Gone are the days when you popped into the trusty department store for that ubiquitous tie for your loved one for special ocassions. And the choices were straightforward enough. One in a sensible colour such as navy - with stripes or dots if he's in the corporate sector, because that's as much embellishment as is allowed, or if he is slightly more experimental, pink. Just make sure it doesn't come in some fancy print, or that will seriously undermine his professional credentials.
Because, after the rush that we got out of the previous fashion festivals that saw the likes of Matthew Williamson and DSquared land on our shores for their very own fashion presentations, here comes a fashion week that is especially for the men. Yes, you heard it almost everywhere already - the inaugural Men's Fashion Week 2011.
For five days from 30 March to 3 April, MFW's festival chairman Frank Cintamani is promising a showcase of up to 15 local, regional and international labels that will highlight - you guessed it, menswear.
"We envision MFW 2011 Singapore to serve as an opportunity for regional and local men's wear designers to showcase their collections, alongside the internationally-renowned labels, and it will also cement Singapore's position as the go-to country for quality, renowned menswear brands for shoppers in Asia," Dr Cintamani said.
Singapore is the third city in the world after Paris and Milan to attempt such an undertaking.
But is there enough audience for a men's only fashion week?
Dr Cintamani said: "Men's style consciousness has come of age and men's fashion has come out from the shadows of the female-centric fashion industry and this is an opportune time for a Men's Fashion Week to be held in this part of the world."
Yes, it does seem that local fashion-insiders feel that men's fashion this side of the world has been neglected.
And it is a longing to do right by our men, who have for eons been relegated to weekend casual berms and oversized tees when they are not in their officewear, that is precisely the reason for the organisers wanting more exposure to the oft-sidelined men's fashion.
Are we to be expecting another AFF, except this time, it is all-males only?
No, says the MFW 2011 chairman, adding that the two events are "very different entities".
As the time draws nearer for the event to take place, do look out for the face of the event, Asian-American supermodel Philip Huang, whose chiselled face and very well-defined pecs will be fronting the festival. His claim to fame is having walked for major international labels and have been spotted on runways from Paris to New York. Two other official spokespersons are MTV deejay Utt, the "voice" of the event and who represents the close relationship between fashion and music, and Julian Hee, who acts as the "heart" of MFW 2011 Singapore and will be collaborating with the festival's Creative Director, Daniel Boey, to curate collections presented by young, cutting edge designers.
Participating brands to date include Boss Black by Hugo Boss, Canali, Dress Camp, Emmanuel, Etro, G.I.L. Homme, Raoul, Shanghai Tang and Versace. Up to 15 labels are expected to participate, but the other labels have not been announced, as they have not been confirmed. What else is yet to be confirmed is the venue where the event will be held, although organisers let on that they are looking favourably at Marina Bay Sands. What is commendable though, is the number of big-name brands that have already agreed to participate even though the festival was conceived in little more than two months.
With all these details still to be finalised, there is no doubt that interested observers and casual on-lookers will be very interested to learn more as more information is revealed leading up to the event day itself.
And unlike other fashion weeks, which are accessed by invitation only, 30 per cent of the tickets will be set aside for the public, and will be priced at S$40 each. All proceeds will go to the festival's appointed charities.
This is a not-to-be-missed affair for fashion and industry-watchers.
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