On paper, the partnership between co-founders of homegrown fashion label Good Addition (or as it’s more popularly known: G+A), Andrea Chong and Joan Chang exemplifies the adage that opposites attract.
Andrea, the creative brains behind the brand, is the more gregarious of the duo, and a natural in front of the camera – a skill no doubt honed through her years as a blogshop model turned social media influencer. Joan, on the other hand, prefers to stay behind the scenes to take care of the “less glamorous, but still necessary” parts of the business – accounts, finance, business development, and other administrative manners.
While Andrea’s style maven status in the local fashion scene led her to a slew of fashion collaborations over the years, including one with Italian sneaker brand Superga, Joan drove several projects as part of her company OVE Collection’s portfolio – including the launches of The Iveria, a luxury freehold condominium, and SoupCup, a modern fish soup kiosk concept.
Where they converge, is a common creative vision to bring a fashion brand to life. The two first met at Lloyd's Inn, one of Joan’s earliest hospitality projects. Once a small, run-down hotel owned by her father, Lloyd’s Inn was transformed into the popular hipster haven it is today, thanks to Joan’s ability to tap into the psyche of the millennial generation.
Andrea was one of the hotel’s earliest fans, and the two soon became friends with a mutual respect for each other’s accomplishments and desire to collaborate. Good Addition was born in late 2022 after much deliberation. The vision: To offer chic and functional wardrobe staples meant to help women build the ultimate capsule wardrobe.
“After years of collaboration with fashion brands, I kept thinking ‘what’s next?’,” says Andrea. “And since I had accumulated enough design and commercial experience, launching my own brand was the next thing.”
For Joan, dabbling in fashion was out of her comfort zone (“I have neither prior fashion experience nor the eye to spot fashion trends,” she confesses). But knowing that she could entrust the creative aspect of the business to Andrea, while she lends her keen eye for aesthetics and business management as a property developer, helped make up her mind.
“It’s hard to find complementary skill sets and alignment with people, so when Drea was open to working with me, I decided to take the leap,” she says.
(Related: Germaine Chow on her entrepreneurial journey - from the ground up)
- A PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS
- MOVING STRATEGICALLY
A PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS
While a common vision can convene like minds, cultivating a successful partnership that can endure the peaks and troughs of running a business also takes a mutual understanding of how each can play to their strengths.
An average day in the office sees Andrea “dipping [her] hands in everything” – from liaising with suppliers in China and putting together marketing strategies to running photoshoots and attending to customer enquiries. Joan, on the other hand, tends to her various OVE Collection businesses full-time, but visits the G+A office whenever needed – especially when there are business-related issues to resolve.
“Joan is a problem-solver,” says Andrea. “If I feel bogged down with human resources or administrative work, she swoops in to find solutions.” Joan, meanwhile, describes Andrea as a “hustler”, and someone with a “solid work ethic and constant drive for the business”.
“If I feel demoralised that a certain product or collection did not perform up to expectations, she does not dwell on it and instead, gets us to move forward. I’m a little bit harder on myself, but Joan offers great encouragement when things get tough.” – Andrea Chong
As the more seasoned entrepreneur of the two, Joan’s level-headedness, cultivated through years of running her own businesses, also provides a steadying force. “If I feel demoralised that a certain product or collection did not perform up to expectations, she does not dwell on it and instead, gets us to move forward. I’m a little bit harder on myself, but Joan offers great encouragement when things get tough,” explains Andrea.
Where the two differ in strengths and experience, Andrea says they “are on the same page for everything else” – especially if it means “getting the job done”.
“We are not fussy about our time, effort, or roles. When we faced four-hour queues at our Chinese New Year launches, I worked on the cashier and Joan worked on our queue management system – while eight months pregnant by the way – to support our staff.”
“Often, we get customers asking us, ‘why are you guys working on the weekend?’ and I always think, ‘why not?’. Just because we are ‘lao ban niangs’ (lady bosses) doesn’t mean we don’t work the floor where needed!”
- A PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS
- MOVING STRATEGICALLY
MOVING STRATEGICALLY
Good Addition fans can browse through the brand's well designed basics and seasonal collections offline at the New Bahru boutique, which boasts a light, airy atmosphere
Since its opening, G+A has amassed a loyal following. Buoyed by overwhelming responses at several pop-ups and a shop-in-shop concept at TANGS at Tang Plaza, the duo decided to take G+A to the next level – by stepping up its retail presence at a 600 square feet space at New Bahru. It wasn’t a decision the pair took lightly, despite always having had a vision of a physical store in mind.
“We’ve always been approached by malls to join them, but it was never the right time, location, or moment. I had a specific vision of how I wanted the store experience to be (i.e. lots of natural lighting), and we needed the right place with the right branding with the right customer demographic. When the New Bahru team approached us to join them for a pop-up tenure, it was a no-brainer,” explains Andrea.
Adds Joan: “As we are self-financed, I’m also a believer in calculated risk, where we don’t expand aggressively and take on excessive overheads before we know we can stomach the cash flow risk. My business approach tends to be more of the tortoise than the hare, where we can slowly but surely reach the finishing line.”
(Related: New Bahru - where past, present, and future meet)
“Drea is the driver, while I ensure that our blind spots are checked and our navigation maps are set up. Sometimes, I might suggest a different route. Ultimately, it’s so that we can keep driving – or pivoting – until we reach our destination together.” – Joan Chang
With the New Bahru space, Andrea and Joan intend for G+A to be more than “just a store where customers grab and go”, but also “an interactive platform where customers can engage with the brand in new ways”. This could mean collaborating with other brands for a retail experience or organising pop-up concepts.
In the lead up to Chinese New Year this year, for example, G+A collaborated with Singaporean beauty brands Romi Beauty and Nodspark, as well as fashion label Laundry Studio to pull together a one-stop retail experience. So well-received was the space that its original limited six-month run until June 2025 has been extended to at least Chinese New Year 2026, with plenty more in store for fans – including a better loyalty programme, gifting options, and an expanded product range.
The road ahead for G+A looks to be a smooth one, but Andrea and Joan are careful to keep an eye out for potential potholes as they continue to learn to navigate unfamiliar territories together as a team.
Joan likens their partnership to one of a driver and a navigator. “Drea is the driver, while I ensure that our blind spots are checked and our navigation maps are set up. Sometimes, I might suggest a different route. Ultimately, it’s so that we can keep driving – or pivoting – until we reach our destination together.”
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