True To Its Name, FIDe

From the adjective-defying China’s Guo Pei to the local hero Singapore’s Frederick Lee, the 11-day FIDe Fashion Weeks 2013 at Marina Bay Sands closed to resounding applause Saturday night. The collective clapping was so thunderous you felt for your umbrella fearing it was yet another tropical storm. A veritable storm it has been, 32 runway shows of men’s and women’s pret-porter and haute couture from Asia and Europe and America. The logistics itself would cause brave men to buckle at the knees: 800 people from every discipline of the fashion industry flown in; 1,200 rooms of the Marina Bay Sands booked out for the event; led by the 22-strong team at FIDe, chaired by its whip-cracker Dr Frank Cintamani. Who graciously – and gratefully – called them out to take a bow. Not forgetting the batteries of catwalk choreographers, hair teasers, dressers, make-up artists, the AV guys, the PR gurus, the presenters, the bouncers.

It has been one-and-a-half weeks of many firsts:

• MCM opened its flagship store, first in Asia, in the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. The scissor man officiating was Korean superstar Rain.
• The inauguration of the Asian Couture Federation, first one of its kind, a coup which has taken two years to lock down.
• America and Europe have their fashion councils, the Singapore-launched ACF takes its place on the map next to those two stalwarts.
• Dr Frank Cintamani himself was made a knight, a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, conferred by the French government. High praise indeed.
• And of course this year’s fashion week bulked into fashion weeks because it combined both men and women shows, yet another first.

We saw South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hongkong, China, Singapore up the game, especially the collections of Songzio, Junko Koshino, Sebastian Gunawan, Michael Cinco, Vatit Itthi, Moiselle, Guo Pei and Frederick Lee. Not letting their side down were France, Germany and the USA.

It was not all collars and hems though, the fashion shows were bookended by awesome performance artistes like G-Dragon, Miyoko Shida, Rafael Amargo, and MBS’s retinue of waiters balancing champagne flutes. The best bit of news has been saved for last. You will be able to buy the couture collabo between France’s Julien Fournie and Singapore’s Love, Bonito, an affordable commercial range soon.

See you next year. And remember any colour is the new orange.

Photos: Shirly Hamra

Sylvia Toh

Sylvia Toh Paik Choo is author, broadcaster, columnist, debater (like to argue), elegant, fashionable, gourmet, hilarious, and we're out of alphabets (well there is i for idiot...)

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