85
Fashion Jobs
ADIDAS
Senior Director Product Creation Ftw
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
L'OREAL GROUP
Corporate Affairs & Reputation Manager - Corporate Affairs & Engagement
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
JO MALONE LONDON
Education Manager, Jml/lm
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
L'OREAL GROUP
Senior HR Operations Executive/ Assistant Manager
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
ADIDAS
Key Account Manager (Franchise)
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
ADIDAS
Senior Manager, Commercial, Adigolf, Vietnam 1
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
ADIDAS
Key Account Manager 1 (Franchise)
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
COLUMBIA
lo Costing & Engineering Manager
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
L'OREAL GROUP
Category Manager - Cpd
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
L'OREAL GROUP
Business Planning Manager - Cpd
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
ADIDAS
Senior Manager Product Creation (Sportwear)
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
L'OREAL GROUP
Product Manager - Shu Uemura
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
ADIDAS
Manager, Quality Product Integrity
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
TAPESTRY
Manager, Manufacturing Engineer
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
SPECIALIZED
Painting Quality Engineer - Bình Dương, Vietnam
Permanent ·
ON RUNNING
Social Compliance Specialist - Hcm Based
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
ADIDAS
Senior Manager, Sourcing Operations
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
WILLIAMS SONOMA
Wood Sustainability Specialist - (Global)
Permanent · THUẬN AN
PUMA
Manager Quality Apparel & Accessories
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
PUMA
Senior Executive, Finance
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
PUMA
Head of Quality Footwear
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
PUMA
Quality Engineer Cobra
Permanent · HO CHI MINH CITY
By
AFP
Published
Aug 5, 2016
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Teen unaware of fame after dino pouch graces White House

By
AFP
Published
Aug 5, 2016

The autistic youth who designed a dinosaur-print pouch which the wife of Singapore's prime minister took to the White House has little idea how much of a celebrity he has become since pictures of it went viral.


The denim dinosaur-print pouch by Sheng Jie - The Art Faculty


Sales of the $11 blue-and-white pouch have soared since Ho Ching was photographed carrying it during husband Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's official visit to the United States.

Ho bought the purse last weekend at a fundraising event for the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) in Singapore, for which she is an advisor.

The dinosaur motif was designed by See Toh Sheng Jie, 19, who attends the Pathlight school for students with autism run by the ARC.

Photos of Ho holding the pouch on the White House lawn sparked huge demand, with Pathlight saying its stock of 200 sold out within a day and it was now on backorder with a two-month wait.

Ho, also one of Asia's most powerful businesswomen, garnered praise on social media for her unusual choice of accessory.

"So good of Mrs Lee to use it at such a high profile occasion! Great job ADP artist Sheng Jie!" wrote Facebook user Su Yeo.

Another user, Leong Geok Hoon, called it a "world class fashion of the heart" while others noted that while Ho could have chosen any other designer, she went with one from a cause she supports.

"It gave such a great mileage for the artists on our Artist Development Programme and The Art Faculty merchandise," Pathlight principal Linda Kho told AFP.

See Toh's family has also been overwhelmed with media attention but for the autistic teenager, the son of a taxi driver with a love for dinosaurs and beetles, it makes little difference.

When AFP visited the family's suburban government-built housing flat, he nonchalantly sat at a table in the living room drawing his favourite dinosaurs and watching television.

He has filled countless notebooks and folders with his drawings, his parents said.

"When the school first told us that Ms Ho Ching brought Sheng Jie's pouch to the White House, we thought it was a joke," said See Toh's father, Jason.

When shown a picture of Ho with the bag bearing his design, See Toh was delighted, his parents added.

"He is not very communicative but when we once gave him a dinosaur toy during a tantrum, he calmed down. That's when we knew he liked dinosaurs," the elder See Toh told AFP.

The youth has an encyclopaedic knowledge of dinosaurs and must watch every dinosaur movie he comes across.

He also makes intricate dinosaur toys from polymer clay, filling an entire display cabinet in the family's flat.

"We'll just let him do what he likes because you can't force him to draw when he doesn't want," Wendy See Toh said.

Copyright © 2024 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.