Popspoken
The Hokkien language is arguably one of the most vulgar languages in the world. Among Hokkien’s barrage of barbs and explicit expressions,
chioh bin haw, or “laughing tiger”, is one of the most insulting things you can call someone. It means ‘two-faced’, except loaded with more malice. Singapore-born and bred design maven Han Pei Bane, who goes by just “Bane”, thought it would be funny to name his design consultancy and manufacturing firm ‘A Laughing Tiger’.
“I wanted a name that reflects how Singaporeans construct sentences using various languages,” the mild-mannered gent explains.
Founded in 2019, A Laughing Tiger has been growing in desirability as a fashion brand and has attracted clients like BreadTalk, DBS, Fred Perry, Hendrick’s Gin, Mastercard and Tokio Marine.