With arrival of the fall and winter, have you noticed that the 25-year-old Gamania has officially welcomed the new Gamania Branding 3.0 style? The instant when you open the front door of headquarters, the space, the identity, the group uniform, the whole surroundings begin changes. What particularly catches the eye is the employees in the new uniforms.
Gamania has invited the apparel designer Shinway Wang of the Taiwanese brand SYNDRO to lead the group’s uniform redesign project. Wang is skilled in high quality handicraft and creating the rugged gentlemen-style apparel. After nearly one year of preparation, he has captured Gamania’s “Dare to Challenge” spirit and gave an overall upgrade to the uniforms of the CEO’s assistant, the security staff, the receptionists, and the cleaning staff. Not only does it look nice, each item and accessory is embedded with the corporate culture and essence, and accentuates the Gamania character. What are the features of the new uniform? What kind of inspiration and mysterious details are incorporated in the apparel? Follow G!VOICE’s and let’s enter into the designer Shinway Wang’s creative world.
Create Your Favorite Look with Design
Long hair neatly tied in a bun, a handsome smile, and a love for retro European style clothing, Shinway in a denim shirt and a plaid blazer of his own design happily chats at the interview site. “I like vintage clothing, particularly World War II British military wear, French work wear, and others. These types of fashion are still in-style after a hundred years because they are aesthetic, durable, made of robust material, and are highly functional.” says Wang lively with the passion for vintage clothing glistening in his eyes.
The brand SYNDRO he creates is starting by using his favorite elements as the design and finding modern expression in classic apparel profiles. It has been his firm belief not to drift with the tide, not attempting to keep up with the trends. He focuses on researching his fashion tone to establish a solid foundation of robust details. For years, he has attracted many people who long for the military-work-gentlemen look to become SYNDRO fans. Wang says that when he transitioned from fashion to uniform design, he had a better comprehensive knowledge and application of clothing and the necessary details because of his related background. His pursuit of impeccable beauty and handling of details are also the reasons why Gamania invites him for this project.
The Uniform Design that Grows with Corporate Culture
In contrast with complete freedom in fashion, uniform design involves more issues to be evaluated. During this process, Shinway is like a designer for the sole purpose of problem-solving. He switches to the role of a collaborative partner for design thinking, observes in detail, studies the subject’s nature, and shapes apparel into the language of a story based on various corporate characteristics and philosophies. Of course, there must be his favorite military-work-gentleman wear elements in the creation. Speaking of the essential criteria of a perfect uniform, Shinway thinks functionality and comfort come first. Aesthetics are naturally important, but catering solely for appearance will often work against your goals and impose burdens and restrictions on the staff. The key is to find the precise balance between functionality and aesthetics.
But, what is the Gamania essence in his eyes? Shinway mentions that he saw “Go! Go! South Pole” a few years ago and discovered another side of Gamania in addition to the gaming industry. The company encourages everyone to be brave on adventure, and it has a DNA that is willing to try new things. He says, “When a company is in stable growth, it’s very hard to take that step to face new challenges. I think it is extremely rare that Gamania dares to take the risks, enjoys facing the unknown and challenges itself to devote all its passion and energy into every task.”
The Next-Generation Corporate Uniform with Gamania Soul
Shinway expands the impression made on him at that time, and develops design inspirations from Gamania’s “Dare to Challenge” spirit and the Branding 3.0 brand value C.A.R.E (Creativity, Advance, Relationship, and Environment). Prior to an official proposal, he is often stationed (hiding) in the Gamania lobby, observing the daily lives and movements of the staff, sometimes actively starting conversations, and collecting their thoughts on their ideal uniform. (Have you seen this weird dude somewhere in the past?)
He decides to represent Gamania’s professional and youthful image with a simple and sleek style by choosing a black, white, and orange combo to create the most harmonious and bright look, and he hides the race car driver outfit imagery in the uniforms, such as the orange-white stripes and the small silver and orange badges. I can’t help but ask out of curiosity, why do you choose the car racing elements? Shinway responds with a smile “Car racing is not a one-man job. It requires the collaboration of teamwork to be able to demonstrate efficiency and pursue speed within a limited time frame.” In Wang’s mind, this is exactly the symbol for Gamania’s energy, unity, solidarity, and courage to move forward.
The inner lining of every uniform is sewn with the cultural ribbon designed by Gamania, which is converted from the ancient totems of tribes in Taiwan. The symbols of the mountain, the ocean, and the animals deliver the sustainability, adventurous spirit, and environment friendly original intention of an island. To response to the call to care for our land, all the materials used are eco-friendly. The source of the materials is also under Shinway’s strict monitoring during the production process to properly utilize each piece of cloth and minimize unnecessary waste.
