Models wear select pieces of Stephane Rolland’s creations at the press conference of Women’s Fashion Week S'pore …
Even the most hardened skeptics will have a hard time denying it now — Singapore is fast becoming a hub for fashion.
Following the earlier Men's Fashion Week and Audi Fashion Festival comes a third no less impressive event — the first Women's Fashion Week (WFW) in Singapore, which will be held in October this year.
The news comes after the announcement last month that Singapore had, for the first time, broken into the top 10 list of global fashion capitals.
The list doesn't end there — the city-state will also be the second in the world to stage a Haute Couture Week for WFW 2011. The high fashion showcase has never left Paris since being born 140 years ago.
"Throughout its rich history, both Haute Couture (French for "high dressmaking") and the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture which regulates it, have been regarded as representing the most exceptional, refined and skilled fashion and couture in the world," said Frank Cintamani, chairman of WFW 2011.
"In achieving this unique event (WFW 2011) in bringing Paris to Singapore, it is our aspiration to likewise bring Singapore and Asia to Paris," he added.
From 26 to 30 October, the high-profile fashion event will present shows by at least nine haute couturiers, two of whom were introduced at a press conference last Thursday evening.
The private preview also unveiled selected creations by the two couturiers present, Gustavo Lins and Stephane Rolland.
Gustavo Lins presents some of his creations at the press conference of Haute Couture Week for WFW 2011. (Yahoo! …
True to the event's exclusive nature unfortunately, WFW 2011 will only allow invited guests unprecedented access to the shows at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
However, Cintamani was quick to dispel talk that such haute couture shows are only meant for the well-to-do.
"Just because it's expensive, just because it's exquisite, just because it's on that level — do not evoke the whole elitist, the whole exclusive clause on it," he said.
"If the question is: How do we reach out to the masses? We reach out to the masses through the joys of giving them something this exquisite and beautiful," explained Citamani.
"This has never left Paris… and in Singapore, it should be enjoyed by all, beyond the heartlands, beyond our shores, beyond this region."
Added Cintamani, "I don't think that just because some of us feel that we're not well-dressed, we should perpetuate the notion that we can never dress better."
Upcoming programmes for WFW 2011:
21-23 October: Prêt-a-Porter will showcase the latest collection of selected fashion brands, all of which can be found at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.
26 October: Asian Couture Showcase will present the couture collections of Asian as well as Singaporean designers.
6-31 October: Haute Couture Exhibition, to be held at The Shoppes at MBS' Jewellery Lane, will feature past and present haute couture creations from different houses.
