Singapore — After years helming whimsical homegrown fashion label hansel, Jo Soh, its founder and designer, is taking on a new job — Laura Ashley Asia’s head of fashion.

To fully focus on this new chapter of her professional life, Soh will officially discontinue her 12-year-old womenswear brand next month.

“It was a big decision to make,” she shared. “But once I saw the plans that Laura Ashley Asia had to elevate its fashion label and expand into the Asian markets, and the role that I would be playing in it, I felt that it was an incredible opportunity that I simply could not say no to.”

Laura Ashley Asia is a subsidiary of Laura Ashley Holdings Plc, London, the renowned Welsh textile design company founded by engineer Bernard Ashley and his wife Laura in 1953. Over the years it has become an international retail chain known for its quintessentially British designs. The company is now controlled by the MUI Group of Malaysia.

Soh made a name for herself with hansel, with its signature quirky, versatile designs and fabric prints that reflected iconic local images of HDB flats and local desserts created from Soh’s hand drawings. The Singaporean label has dressed international celebrities too, such as pop star Katy Perry and actress Rose Byrne, as well as local celebrity Fann Wong. Named after Soh’s beloved late Jack Russell, hansel’s first standalone shop opened in Singapore at Capitol Building on Stamford Road in 2009.

As a parting gift to its supporters, Soh has designed a special collection for childrenswear online shop Baby Style Icon. Featuring some of hansel’s best-loved hand-drawn graphics selected from its 12-year archives, the 17-piece range includes baby onesies, baby tees and adult tees. The collection can be found at the hansel boutique in Mandarin Gallery and online at http://www.babystyleicon.com. Prices range from S$35 for a printed baby tee to S$42 for a printed adult tee.

There will also be a boutique closing down sale from today until the end of December. Genevieve Loh