Petar Petrov
Available at Blackjack
#01-10 Forum The Shopping Mall
Tel: 6735-0975

WOMEN who like juxtaposition in their fashion will appreciate the designs from Petar Petrov. Although previously better known for his menswear collections - putting on a regular show during Paris Men's fashion week since 2004, the industrious Bulgarian is now making waves with his womenswear collection.

The womenswear collection that first started in 2007 has been picked up by edgy multi-label boutique Blackjack and made its Singapore debut earlier this month.

Consumers can expect a range of contrasting designs from Petrov. By mixing high and low culture, elegance and street life in his creations, Petrov creates unique looks that reflect the cultural differences in society, perfect for the more experimental fashionistas out there.

_Julius
Available at Blackjack

FOR men who are looking to replicate the dark, androgynous street cool look the Japanese do so well, look no further than _Julius. Run and designed by Tatsuro Horikawa, the cult label presents a wide array of gothic inspired clothing, using slim cuts and asymmetric draping to create an avant garde look.

Originally started as an art project, the designs from _Julius are reminiscent of American edgy designer Rick Owens, only more monochromatic in terms of the colour palette as black forms the basis of all his collections.

Horikawa's focus on black reflects his obsession of the image of 'black' in zen cultures and how it represents the colour of grief.

Expect the ideas of madness and grief - strong themes in Horikawa's creations - to appear in the form of drooping narrow legged pants, trenchcoats and heavy boots.

In a previous interview, Horikawa was quoted as saying: '(Making clothes) is a similar process to making a movie, it is a very sacred and profane thing.

Sometimes the world of my imagination and vision becomes frayed and broken-down, chaotic and corrupt - the stillness sunk beneath loud vibration and noise. It's a sharp and metallic industrial mayhem.' Very deep stuff indeed.

Car Shoe
(Opening at Ion Orchard)

IN THIS part of the world, new brand Tods arguably created market knowledge of the 'driving shoe'. But Italian brand Car Shoe is the original driving shoe - moccasins with rubber-studded soles - established in 1963 and now part of the Prada group.

The handmade craftsmanship of the moccasin is the brand's trademark, and its materials include a rubber mix identical to that used in tyre manufacture for the ball sole, and 4.86 metres of English-produced pitch-treated cord for the 160 hand stitches to sew together the leather upper.

Since Prada took over the brand in 2001, its original 1963 logo with its distinctive tyre tread was readopted. There aren't many Car Shoe boutiques in the world, with only two in Italy itself (in Milan and Capri). But it's actually one of the brands in the group with the highest growth rate, at an average of 25 per cent per year.

Car Shoe started its women's line for bags and shoes in 2004.

Its Autumn/Winter 2009/10 collection features crocodile leathers ranging from dark green to purple to cherry. The idea is to up Car Shoe's exclusivity and turn it into the latest 'object of desire'.

DSquared2
(Opening at Ion Orchard)

A brand started by Canadian twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten, they launched their first men's collection in Italy in 1994.

Since then, they've made a name for themselves with their combination of fashion, music and theatre.

It's thanks to a lucky encounter with Madonna that the Caten twins were able to establish themselves as designers of pop stars.

They were commissioned to design 150 outfits both for the artist and her dancers for the video Don't Tell Me and for the 2002 Drowned World Tour.

The success of Dsquared2 with Madonna's CD launched the autumn-winter 03/04 season with a full Dsquared2 Women's Collection.

Significant partnerships with the music world continued the following year with Christina Aguilera, for her world tour, Stripped World Tour 2003.

DSquared2 now has its line of fragrances, shoes and sunglasses, and opened its flagship store in Milan's fashion district in 2007.

It will open its store here with the autumn/winter collection which takes street style to the extreme.

In its Milan show, models strutted down the catwalk in mix-and-match layers of rock-punk inspired fashion and oversized beanies and holding coffeecups in their hands, showing off a level of insouciance they hope will catch on in Singapore.

This article was first published in The Business Times .