The 30 Singapore designers you need to know about: Part 3

Here is it. The third and final part of the 30@30, where to celebrate my 30^th birthday I picked the 30 Singapore labels that you should be exploring if you want to go on a discovery mission in the little red dot.

The truth is – and this may surprise some people who don’t follow the fashion scene - I found it hard to compile a list of just 30 because more labels deserve the mention. It’s especially hard as this isn’t a competitive list, there is no particular order and there are far more than 30 talented designers plying their trade in Singapore.

In the end I included those which I think have found their identity and although everyone still has a room to grow, they’ve done so far so good. A lot more labels are doing great job and maybe all they need is a little push to get them there! Maybe in the next list 31@31 ;-)

Anyway, back to the point. Here are the final 10 brands that kick serious ass in Singapore and deserve much more success than they get in their home market. You can read part one of the 30 Singapore designers you need to know about here and the second 10 in the Singapore designers list here.

Use the comments section to let me know what you like in the list, who you think I missed out, and if you were inspired to go local by the talent on offer. 

Love the simplicity of Armoire's Engineered Dress series which come
in many beautiful shades and fits perfectly!

The 30 Singapore designers you need to know about: Part 2

My 30th birthday (or 29A as one of my friends would call it) celebrations went very well for those of you who are interested.

But onto the more serious business of part 2 of my 30 at 30. That's my list of the 30 singaporean labels you really should know.

You can see part one of the 30 Singapore designers you need to know about here but below you'll find 10 more of the hottest labels from the little red dot. I will post the final part on Friday so you all have something to digest over the weekend :-).

Enjoy. And don't forget to let me know which labels you love the most in the comments section.

UPDATE: Here is a link to part three of the 30 Singapore designers you need to know about.

I was delighted to be the first to get my hands on these KAE HANA
pixel floral leggings before they officially went on sale!
 (Photo by Franz from lilreddotfolks.com)

The 30 Singapore designers you need to know about: Part 1

Today is a huge (and depressing day) for me.

It’s my 30^th birthday, and to help me officially mourn the passing of my youth I thought I’d do some shameless promotion of my favourite Singaporean labels and designers.

So here it is. 30 at 30 if you like. My guide to 30 labels from Singapore that you really should be paying attention to. I’ve added links to those who have websites so you can find out more about each one.

I hope this little birthday gift from me to you gives you as much joy as discovering these talented designers has (and if anyone wants to buy me a birthday gift, they can find some hints in there haha).

But as 30 is a bit much to digest in one go (not to mention very tiring to post!!), I’ll split it into three posts over days. Here is part one of three - in no particular order. Enjoy!

PS – I have avoided putting in the Singapore fashion giants like Charles and Keith, so don’t email me asking where they are :-)

PPS - Here is a link to part two of the 30 Singapore designers you need to know about, and this link will take you to the final 10 in the list.

Yes I'm 30! and can't get enough of the awesome Singapore labels
like this MAE PANG top which I love! (Thx again to John Tan for the pic!)

Stunning underwater shot from Singapore photographer Cornelyus Tan

You may remember some time back I introduced you to a friend of mine who I billed as an up and coming young photographer.

Well it seems that young Cornelyus Tan has already upped and moved on from doing shoots to help promote bloggers who have zero modelling skills :-)

Take a look at this photo that he shot in the pool in my building over the weekend. The shoot (which was a collaboration with Leonard Chua from Pix Story) wasn't for a label so it has nothing to do with anything that I'd ordinarily be interested in promoting.

I was just amazed at the beautiful picture that emerged from the session and wanted to share it with you all.

A Siamese fighting fish/mermaid hybrid in my swimming pool!

EXCLUSIVE: The clouds are here, but the SS2012 Depression has lifted

I've made no secret of the fact that I think Depression is one of Singapore's best labels.

The design duo of Kenny Lim and Andrew Loh have been making waves both at home and abroad over the past year with their indefinable brand of edgy but cutesy streetwear.


Their current collection made it into the pages of Vogue and saw Black Eyed Peas superstar Taboo become their highest profile customer.

Now the brand is back with their SS2012 collection "CLOUDING OF CONSCIOUSNESS" and I've been lucky enough to have been given an exclusive sneak preview of the entire collection.

There are blue skies ahead for Singapore's Depression label

Why I'm proud to be a B.A.D. girl

I have a confession to make. I'm a B.A.D. girl!

But it’s nothing to be ashamed of, and the reason I'm leaving the country for a couple of weeks has nothing to do with being kicked out. In fact, it's something I'm rather pleased about.

Because being a B.A.D. girl means I'm Backing Asian Designers. It's a new initiative to raise awareness of emerging local talents in the region and encouraging people to go out and shop local. 

