to toe in Toxic Friends Co.’s apparel.

Apart from spreading the word by mouth, Brendan usually markets his brand on Instagram and at pop-up flea markets. He usually organises seasonal sales on Chinese New Year and National Day. If you like what you see so far, it is now your duty to share it with your friends.

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Yes, it feels good to indulge in some mindless fashion trends sometimes. But the aesthetics and unique references Toxic Friends Co. offers is truly next level. And most importantly, they will not break your bank. Time to hop onto the Toxic Friends bandwagon and give them our support.

Prices: S$22 – S$29, check out the website for information on individual prices.

Toxic Friends Co.: Online Store | Facebook