Out & About: Singapore Fashion Week 2015

Lights, camera, runway! 

Singapore Fashion Week is already well underway with only this weekend left to catch exciting shows and - wait for it - Victoria Beckham. The English popstar-turned-fashion designer will be showcasing her fall/winter 2015 collection this Sunday at the closing show (but more on that later). 

This year marks the seventh year that both homegrown and international designers come together under one roof in Singapore. While many may still remember it as Audi Fashion Festival, this year's instalment marks the rebranding of the fashion extravaganza and the debut of its new name - Singapore Fashion Week. And, believe me, it is high time for that. 

One highlight for this year's instalment is the partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the launch of the festival's inaugural talent development programme. Called Fashion Futures, it is an initiative that will see the coming together of local designers, who are primed for international growth, with established American designers under a mentorship programme. This year's nominees are Priscilla Shunmugam of Ong Shunmugam, Sabrina Goh of Elohim and Chelsea Scott-Blackhall of Dzojchen. 

CFDA's president Dine von Furstenberg and CEO Steven Kolb with this year's Fashion Futures nominees Priscilla Shunmugam of Ong Shunmugam, Sabrina Goh of Elohim and Chelsea Scott-Blackhall of Dzojchen during Singapore Fashion Week.

 

At a press conference on Tuesday, CFDA's president Diane von Furstenberg explains the initiative: "You have to start somewhere, so just make today a beginning. The reason why I can say it like that with strength is because the three designers [that Fashion Futures] are featuring are very good. I didn't know what I expected, but I didn't expect this level of talent, craftsmanship and professionalism that I saw".

von Furstenberg kickstarted the newly minted Singapore Fashion Week with a showcase of her latest fall/winter 2015 collection on Wednesday.

One of the Fashion Futures candidates, Priscilla Shunmugam, who is possibly Singapore's best hope at gaining international recognition and poised to be our biggest export, will be showing her latest collection for Ong Shunmugam tonight.

American designer Thakoon Panichkul will take centrestage tomorrow evening at 8pm while Victoria Beckham will close this year's fashion week on a high note on Sunday (so, if you want to catch a glimpse of the style maven, head on down to the Tent@Orchard).