B.A.D has been launched by Singapore-based website Shopthemag.com, the luxury e-commerce site bringing you the crème de la crème of Asian designers. From Thailand to Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and of course Singapore - the breadth of coverage is pretty impressive.

Among the Asian labels on shopthemag.com is the awesome Thai label
Second Issue (remember it here?) from which this gorgeous dress is.

Parco next NEXT party: celebrating the launch of 18 new Singapore labels and young designers

The 14^th of November, 2011 was the first time I got invited to a local fashion event. It was at Parco and I still remember Wey, the designer of Veira bags sending me an invite as an excited newbie on the blogging scene.

I remember going with my hubby, not knowing a single person or designer showing. Fast-forward 5 months and here I am, just as excited and attending the launch of yet another batch of young local designers at Parco – only now I know almost everyone and was surrounded by friends and familiar faces.

A model showing one of Revasseur's colourful designs during the mini-show

With Genevieve, one of the designers behind 20:twothree

Weekend want(s): HOT picks from Parco next NEXT's 18 new labels – launching tomorrow the 14th of April!

In some places I've lived, supporting local fashion is an act of charity, cheering for uninspired rich kids playing at being designer.
But make no mistake. The scene in Singapore is more like London than Dubai. These new kids on the block have got the talent by the bucket!
From funky streetwear to perfectly-tailored work attire, original prints, and glamorous sharp cut frocks, the third batch of new designers at Parco next NEXT have got it all covered in their maiden collections which launch officially tomorrow, Saturday.
Despite having seen – and shopped – some of the collections this week, I’m looking forward to the launch party which will be the second Parco launch I go to since moving to Singapore (see here my first launch review).

One of my first purchases from the new designers at Parco next NEXT
is this cute t-shirt dress from MASH UP. Totally my style, Love it!!!

Weekend Want: Tezzo’s colourful and exotic iPad cases and envelope clutches

If you ask me about the big designer whose work I dislike the most, it has to be Roberto Cavalli (Sorry Donatella!)

Apart from the fact that the OTT $1million crystal chandaliers in his Cavalli Club in Dubai almost blinded me, I find most his designs to be more over the top than a drag queen beauty contest.

I especially dislike the excessive use of animal print and exotic skin in his designs, urrrrrghhhhh.  

But while I’m no fan of exotic skin in dresses a la Cavalli, I still love the feel of it in small doses such as shoes and bags.

And to this end, I have recently stumbled over some cool purses from a new Singapore-based label Tezzo.

These pretty evelope clutches are a far cry from the OTT exotic skin designs of Cavalli!

Girls Generation of style: Armoire, Jooix.com and Bonjour Singapore collaborate

Normally when 3 girls meet on a Sunday morning, they talk about fashion. But when Evon (the designer of Malaysian label Armoire), Angelina (the lady behind the Singapore-based super stylish jooix.com) and me (a fashion loving stylist/blogger and a major shoe-holic) met this Sunday, we DID fashion!

With the beautiful chic dresses of Armoire (who is participating in this year's Blueprint) and the unique statement accessories from jooix.com, I couldn’t help but see how each brand complemented the other to perfection and brought it to life – and we looked in each other’s eyes and cried COLLABORATION.

Evon from Armoire on my left and Angelina from jooix.com on my right.

Ok, what I brought to the party was the vision to see how these two brands could look together, with some help of my styling skills, my shoes collection and of course my now well-known modeling for your amusement :-)

So here’s how our Sunday morning went, read on to see the magic brought to life and learn a few tips on how to wear these gorgeous pieces and transform them from day to night:

P.S. I will be co-hosting and sharing some styling tips at the official launch of Jooix.com this Wednesday (March 14) from 1:30pm till 9pm. The first 30 guests will get vouchers worth S$200 of styling services with me :-) Make sure you RSVP for the event here  and see you there!

Q&A with.... Me! From Fashion Studio Magazine

Forgive my self indulgence - but I'm quite excited about this.

I've just had an interview published with international website Fashion Studio Magazine. This online fashion site was launched in NYC just over a year ago and now operates in London, Toronto and Singapore.

So obviously I'm excited because it will introduce Singapore fashion and designers to a more global audience.

The focus of my post today is...erm...me :)

Trend spotting: 3 of the best Little white Dresses from Singapore labels

Forget about colours, this summer’s hottest trend is all white!

From the Oscars where stars like Gwenyth Paltrow, Rooney Mara, Octavia Spencer and Mila Jovovic wowed in their all-white looks, to the SS2012 runways of designer labels like Louis Vuitton, Moschino, Nina Ricci, L’Wren Scott; white dresses have been on the rise this year and luckily for us replacing the LBD as the classic dress to go to for every occasion.

