Fashion Week 2013 by FIDé Fashion Weeks paid tribute to Singapore's Design Extraordinaire and Fashion Entrepreneurs

The final Day 11 (also candidly named Singapore Day) of Fashion Week 2013, presented by The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and organised by FIDé Fashion Weeks, was held on Saturday at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre.

Kicking off was a fashion show, organised as part of celebrating Singapore’s leading Chinese daily newspapers, LianHe ZaoBao’s 90th anniversary. Featuring eight Singapore labels (Josiah Chua, J-A-S-O-N by JR Chan, L’il Aux Ashby by Rayson Tan, Mr Howard by Tsai Ming Hung, Max Tan, A.K.A Wayward by Mun Foong, Reckless Ericka by Afton Chan and Louis Koh and Chen Zhigang) and 10 students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the students’ designs took inspiration from the newspaper and featured brushwork, prints, and motifs. A non-profit contemporary dance company, Frontier Danceland, opened the show with an energetic modern dance sequence.

Frederick Lee, arguably Singapore’s most avant-garde couturier, took to the stage with his 29-ensemble Spring/Summer 2014 collection. He packed the house with an overflowing capacity of more than 800; all eager to see his much-talked about “all-black” collection. Opening his show was Emily Hwang, socialite and owner of the newly-opened MCM Singapore at Marina Bay Sands, who stalked down the runway flanked by two tattooed ‘devilkins’.

Lee wanted the collection to be about darkness and despair, about “Death & Destruction”, hence the different permutations of black - tonal blacks, texture-on-texture blacks, shimmering blacks, matte blacks, et al., gave a dark, haunting and intense feel yet so full of glamour and style! He mixed luxurious materials of fox tails and leathers with silks and satins, embroidered and crystallised delicate fabrics like tulles and organzas. Lee also added dramatic feathers, some of which are hand-painted and some delicately stitched. The audience was spellbound at the end when the statuesque finale girl walked out in a majestic black embellished see-through gown, complete with ram horns and cape-like exotic feather wings on each shoulder. What a sight to behold!

Yet another packed house was the closing show featuring the collaboration of Julien Fournié and Singapore’s most successful and well-loved online store, Love, Bonito, co-founded by two enterprising ladies, Rachel Lim and Viola Tan. It’s the epitome of high fashion meets street style – a lethal combination that is, to now, unheard of. The first half of the show featured inimitable styles from the Love, Bonito label, while the Julien Fournié for Love, Bonito capsule collection made up the second half of the show. Known for his exuberance and energy, Fournié’s input for the Julien Fournié For Love, Bonito limited-edition capsule collection was a smorgasbord of colours and fun in dressing up. Fresh off the seamstresses, the look suggested a retro, almost 80s vibe, with the play of bright colours such as green, purple, blue and maroon, making heads turn. As Fournié, Rachel and Viola walked down the runway to thunderous applause, it was clear that they had a success fashion formula in the Love, Bonito bag. The retail collection will be ready for sale online sometime in November, in time for Fall/Winter 2013.

The closing day at Fashion Week 2013 was, indeed, a tribute to Singapore’s great design talent and fashion entrepreneurs. With that, we thank everyone for your support over this magnificent 11-day event, and look forward to seeing you next year!

For this evening’s shows, the team from Neville Hair and Beauty, London, led by Elena Lavagni and Stephen Low created the hair styles, while Romero Jennings and his team from M.A.C. Cosmetics created the makeup looks.