Decoding the Details of the Group Uniform’s Design
In the four types of uniforms for the receptionists, the security staff, the CEO assistant, and the cleaning staff uniforms, Shinway interprets them for their own interest. For instance, he includes the gentlemen wear concept in the two styles of classic orange jackets for the receptionists, and cleverly displays dazzling outlines with the inner layer white top and white pants. They are fluffy and warm in winter wile comfortable and breathable in summer. Adding the skin-friendly, layered silk scarf, the outfit portrays a sense of professionalism, and brings out the feminine elegance and vitality. The small decorative badge on the chest completes the younger overall look.
It is more interesting for the security staff’s uniform which has military-style shirt and a classic hunting-style jacket that Shinway says the special cut makes every man look handsome (smile). This outfit is made of black cotton twill, a gorgeous and durable type of cloth, paired with military boots and orange-white stripes to the side. The outfit makes people slim, while maintaining a modern designer’s look. Furthermore, the security staff has another bomber jacket that Wang is very fond of. The inspiration comes from World War II military apparel, but it also has a sleek fashion outline. The jacket is waterproof because of the “old-style cotton artificial fibers”. The inner lining is made of Japanese patented fibers, which looks simple but has powerful heat retention effect, and is suited for nighttime shift duties.
For imaging a CEO assistant, he feels that the subject should have a cool but subtle image, hidden behind the person to protect. Wang decides to use the modified Zhongshan suit as inspiration to create a dignified look that does not attract attention. The outer layer is a fusion of military and hunting wear concepts. The collar is in the traditional Zhongshan-style. He also particularly designed a patch pocket that provides a huge space for hand movement. When the assistant wants to warm hands on a cold day, he/she can stretch hands freely. The pants are made of extremely stretchy material, so the assistant can easily do splits or high kicks without any issue. Another notable aspect is that the badge on this uniform is silver, fulfilling the overall mature look and it is also a huge plus in the visual quality.
On the other hand, the cleaning staff’s uniform is the one which Shinway has put in the most effort. The item is a challenge on Wang’s designer skills because this uniform requires powerful tool storage functionality, while it has to look appealing and be comfortable in regards to the movements during work activities. It also has to be durable against damage from frequent washing. He sets a three-layer structure for the apron, with the surface made of firm and flexible cotton cloth, the middle layer made of a thin waterproof film, and the inner layer made of nylon. It is waterproof and wear-resistant and it won’t easily be worn and torn even during heavy-duty work. Shinway designs 5 pockets on the outer layer of the apron, and a fanny pack placed on the back and to the side of the waist. They can be used to store cleaning products, backup items, personal items, and other things. There is also an adjustable band near the neck, allowing for flexible changes to the uniform for movement at any time. The details and clever ideas are incorporated in the uniforms to satisfy everyone’s needs as much as possible.
In Regards to the Uniform, a Few Words from the Designer…
“Creating a functional uniform with quality, allowing it to showcase the corporate image, and to bring the wearer pride, pride in the outfit and pride in the brand. This helps the staff feel happy, confident, and secure in carrying out their duties. It creates solidarity towards the company. That is the attitude I make uniforms.” says Shinway. Looking back at the process of whole project, he learned and observed Gamania from a brand new angle. He feels that he has learned a lot. The most surprising discovery is that he has never seen a company that is willing to design top-tier customized uniforms for its employees at any cost. He smiles and says “Gamania has mad style!” In addition to recognizing Gamania as a happy workplace, Shinway also hopes that the staff truly appreciates the uniform they wear and enjoy all the thoughtful details in the outfit. The designer racks his brain and goes through painstaking innovation (efforts) for the creation going into each thread and piece of clothing. He hopes everyone will like the outfits. : ）
Interview conducted and article written by: Arya.S.H
Portraits taken by: Aaron Tseng, Larry Lee
Clothing photographed by: Hé zi Studio
About SYNDRO
SYNDRO was founded in 2013 and is dedicated to conveying the apparel philosophies of a brand. “A fine piece of clothing should make people want to wear it repeatedly and becomes even more stylish after it’s been won again and again.” Based on this concept, Shinway Wang places special focus on the connection between clothing and people. He is meticulous about the outline, the materials, and the craft of sewing. One can truly sense the fine design and quality in the SYNDRO outfit. http://syndro.house
About Shinway Wang
An antique lover and a fashion designer, who likes to find past wisdom in vintage goods. He hopes to design beautiful apparel that will become vintage in the future for modern people.