What I love about the LWD is that it is very versatile, breezy for the summer and works well with almost all skin tones as long as you follow few tips which I’ll be dishing out later in this post. The trend this summer has spanned from very minimal and practical forms of the LWD (Jason Wu and L’Wren Scott) to a more ornamental ones like the detailed and romantic lace and organza creations at Louis Vuitton especially.

But first, as usual I’ve done the work for you and picked 3 of the best on trend LWDs, all from local labels of course! These dresses are not on the cheap side but they’re definitely worth the investment as judging by the AW2012 shows in NY, the LWD is here to stay  for at least a couple more seasons to come.

This Spring/Summer's LWD as shown on the runways of Alberta
Ferretti (left),Louis Vuitton (centre) and L'Wren Scott (right)

Stars who wore white at the Oscars including Gwenyth Paltrow in
Tom Ford, Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji and Rooney Mara in Givenchy.

Weekend want: Singapore label EMBLEM clutch from Asia Fashion Inc

With my current busy schedule, I’ve been finding very little time to physically trawl the streets looking for inspirations and items to fall in love with.

Luckily, there is online shopping! And no I’m not talking about Net-a-porter and ASOS, it is e-commerce sites which stock Singaporean and Asian labels that are keeping me up to date with the hottest brands in the region and in awe for the coolest clothes and accessories!

One of these sites is AsiaFashionInc.com, which is true to its name and where stocks vary widely in styles and prices, that there is definitely something for everyone!

From experience, I know that the best thing to buy online is handbags. Reason being that sizing is never an issue.

This Singapore label EMBLEM clutch is just gorgeous!

Singapore Trends/SS 2012: Mae Pang does graphic colour blocking

Unlike high street chains and established designer houses, following a trend might not be the first thing on the mind of an up-and-coming label when designing a collection.

The desire to express more of their vision and unique style almost always takes over which, if you ask me, is a much better option than following the herd.

However for a large number of customers, seasonal trends which are set by the high end fashion designers during the international fashions weeks cannot be ignored.

This usually causes a dilemma for shoppers who wish to update their wardrobe: would they buy the mass-produced but ‘trendy’ pieces from the high street, or support the local designers and ignore the season’s trend?

Well because I’m such a nice person, I’ve decided to make it easy for you to do both :-)

Looks from  from BCBG MaxAzria SS2012 collection showing colour
blocking trend in a more graphic form and less loud than SS2011. 

Facebook meets Lookbook at the WED campaign launch

It was a very good night for local and emerging fashion labels yesterday at the W.E.D. (Wear Emerging Designers) campaign launch party. This social media campaign is organized by Blueprint to support local designers and encourage people to wear emerging labels, so that was exactly the kind of event I was hoping for and was more than happy to attend and spread the word about.

It was a great night for me too, as I got snapped by probably every photographer at the event and interviewed for various publications (amongst which is a big media tabloid). However apart from my hair, I have to give the credit for all the attention to my Noel Caleb outfit (yes THAT mullet skirt) which I love so much! It was definitely more colourful than most of the outfits at the event and it stood out for its unique look.

Wearing my favourite Noel Caleb outfit teamed with Papparazi clutch
and the not-so-emerging Zara gladiators (sorry)!

ATGAB update: The fruits of my Singapore modeling debut

It's been a long time coming, but the pictures from my first ever modelling assignment have started to come in.

Some of the longer term readers might remember I was asked by local eco-label All Things Green and Beautiful (ATGAB) to model their wonderful accessories for their 2012 look book.

The shoot was an eye opener as I spent a full day having my hair teased, my make-up applied and re-applied and most difficult of all - pretending I knew what I was doing. Well now the fruits of my labour have finally arrived, and are here for everyone to see on the ATGAB website. Fame at last!

My verdict on the pictures? 

I think I saw something over in the distance. I think it might have been my modeling career disappearing over the horizon :) 

More Singa-phwoar from the Parco next NEXT preview

Here I am again, as promised, introducing you to more hot local designers from Parco next NEXT’s latest incubation programme.

In my previous post I picked the 3 labels which blew me away mainly because they were totally unique and had a very strong presence about them, but also they were something I would personally wear as they’re exactly the sort of style I’d go for and they reflect my fashion sense.

In today’s post, I’d like to highlight 5 more labels – which while not necessarily something I would pick up (unless I start wearing menswear label or embrace androgeny) -  are some of the labels with the greatest chance of making the next step.

I've included menswear a label in this post so read on guys!

