YStyle Exclusive! Bright lights, big designers at Audi Fashion Fest

Singaporeans know how to throw a party.

Don’t be fooled by the country’s no-gum laws and polite pedestrians. These people know how to party — and how to dress for it. At the Audi Singapore Fashion Fest, sponsored by MasterCard, well-heeled socialites were aplenty. Just take one look at their footwear. Sky-high LV, Givenchy and Alaia platforms allowed many of the immaculately-attired twig-like figures to tower perilously over most of the people at the tent.

Also: I have never seen so many Birkins in my life. While the rest of the world struggles with the recession, Hermes bags in all the colors of the rainbow (including country club pastels and day-glo brights) paraded in front of me.

Designer Gareth Pugh flew in to debut his A/W 2009 collection for the first time on a runway (he originally showed his collection in Paris via a video installation, assisted by Dazed and Confused fashion editor Katie Shillingford who was also present). Jacquetta Wheeler, who calls Stella Tennant and Erin O’ Connor her contemporaries, showed up to walk the finale in the Fashion Fest opener, the glorious Christian Lacroix haute couture show. Looking slightly gaunt and so thin you could pass her through a fax machine without any trouble, the woman dubbed “model of the millennium” noted that these days models have to be more responsible.

“Editors aren’t as forgiving as they used to be,” Wheeler said. “You can’t come to a shoot hours late anymore because no one will put up with it.” Woe is the life of a supermodel. 

At the Christian Lacroix gala, which was black tie, the models walked carefully down the runway, as though tip-toeing in the incredibly expensive handmade gowns. About four or so girls nearly fell flat on their faces, thanks to the super-high, zero-arch support footwear. One poor model, attired in an ethereal pale mint gown, had the crowd gasping when she tripped thrice. She certainly made the show more exciting.

London-based Ashley Isham, whose fairytale story of hometown boy done good, drew applause after displaying bejeweled gowns that looked like something Kylie or Mariah would wear. (Incidentally, the Singaporean designer has garbed them in his glittering clothes.)

The five-day Fashion Fest program was littered with big names, like the Marc by Marc Jacobs show, alongside retail bigwigs like Singaporean label Raoul, which just opened in Manila. In between, local and regional designers presented collections, including Manila’s very own Gian Romano (more on that on Wednesday) along with a Go Red for Women collection for MasterCard’s auction, the proceeds of which go directly to a campaign supporting the fight against heart disease.

 “MasterCard has a strong fashion thrust across the region and we are pleased to be promoting Singapore as a fashion hub and supporting the fashion and retail industry as a whole,” notes Julienne Loh, Singapore vice president and country manager of MasterCard Worldwide.

Bumped into Mina Sunico, the editor in chief of Female, the biggest selling women’s magazine in Singapore. The former Mega staffer is living it up as the powerhouse behind the publication. And she’s not the only Pinay making waves. Caught up with Giselle Go, the editor in chief of Harpers Bazaar Singapore, looking cute in a colorful minidress.

Fashion director Ariel Lozada and makeup artist Patrick Rosas were also present to support designers Ashley Isham, who Ariel met in London, and Gian Romano.

Securing tickets to the shows — since they’re privately-held affairs — is just the first part. Finding the right seat was another matter altogether. The front row was peppered with important media and glittering socialites. Dr. Georgia Lee, Singapore’s version of Vicky Belo I suppose, was front row and center for most of the show. Tall with porcelain skin and the skinniest limbs I’ve seen (barring Jacquetta Wheeler’s), Dr. Lee was a fixture at the shows, wearing one eye-catching gown after another.

The statuesque socialite-slash-plastic surgeon just recently launched her own skincare line. One of the sponsors of Fashion Fest, she had her own show. Oddly enough, she didn’t debut a clothing collection. Instead, she trotted out on the runway in a mix of ensembles, flanked by a line of hot male models. It was like something out of the gay man’s version of Victoria’s Secret. At some point, a pillow fight ensued between male models dressed only — I kid you not — in boxers. It was every libidinous girl and gay’s fantasy come true. Amid the flurry of feather-dusted, half-naked men frolicking on the runway, Dr. Lee, like a diva in a Celine Dion video, emerged in black lingerie. It was surreal, it was strange — and it was completely, mind-blowingly awesome.

Perhaps the only thing that could top the show was Dame Vivienne Westwood’s A/W ‘09/10 presentation that had models playfully slapping each other’s butts on the catwalk, making funny faces for the photographers and generally creating a ruckus.

Westwood, who was honored with an award, graciously accepted the honors via video before her show, announcing to the well-dressed crowd that she’d be skipping events and flights to far-flung countries because she was concerned about her carbon footprint.

Everyone loves a diva — and it appeared that Westwood had Dr. Lee beat in that department.

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E-mail me at jackieoflash@yahoo.com.