Much to my incredulity, Menon affirms that the vision before me is what she looks like just about every waking hour. Her imaginably extensive wardrobe includes only one pair of jeans — and there has never been a day that she has ever stepped out “dressed-down”, at least not over the last five years since she took on the identity of Sukki Singapora, the burlesque artist. “I’ve always taken pride in my style. I see myself as an artist, and the way I express myself is as if I am a walking piece of art… There are no two sides to me; I am just consistently like this,” says Menon as she gestures to herself. Blessed with a curvaceous hourglass figure, which she thanks her British mother’s genes for, she shares that she hits the gym about five times a week — not with the main goal of staying in shape, but rather to maintain stamina needed to keep up with her demanding performance schedule. The only part of her body that has been dramatically modified is her waist, which can fit into a corset as small as 17.5in in diameter after years of tightlacing — the practice of wearing a progressively tightly laced corset. Contrary to popular belief, this form of extreme waist-cinching does not actually change the size of one’s waist permanently, she explains, but only its ability to adapt to the shape and size of a corset’s limitations. “I started with 24in or 25in, and now the smallest I use is 17.5in, which is smaller than my head,” says Menon. Noticing my grimace at this point, she is quick to dismiss the notion that tightlacing could be painful, and instead describes the feeling as similar to “getting a really firm cuddle”.
Menon claims her extensive wardrobe includes only one pair of jeans — and there has never been a day that she has ever stepped out ‘dressed down’, at least not over the last five years since she took on the identity of Sukki Singapora, the burlesque artist From IT geek to ‘It Girl’
It was an interest in vintage style and fashion that first led Menon, then a university student in the UK, to unwittingly discover burlesque and establish a determination to master it without any formal training: “I was Googling ‘vintage fashion’ and you can’t do that without seeing the word ‘burlesque’, because these two go hand-in-hand. I’d never heard of [burlesque] before, and when I finally stumbled upon it, my initial thoughts were: ‘Oh my gosh, this is incredible. Where, when and how can I do this?’”
It was following Menon’s departure from her IT job that her patriotic stage name, Sukki Singapora, was established — along with the rapid evolution of her non-traditional approach to the ancient practice of burlesque, whose origins can be traced back to 16th-century performance art. Kalani Kokonuts and Barbara Yung were some of the icons she looked up to during her transformative journey as an artist, during which Menon began to introduce both inspired and original quirks such as traditional Chinese fan dancing and, more recently, hip-hop elements into her routines. I thought was cheesy, tongue-in-cheek, pin-up style burlesque, everything I thought burlesque ‘should’ look like. But because burlesque didn’t have many Asian faces that I could refer to, I also felt like I didn’t have to follow any rules while I was picking it up. My interpretation of burlesque is now something that is really representative of myself as a person, and not a carbon copy of some of the styles you see in Hollywood,” says Menon. “Most people would think of burlesque as a tired business. They see it as just cabaret, corsets, black and red, and lace… And that, to me, is a yawn-fest. I really want to make [burlesque] cool and quirky and fresh. That is my biggest focus right now,” says Menon of her next goal. This follows the success of the four-year campaign she led for the legalisation of burlesque in Singapore, which eventually saw Menon stage her — and Singapore’s — first-ever legal public burlesque performance in the city state in 2015.
Burlesque is a theatrical art form originating from Europe in the 1800s. Derived from the Italian word burla, which means “joke” or “ridicule”, it is generally used to describe a literary, dramatic or musical work with a comedic or parodic intent. It was only in the early 1900s that the strip-tease tradition became popularised in burlesque theatre to compete with film and other entertainment art forms. Menon attributes much of her poise and enviable confidence today to burlesque, which she says has helped her to express her sexuality and art in ways that she would never have been able to fathom before the birth of Sukki Singapora. “Growing up, I was so insecure. I was never one of the cool girls, nor the pretty girls. In fact, part of me still feels that way, even today. I’m still very much the weird, studious Indian girl with glasses and braces who never felt particularly attractive back in school,” she admits. “Burlesque has actually helped me to become much more confident in a sense that it has enabled me to experiment a lot more with fashion and style, even though I still don’t feel like one of the cool, pretty ones right now.” Showgirl glamour and friendly exuberance aside, Menon, who hails from a family of doctors, spent her entire childhood and teenage years living by traditional Indian values. As the eldest of three sisters, she recalls sporting a long plait during her days as a student because her parents discouraged short hairstyles, as well as keeping all of her relationships firmly under wraps as dating was strictly not allowed. “I never told my parents about my decision to switch careers. My mum only found out after Googling me. I think they were very unimpressed and shocked at first because I was doing what they believed was seen as risqué. Plus, I am the only Menon that isn’t a doctor, a lawyer or in the army,” states Menon, when asked about her family’s reaction to her vocation. “Ultimately, I know my parents just want what’s best for me and even though they still ask me when I’m going to get a ‘real job’, I think they have now come to terms with me as a burlesque artist and — maybe, just maybe — they’re… perhaps even a little bit proud? But I don’t know whether they would admit that to me just yet,” she giggles.
Tantalising takeaways about Sukki Singapora
- She has a sweet tooth. Menon claims that anyone who knows her personally would have heard of her obsession with cake and Nutella, which she eats out of the jar with a spoon. Dessert is her favourite thing in the entire universe.
- Her cat is named Seven of Nine after the Star Trek character. Aside from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars and Babylon 5 are just some of the television shows she is a big fan of.
- You will never take the IT geek out of the showgirl. According to Menon, she gets a “nervous sweat” in the presence of malfunctioning gadgets. She also used to be an avid player of Eve Online and Oblivion before she got busy being Sukki Singapora.
- She will never make the first move. Menon says she is way too shy to consider ever asking a stranger for a phone number, much less a date. She is currently single.
- Rap and hip hop are her jam. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj are her favourite artistes, just to name a few. She is good friends with US rapper Too Short, who has also massively influenced her work.
