On trend: The next big names in Singapore fashion
Play around with these rings from PLAYGROUND. We've just crossed the half-year mark and already Singapore has seen two fashion weeks -- Men's Fashion Week and Audi Fashion Festival. A third, Women's Fashion Week, is due to take place in October.
It's fair to say that Singapore’s fashion scene is taking off.
New brands, innovative collaborations and more local designers are developing strong followings, proving there is a thriving creative talent in Singapore.
Meeting the supply are a growing pool of global customers who are going online to shop, a boon for both buyers and sellers who are increasingly utilizing the Internet to meet and fill their needs.
Here are some of the most exciting new things to emerge out of Singapore fashion community.
New fashion show: Singapore Digital Fashion Week
January 2012 will see the launch of the world’s first city-based digital fashion week in Singapore.
Part of several planned digital fashion weeks worldwide, it will see shows streamed live from cities round the globe (the schedule is still undecided) featuring designers local to each city.
This push towards seeking a global audience is the mission of Keyis Ng, owner of STORM Creative Events Agency, who, with EVVO media, created FashForward.com, a Singapore-based interactive fashion streaming portal that is bringing live coverage of traditionally elite fashion shows to the general public.
“A normal [fashion] show can only reach out to a fixed number of guests," says Ng who is passionate about improving accessibility in the fashion world. "But with FashForward.com, the Internet can reach out to millions of people, without any country and border restrictions."
In May, FashForward.com launched live streaming at the Audi Fashion Festival 2011. In just one week the site received more than 500,000 viewers from 52 countries.
FashForward.com hopes to plan a fall/winter 2011 showcase in Singapore with a series of online runway shows that will allow viewers to purchase product direct from the runway.
www.FashForward.com
New Collaboration: PLAYGROUND
Casual chic meets strong urban female, hard metals meet bright pop colors and whimsical designs.
Come August, two of Asia’s most innovative designers will come together to launch a brand-new collaboration called PLAYGROUND.
Retailing at Singapore boutique Front Row, this brainchild of local womens wear brand Utt’er and Thai jeweller PITCH, PLAYGROUND -- as its name suggests -- is a fun and cheerful jewellery line.
PITCH is known for its use of heavy metals that are feminised and made elegant, while Utt’er’s Singaporean designer, Josephine Xie, prefers soft silhouettes that employ clever layering and draping techniques.
Inspired by the mechanics of childhood toys, brightly-colored clockwork cogs are the focal point of the collection featuring interchangeable pieces, industrial-looking materials and fanciful shapes.
FRONT ROW, #02-09 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 1 Beach Road, 6224 5501, www.frontrowsingapore.com; www.pitchcollection.com; www.utter.com.sg
New Brand: NAO
New brand NAO brings modern Western convenience to classic Asian cuts and aesthetics. The result is the “zip sari.”
“The traditional sari can be elegant, sensual and impactful," says creator Neha Oberoi. "It is idyllic in its effect but it’s not easy to wear. I love emulating [that] feel and draping in a modern dress that is beautiful and effortless to wear."
Oberoi is keen to ensure her product is luxurious and exclusive (prices start at S$650) and this reflects in her approach to her work.
“I love the process of working with a client to create something beautiful and special for all occasions -- pieces that become almost like mementos, personal classics to enjoy for years."
New magazine platform: FashionSpace
New Singaporean-based website FashionSpace.com is a self-appointed online social fashion magazine that allows users to create their own fashion magazines.
Acting as a form of social media for the fashion-obsessed and as a platform for brands and merchants to convey their marketing message, FashionSpace also includes local merchants such as hansel and Trioon who have posted products and magazines.
As added incentive, bloggers who fill their magazines with products featured on the merchant’s pages will earn credits. Once a certain number have been saved, the blogger can withdraw this in cash.
Inspired by site ShopStyle, FashionSpace already garnered more than 500 members since its May 2011 launch. Although 60 percent of the members are Singaporean, the impact has clearly been worldwide, with the majority of the remaining members coming from the United Kingdom and the United States.
New collaboration: MarYupa
Established local jewelery designer Marilyn Tan has created a new diffusion line. Launched last month and only available at Quintessential and Doorstepluxury.com, it is a part collaboration with Thai designer Yupa Promworn.
“We have a shared passion for design, the craft of making jewelery and unique semi-precious stones," says designer Marilyn Tan. "This collection of distinctive looks grew out of this shared passion and mutual respect of each others design views."
MarYupa’s silver and brass pieces are handmade with natural stones and limited in numbers and at a more accessible price point than the Marilyn Tan range.
New website: sKreen
New brand-to-buyer online platform skreenstudio.com is the first independent website in Asia that allows designers to showcase their wares via the Internet direct to eager retail buyers looking to tap into the Asian talent pool.
Acting as a space for designers to market their wares to the masses around the world, quickly. With 30 brands on board already, including local names demisemiquaver, Utt’er and Yumumu, perhaps managing director Ann Kositchotitana’s goal of accumulating 80 brands on her site is not that huge a jump.
