Do we really need more malls in Singapore?

One year, one kilometer, three new malls. Orchard Central and Ion Orchard opened to great fanfare earlier this year, while 313@Somerset will commence business in early December.

Gargantuan and gaudy, these monoliths have transformed the retail landscape on Singapore’s famed shopping stretch… or have they? On one hand, luxury fashion brands like Herve Leger and Diane von Furstenberg have opened their first boutiques at Ion Orchard, as have fast fashion retailers like New Look from the UK, and Bershka from Spain.

Uniqlo at ION Orchard

But over at the more modest, "mid-range" 313@Somerset mall, Japanese cult label Uniqlo is opening its largest ever South-east Asian store, alongside the familiar faces of Forever 21 and Topshop. Orchard Central is only home to yet another Levi’s outlet, and yet another Tyan boutique. Do we seriously need more malls offering what are by and large the same stores as those next door?

"It’s such a let-down to anticipate new shopping centers, only to visit them and find that 70 percent of the stores are chain outlets already found here," says Paul Ong, co-founder of local fashion portal PlusSixFive.com. "Zara, Mango, Topshop, the list goes on. It’s repetitive. Space is abundant, but product variety is narrow."

Call it a Catch-22 situation if you will. Some people shop overseas because they’d rather not wear the same clothes as everyone else. Once upon a time, Uniqlo in Japan was one such mecca for fashionistas stocking up on cool tees, which were affordable and exclusive. But now that the retailer is going to have three stores here, they’re turning up their noses, and looking for other pastures -- abroad, of course.

"This situation benefits those who don’t travel much, because all the global brands are here now," says Linda Tan, a flight attendant. "But as someone who travels a lot, I dislike the idea of all these brands coming in. Singapore is small, and I don’t enjoy wearing the same clothes as everyone else."

Apart from the boredom that confronts those who are tired of the same-old, or the travesty of stepping out in the same togs as a, gasp, coffeeshop auntie, the most dire problem presented by the flourishing mall culture is perhaps that of originality. When fashion is this accessible, where looking good entails walking into any mall along Orchard Rd and buying a look inspired by the 300 mannequins you saw along the way, then what you’re breeding is a generation of unthinking carbon copies.

"Singaporeans have always been lazy dressers,” Paul muses. “And with all these shops opening, we’re just as lazy as before. But at least we’re easier on the eyes."