Photo credit: TAIWAN5GOLD INSTAGRAM AND VOGUE VIA DOUBLET

Nostalgic Good Morning Towel is now a $530 fashion item

This luxe take on the Good Morning Towel helps you channel your inner kopitiam uncle and auntie.

Meagan Goh

Afraid of cats, but learning to be brave. Would rather live in a fairytale.

Published: 8 October 2020, 3:22 PM

Remember the Good Morning Towel most commonly spotted around the necks of uncles and aunties at the Kopitiam? 

Japanese menswear brand, Doublet, featured the nostalgic and humble Good Morning Towel in its fall/winter 2020 show. Instead of a towel, it now adopts the functionality of a knit scarf.

What’s even more unbelievable is that it costs $530.

Doublet’s Fall/Winter Collection 2020

The theme of the show was ‘We Are the World’. Doublet created a Japanese-style cafeteria for its Paris Fashion Week presentation based on Masayuki Ino, the designer’s childhood memories of typical Japanese family restaurants. 

 

That explains why the model is holding a pair of chopsticks on her left hand. PHOTO CREDIT: VOGUE VIA DOUBLET

 

The Good Morning Towel was commonly used by hawkers, rickshaw pullers, labourers and other hardworking forefathers of Singapore to wipe their sweat as they work under the hot sun. It has Chinese characters that mean “wish you a good morning” when translated.

 

Model wears the scarf over his head, possibly paying homage to the original users. PHOTO CREDIT: VOGUE VIA DOUBLET

 

Unlike the original Good Morning Towel, Doublet’s version had a few twists to it. 

Instead of the English and Chinese words that read Good Morning, Doublet’s scarf reads “knit scarf”. The Chinese characters in the crest was also replaced by two Chinese characters that read “fall” and “winter”. 

 

Oh and did we mention that it costs $530? PHOTO CREDIT: KENNETH LEE VIA SGAG

 

The number below the crest was also changed to the number 20, which suggests that the scarf is part of their 2020 collection. Last but not least, the original towel is made of cotton while the scarf is made of a blend of wool, acrylic and nylon.

Reaction from netizens

The scarf went viral after SGAG made a post last week and Singaporeans filled the comment section with some pretty interesting responses.

Facebook user, Jester Valhadow Klaw, commented: “This one better make me [look] handsome after [a] haircut by my mum”. Another user, Jaden Chr, commented: “suddenly all the kopitiam uncle selling secondhand [sic]”.

The best of the lot came from user Poor Seng Kang, who wrote: “You can’t put a price tag on a piece of history. Priceless.”

Other everyday objects that have inspired high fashion

This is not the first time daily items have inspired high fashion.

Balenciaga’s Carry Shopper Bag comes in various sizes, styles and colours. PHOTO CREDIT: BALENCIAGA

Remember the $2,000 Balenciaga tote that was inspired by Ikea’s giant blue bag? According to Business Insider, Balenciaga designer Demna Gvasalia made a similar bag as he was inspired by the longevity and functionality of Ikea’s iconic bag.

With many more examples like the Celine and Jil Sander luxury totes that resemble grocery bags, we can definitely expect more to come from these high fashion brands.

Who knows what could be next – perhaps a pouch or mini bag inspired by tissue packets that Singaporeans use to chope seats at coffee shops?

Doublet’s knit scarf is now available in-stores at Dover Street Market Singapore for $530 and $660, depending on the size you get.

As for those who prefer the OG towels, you can get a dozen of them at Lazada or Shopee for just $10.50 and $9.94 respectively.

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