Shoppers walking along Orchard Road may have noticed that a new, unusual contraption has made its home at the main intersection recently.

A 10m-tall mannequin, lined with LED rope lights and captured dramatically mid-stride, now stands atop a base in front of Tangs Orchard.

The striking figure heralds the arrival of Fashion Steps Out (FSO), an annual six-week fashion event sponsored by the Orchard Road Business Association.

Running from today to May 18, FSO aims to celebrate the start of the spring/summer fashion collections hitting stores and encourage people to spend along Singapore's biggest shopping street.

Creative director of FSO Jeffrey Tay (inset), who is helming the post for the third year, says the addition of the glitzy event tower is part of an effort to raise awareness of the event in people's daily consciousness.

"FSO is a retail event that seeks to boost the stature of Singapore as a fashion city," says the 52-year-old event producer and retail consultant. "The tower is a visual reminder to shoppers of the event and helps create buzz."

The design of the tower, with its sweeping lines, was inspired by the art of fashion illustration, he adds.

"I wanted to take fashion back to its roots and fashion illustration was the art form, even before photography, that really let designers communicate their garment ideas."

Mr Tay's interest in fashion illustration took root while he was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in the 1980s. It was there that he met and befriended the late illustrator Antonio Lopez, an upcoming talent at the time.

"It amazed me how he drew, and he was a great, approachable guy," says the Singaporean of the American illustrator, whose name is famous in fashion circles.

Mr Tay notes that for the 10m-tall mannequin, the challenge was to translate a 2-D look into 3-D, and keep the mannequin free-flowing without looking stiff. He decided to create a panel skirt segment to add depth and a sense of movement.

The looming figure marks the starting line of the third Orchard Fashion Runway, which will be held tomorrow night at 8pm.

The stretch of road from Ion Orchard to Paragon will be closed to traffic to create a 660m-long temporary runway for over 150 models.

This is the third time that FSO has set up a catwalk along that stretch. A new opening for the runway show, Mr Tay notes, will also liven up the event this year. Ten Harley Davidson motorcycles will zoom down Orchard Road to kick off the fashion event.

Ridden by volunteers from the Militia Riders Motorcycle Club in Singapore, the motorcycles will also carry some models into the show, pillion-style. Orchard Fashion Runway host Junita Simon will also make her entrance via a Harley.

"It will make a whole lot of noise and rev up the spirit and mood of the show," says Mr Tay. "It's all a bit rock chic."

While the runway will be taken down when the show ends and the road re-opens to vehicular traffic by 10pm, the event tower will stay standing until the last day of Fashion Steps Out 2014.

Mr Tay says: "I hope people will say, 'Wow, that's cool'. I hope it inspires desire and makes them want to check out the fashion."