Singapore Men's Fashion Week
Monday, April 30, 2012
DAY 1 - THE ARRIVAL
After an incredibly long but enjoyable twelve-hour flight, we landed in Singapore and headed straight to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, venue for the Men's Fashion Week shows. Designed by Moshe Safdie Architects, the hotel is famous for it's rooftop infinity pool, which was extremely impressive. Upon arriving we headed up to the roof where we had a light dinner and a few drinks looking out across the city.
DAY 2 - THE FITTINGS
Day two began with a visit to check that our collection had arrived in one piece. Luckily it had and had been hung and steamed to perfection. The show consisted of 30 looks that we felt were a great fit to both show off the brand and be the right presentation for the asian market. The afternoon was spent model casting where we got to see the 17 models we'd handpicked in London the week before. We selected mostly European but also some Asian models to coincide with the show location. After the castings and fittings we sat down with the show team to get our videos (black and white images and videos of the collection's inspirations) and music (a mixture of jazz tracks, naturally) ready for our opening show the next day.
DAY 3 - THE SHOW
Unusually, the day of our show didn't see us doing last-minute preparations but rather I was at the CAN studios for an appearance on Breakfast AM Live. I spoke about the brand and why we'd made the choice to join the Singapore Men's Fashion Week line-up, which seemed to be well-received. Following this we went to more interviews and press visits before we returned for the final walkthrough at the show location. Accompanied by the likes of Se7en and Shawn Yue (two Asian celebrities) we showed our complete collection for Singapore without a hitch - apart from the model that put his waistcoat on the wrong way round - and we saw a great response from our guests. After the show we hotfooted it to a local nightclub where I was hosting an after-party with Songzio (an Asian brand). I also DJ'd.
DAY 4 - THE MARKET RESEARCH
The show was indeed over and now we wanted to explore the city and do some research on the Singaporean market. We visited many of the luxury brand areas of Singapore including the Raffles Hotel. Ostensibly the purpose of going to Singapore was to boost our brand presence in Asia but it was as much of a fact-finding mission as anything. We learnt a lot about the market and it does need serious thought. Having one of my key Savile Row guys was an opportunity to test how we sell in Asia and thankfully it was the right decision to make. The Asian market seems extremely influenced by our celebrity client base as well as the true British look.
DAY 5-7 - THE NETWORKING
The next two days were very heavily '"diary-orientated" with many meetings and dinners with some of the most connected people in Singapore. We wanted to maximize our time in and met with potential partners to scope out whether or not we would ever look at Singapore. I did however get to go for a fantastic meal at the White Rabbit with Chris Lee from Asylum. Dinner was fantastic and provided a bit of an opportunity to escape. The restaurant is situated close to a famous botanical garden and not too far away from the jungle. The environment was serene - a far cry from the hubbub of the last few days.
DAY 8 - THE FINALE
There was more time for play, I'm pleased to say and have just returned from dinner at Esquina Tapas Bar in China town. It's a five-star restaurant, created by Jason Atherton - of Pollen St Social fame. A delightful meal and a great crowd. After a beautiful sunny day, at 36 degrees, I now have to get on with the next show. I've developed a liking for the fashion week environment and now its time to take the brand to the next step with London Collections: Men in June.
