Blueprint Fashion Trade Fair’s pan-Asian focus means you find designers from Thailand, Malaysia, India, and of course Singapor. I had heard that the former fashion editor of iD magazine Erika Kurihara was consulting on one of the Bangkok-based brands, so I decided her booth would be a good first stop. What was particular interesting about the NSHA (which means “intoxicating” in Sanskrit) collection is that Erika and her team have been developing it in the midst of the violent political uprising has been taking place. One day recently the very market where she was shopping for fabrics suffered a grenade attack right after she left, and 21 people were killed! The designs themselves were very pretty in spite of them having been born amidst this chaos; unsurprisingly it’s quite sophisticated womenswear, given Kurihara’s background at iD. Drawing a parallel to the contrast between Bangkok’s ultra modern urbanism and the lush nature that dots the city the collection emphasized local craftsmanship, natural fabrics, and handmade prints all set to minimal silhouettes.

To coincide with the collection, London based photographer Cameron Smith shot a split screen HD video illustrating the day in the life of a ‘real’ Thai girl modeling the outfits, to ‘counter stereotypes’ and Western prejudices about Thai culture and the women there.

Second Issue, another Thai brand, been around for about 10 years now and is very popular with the locals. It was developed specifically for foreign markets, as Issue, the original, is only sold at home in Thailand. At first glance I felt it was a bit derivative of Jean Charles De Castelbajac and Manish Aurora as there was a lot of sequins and colorful extravagant prints going on. But after speaking to the commercial agent, I realized there was a lot more to it as the collection was inspired by the mythical ‘Lemuria’, with the men rendered as nautical explorers and the women tropical goddesses. The gold studded shoes really caught my eye…

Men’s line Antebellum, designed by Chia Wei Choong, was top notch and fresh. His fourth collection, Choong was inspired by a “man at his best, exuding confidence.” The garments were slim, sharp, and smart with dynamic seam-lines, mixing traditional shirt fabrics with mesh sportswear elements, all with a super clean finish to the point that there was no top stitching anywhere; it was all hidden away and invisible.

After a long, steamy afternoon at the fair it was time to unwind. My good friend and guide, Antonia, had her driver pick us up for a reception at a bar/restaurant/spa combination called ‘House’, located inside of an old army base turned into a lush, manicured complex of modern restaurants and shops. Run by a very charming British ex-pat named John Ramsey, the idea is a spa treatment and quality meal all under one roof. Antonia informed me I could get my “back, crack, and sack” waxed here as it was one of their specialties for men, but I decided to pass…

Finally it was off to the biggest show on the calendar, a local brand called Raoul at the Audi sponsored tents conveniently located right across the street from my hotel. Two of my very talented friends from New York were involved with the collection so I knew it would be solid. Knitwear designer Tom Scott was the international guest designer this season, and Haidee Findlay-Levin was flown in to style. Raoul is like the Gap of Southeast Asia; they have stores all over the region and are very successful. All in all it was on-trend, safe, smart career wear for him and her. I thought the ’70s era women’s Celine-esque separates as well as the men’s tailored jersey trousers were the standout elements.

The next day, jet lag finally set in and I got a late start. Upon waking, it was straight off to the official dinner for all the international guests at the recently opened Mimolette restaurant, which served French/Southeast Asian fusion in a renovated plantation house. I sat amongst a crew of fellow buyers including Rachel from Lush Icon in Kuala Lumpur, fellow New Yorker Erica from Babel Market in Nolita, Jo from Asos , Roman and Anna from Ra 13 in Antwerp, Jemma of Browns Focus, and Ros from Selfridges, and local designer Eugene Lin. After a lengthy discussion, we realized that we were all on the same page in terms of who we thought was ready for the international markets.

Afterward the whole group was herded next door for the soft opening of La Maison, the Singapore branch of the popular Paris based Le Baron, graffiti artist Andre’s newest enterprise. My friend Antonia is behind the club, so yours truly was elected opening DJ.
I was supposed to lay down a 90 minute set, but because we got a late start and because the rest of the evening was overbooked, I only managed to get in 45 minutes before I was yanked, the shame being I was really getting warm at that point. Thankfully it went well all in all, save for the bongoist drumming along to my electro set. I could have done without that.

Day four began with a pounding headache (thank you La Maison!) but duty called, so first up it was back to the Audi sponsored tents for the House of Holland show. I had already seen it in London earlier this year so it was an encore performance for me, but I was curious to see how the Singaporean crowd would react to this British designer, plus, because I buy the brand I wanted to support the show with my presence—for whatever it’s worth.

Later, we met up with a few friends of Tracy Phillips (the former head booker of Singapore’s Club Zouk who is now planning on opening her own boutique) at a Chinese restaurant inside the luxury shopping mall adjacent to the tents. We talked shop over Peking Duck, and the conversation slowly turned to the newly opened Sands mega resort casino came up. Evidently it is forbidden to drop candies in the casino, and anyone caught doing so will be promptly ejected. Supposedly practitioners of black magic employ the ghosts of children to ‘steal’ money from the casino and staff is privy to this scheme as ridiculous sounding as it is. Bizarre.

KEYWORDS: fashion week, singapore

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