To us Pinoys, Singapore may not have dislodged Bangkok or Shanghai as the hottest shopping destination these days, not yet anyway, but still Singapore is interesting in that it gives one a breather.
It has always drawn my curiosity since I made a few Singaporean friends during our South Africa trip a few years back. I hung out with them in South Africa enough to pick up their "Singlish" accent. So it was nice to meet up with them again and revive the accent.
As they say, things work in Singapore. And, to be able to live there must entail a lot of hard work.
But Singaporeans are learning to have fun. They are working at having fun.
Singapore is the city to visit with friends because it is so young. It can have energy and it is also laid back, thanks to the trees and sidewalk cafes on Orchard Road where you can just sit and people-watch. No one really cares or minds you because Singapore is one giant mall where you can go "dream malling."
Compared to other shopping cities, Singapore is very tourist-friendly, so it is easy to get around. Their subway or MRT is easy to learn, though it may seem confusing at first, if we can navigate the streets of Manila and hop from one jeepney to another, commuting in Singapore is a snap. And the Garden City has very low crime rate so that one can walk the streets even during the wee hours. I saw women doing that – alone.
Shopping there may seem a bit more expensive compared to Bangkok or Hong Kong but it still beats Manila if one goes for the big brand names since there are more choices to choose from there which are a bit cheaper. And when they go on sale, they really go on SALE.
For my good finds, I discovered their local brand, "projectshopBLOODbros" which is found in most of the major malls – its shirts, flip-flops, bags are cheap but cool; the quality is good. With projectshop flip-flops I don’t need my Havaiianas.
I’m more a shop-a-holic (it’s in the genes) than a gourmand or gourmet so I preferred to shop rather than eat in Singapore. But if unlike me, if you must eat, try the Hawker Center along Maxwell Road which looks like a food court.
Also, instead of spending on food, I’d rather save up for G-Star, the cool jeans in Singapore which has not-so-common features (like, it’s cut at the knees). Check it out when you’re there.
If one compares Zouk to the life span of our local clubs, one can consider it very successful since it has lasted for more than a decade, an institution clearly. It is the oldest in Singapore yet it is one of the hippest. The club is divided into four sections, Velvet Underground and Zouk Member’s Bar for those who like to sit, drink and chat with friends and listen to lounge music, Phuture for the techno freak, and lastly the main club which is Zouk, where one can dance and party and listen to the world’s best DJs.
I found the atmosphere a bit relaxed, not harried compared to Manila. Partying over there may not be wild as it can be here in the Philippines, but it can be a breather for the seasonal party-goer like me. And there you didn’t have to be conscious of your get-up. Rags were not a priority. People go there to have a great time, to socialize and to relax, not to fashionista-watch. It’s ironic that they are surrounded by the big brand stores but they are not really that fashion conscious compared to us. What a refreshing change from the "in" holes back home.
The Singapore Fashion Festival was so retail-cool. It was a parade of one brand after another. Except for Triumph and a few other brands, they were local brands, down to jeans and lingerie. In that alone, it was so different from our local fashion week, and we are not even talking logistics.
Mercedes Benz was definitely the logical choice to sponsor Singapore’s Fashion Festival because it’s focused on the potential of the Asian designer. The classic brand that is Mercedes Benz is not only a trail-blazer in design and creativity, it is also a benchmark for craftsmanship. Mercedes Benz, worldwide, has been married to fashion design so that it sponsors fashion collections in New York and in Europe. It even tapped the great Giorgio Armani to design its interior, the line of which is sold now in limited edition – less than 100 sold worldwide. There are reportedly two buyers from the Philippines. (Of course, there was no way we could have found out who.)
But unlike in the Mercedez Benz fashion week in New York, in Asia, Mercedes Benz zeroes in on discovering young and upcoming talents. It shepherds the young into the fashion trade. Aside from Singapore, Mercedes Benz sponsors young designer searches in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan, helping them penetrate the international fashion scene. The winner gets $10,000, an opportunity to showcase their works in the Australian Fashion Week in May, a month-long training in Milan, Italy, and an internship with Daimler Chrysler Design Studio in Como, Italy. Sadly, we are the only country in Asia without such an event.
Since I’m no fashion critic, I did what I had to do before those collections – I enjoyed every minute of it without having to critique the clothes for their cut, fabric or silhouette. Also I had to master runway photography right there and then. But one does not have to be an expert to appreciate the craftsmanship and the drawing power of the retail clothes.
All the fashion shows were held at The Tent, Civic Plaza at Ngee Ann City just next door of the Takashimaya shopping center along Orchard Road, so if one wants to take a break from all the clothes-watching one can just walk a few steps and do some clothes-buying for themselves. It was one fashion show after the other so that any high-fashion junkie would probably drool. The shows ranged from the hip jeans label G-Star to the works of the budding Singapore designers and big foreign brands such as Versace, Kenzo, John Paul Gaultier, etc. and even lingerie that seemed like an FHM Magazine come alive. Sorry guys, due to the wholesome content of this section, there would not be any pictures of ladies wearing "knickers," so to speak.
The shows did vary and so did the crowd who watched them. The young and hip went to the most attended shows with the big brands such as Versace, G-Star and the local Singaporean designers, the varied crowds went to the lingerie shows. Considering that Singapore was not open to such display of flesh a mere few years ago, the lingerie shows in the Festival were quite an eye-popper, literally. Not only were the models clad in the skimpiest underwear – thongs, tangas, strings, you name it – some laces and chiffons were so transparent that the models’ private parts showed through, and we weren’t even on the first rows. (The Festival PR had this curious and irritating habit of making us vacate our front row seats every time. Rude, really. I wondered, did we look that young, like babes-in-the-woods young so that we could be nudged around, literally? Even our tour guides felt bad and helpless.)
Again, they were enough to make you jump out of your seat and shop.
In a casual talk with two Singaporean designers who showcased their works, Desmond Yang and Adrian Huang, we learned a crucial fact. Huang said, "One of the reasons why the Singapore fashion industry is fast getting noticed is because we are now helping each other, unlike before where we only rely on ourselves." Now these designers are getting recognition abroad and one of them, Ashley Isham, is already based in London and has dressed celebrities including Kylie Minogue, etc.
Isham presented his clothes – the finale of the British Council fashion evening. His collections were clearly mainstream already – classic chiffons and intricate embellishments, with innovative touches here and there. Obviously, Isham is designing with already a market in mind.
Joining the British Council evening with their collections were Ashish (India), Bora Aksu (Turkey) and Jean-Pierre Breganza (Canada). Their clothes ranged from tailored but with ample slashes and rough and raw edges; and soft and skimming the body; solid citrus colors to wild prints.
Honestly, the collections over the past few days didn’t echo a single fashion design statement or trend. So it was useless to define a look. They were diverse. There was something for everyone.
Therefore, in that way was the Singapore Fashion Festival clear about its business objective. It aimed to build a market for their designers.
Like the Singaporeans, we too can be proud of what we have and showcase them, a lot of us are not just aware that we too have potential. Designer Desmond Yang was even familiar with our very own piña fiber. He mentioned it to me and told me how he would like to work with our piña.
That word from Yang was among the best things I brought home from Singapore.