SINGAPORE – Singaporean fashion designer Bobby Chng, a household name in department stores in the 1980s, died on Sept 3 at the age of 69 from cancer of the bladder.

He died peacefully at 8am in his home, a walk-up in Tiong Bahru, surrounded by family members and his live-in helper. The bachelor is survived by an older sister and six younger brothers.

His wake will take place on Sept 4 and 5, his brother Dennis Chng told The Straits Times. The 64-year-old, who worked in the fashion industry alongside Bobby Chng, had moved in with his sibling in end-July to care for him.

It was a quiet morning in comparison to the weeks before, when Bobby Chng was receiving daily visits from family and friends, who flew in from all over the world to see him one last time.

Unknown to many, even some of his closest friends, the veteran had been diagnosed with bladder cancer when he was 26. Over four decades, he kept it under control with medication and yearly chemotherapy, and had kept mum so as not to worry friends or garner pity.

The cancer spread to Stage 4 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

His condition deteriorated drastically in recent months, which caused him to be bedridden. After a stroke in June, he was admitted into a hospice, but requested to be discharged to spend his final days at home.

His health continued to fluctuate, and he was put on a morphine drip and daily fentanyl patches.

Yet, his demeanour was always cheerful and his mind active. When The Straits Times last visited him on Aug 8, he was frail but still sprightly.

It was a day before his planned disco-themed “celebration of life” party was to be held at hotel Shangri-La Singapore’s ballroom, which eventually got cancelled due to his condition. 

Though he was in pain, Chng donned a red cap and waved mini Singapore flags gleefully from his bed in a show of national spirit for SG60.

He survived far beyond expectations, a feat the devout Christian frequently attributed to divine intervention in his last days.

Singaporean designer Bobby Chng in 2007. Chng was one of seven veteran fashion designers known as The Magnificent Seven, a powerhouse group who defined Singapore fashion in the 1980s to 1990s.

PHOTO: ST FILE

Once stocked in every department store in Singapore, Chng was widely regarded as a menswear pioneer known for his daring, gender-bending styles. He was one of seven veteran fashion designers known as The Magnificent Seven, a powerhouse group who defined Singapore fashion in the 1980s to 1990s.

The commercial studies alum from Outram Secondary School started his career in advertising, but left after two years for the rag trade when, with no formal training, he clinched a job designing wholesale apparel for Metro and Isetan.

When he was just 22, Isetan launched him as its first fashion designer under his own namesake label. It was not long before his clothes were carried in every department store – from Galeries Lafayette to CK Tang, Yaohan and Metro.

Like a magpie to shiny objects, Chng was drawn inexplicably to the glitz of the industry, spending his prime partying with celebrities both locally and abroad.

His peak years were marked by weekly Bobby Chng fashion shows in department stores, and showcases in fashion capitals like Paris and Tokyo, organised by the then Trade Development Board (TDB).

Bobby Chng (left) in his early years as a fashion designer.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF BOBBY CHNG

The curious soul pivoted into interior design by accident in his 40s, when he moved to China and designed his sister’s newly purchased house in Guangzhou. He fell off the radar in Singapore, but remained a creative bigwig in China – working freelance in residential and commercial real estate, landscaping gardens, and taking on fashion projects for fun.

Under the brand BCoS (Bobby Chng of Singapore), he made furniture and home decor, and ran a chain of furniture stores called BCoS I’m Home in Malaysia, China and Singapore.

He had planned a grand return to fashion in 2019 in partnership with a Chinese skincare brand called SeeGreen. In two weeks, Chng had produced 160 clothing samples for a street fashion label of the same name.

But the intended December 2019 debut was thwarted by the start of the pandemic, and never saw the light of day.

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