Next big thing? The Singapore labels who hit the spot at Parco next NEXT

One of the great things about fashion is that nothing in the industry stands still. There is always something and someone new to discover and potentially fall in love with!

Yesterday was one of those days where I get to do what I love best; meeting new emerging designers and previewing their maiden collections which will only hit Parco next NEXT store in April.

Naturally the mood at these events is super exciting and optimistic and from talking to these talents, I can sense that the fact that they are finally doing what they always wanted to do is satisfying enough for them. Regardless how the business side of it goes, at least they are getting the chance to live the dream.

All the new designers from Parco next NEXT seemed optimistic and eager to
show the crowds what they've got.

Weekend Want: five picks from ERIIN.com to complement my wardrobe!

My weekend want for this Friday is not just one thing but five, all of which are from the new Singapore-based e-retailer ERIIN.com.

If you follow my blog then you probably know about the website which aims to introduce Singaporean and other Asian labels to the world by making them available to order overseas. And although I would have liked to see more colour and more variety, I think as a start up they’re doing well by keeping it simple – and not selling bottoms.

Imagine you ordering an emerald green dress and it turns out that the shade is nothing like what you saw on screen! Or that the trousers you thought would fit in medium were 2 sizes too small for you (erm, have you heard of Asian sizing?)

And between you and me, recently I’ve been finding it hard to mix and match my separates due to their very colourful nature so I think it’s just about time I invest in versatile pieces which can add me some edge and tone down my otherwise too eclectic wardrobe.

So with no further delay, here’s what I want this weekend:

Nikicio Leather Hem Sheer Shirt ($62.07)

Grunge and leather is not usually my style but I really like this sheer shirt from cool Indonesian label Nikicio which I would team with my red shiny trousers (yes I have those!) and OTT colour block/leopard print platform sandals which are always hard to match!

---

Hanalie Nadia Sequins Dress($152.85)

I’ve been wanting a sequin dress since new year, remember? And this number from the Hong Kong-based brand Hanalie ticks all my boxes: sexy but not cheap looking since it’s covered up with sleeves, not black, and has a unique colour combination which is not common for this style of dress. I love the overall soft pastel feel which gives a feminine edge to this party-ready look. I would team it with my Alexander McQueen skull heels which are as dark as I can possibly get!

---

Nipples Revolt Vermillion Necklace($121.04)
Ever since reading that ERIIN.com is stocking an Indonesian label called Nipples Revolt, I was dying to see what they do, and I have to say I am not disappointed!

This silver necklace with arrows all around is very unique yet understated so it’s time I owned something that versatile. Plus it goes with almost everything in my closet especially this plain black playsuit which needs something equally simple yet interesting. And you guessed it, this means I can go as colourful as I want with choice of shoes…

---

Desti Saint GoatskinEnvelope Clutch ($190.10)
When it comes to handbags and clutches, I either go for plain or crazy, but nothing in between. Somehow this goatskin clutch manages to combine both by clever and distinctive detailing while keeping it plain white in colour. This arm candy from Singapore label Desti Saint is a must-have for someone who owns so many bright clothes like me so I won’t even start on what I can wear it with ...

---

-          Nikicio Crop Top ($46.55)
Asymmetric jersey tops are all about adding an edge to an otherwise plain tee. But despite it being undeniably cool, I’ve always found it hard to stumble across the right one for me, mainly because with no definition, it would look like a shapeless sack bag with me inside it. Not really my look or flattering for that matter!

But this Nikicio top gets the fit right with more definition in the front, leaving the loose fabric falling mainly in the back. I also love the sexy sleeves and the asymmetric length that would show a little midriff (but no bellybutton) on one side if you wear it with a slightly high-waisted skirt like this mustard pleated midi. My red square toe pumps complete this look which is spot on trend in both colour and style!
www.ERIIN.com delivers worldwide for free and with full return policy, so get on board the Asian brand wagon!

Singapore's Carrie K. Jewellery: Pin me up with style!

Don’t be fooled into thinking that simple is easy. On the contrary the simpler some ideas are, the more difficult it is to make them interesting and at the same time… timeless!

The secret? It’s all in the little details. Whether its minimalist décor, iPads or even shoes. It’s a painstaking process making something look so aesthetically pleasing yet effortlessly functional.

Take accessories as an example. How often do you see beautiful, unique yet simple jewelry? Hardly ever right?

The mantra of jewellery has always been more is more. Simplicity rarely enters into the equation unless we are taking about boring mass-produced pieces which are just ‘blah’.

Thankfully, Singapore has the answer in the shape of Accessories label Carrie K.

Who would have thought that something ordinary like the safety pin could be the inspiration
for this beautiful and delicate ring?