IT MAY not have been, but for a grand total of five days, a little tent outside Ngee Ann City threw recession caution to the wind and transformed Orchard Road into a buzzing centre of fun, fashion and glamour.
The event: the Audi Fashion Festival (AFF), Singapore's first ever independent fashion festival.
The theme: Driving innovation and inspiration.
Then again, with a crunched budget of $1 million, roughly half that of previous Singapore Fashion Festivals, many did wonder if the organisers - Mercury and Fide - could drive their way into inspiring the public by pulling off a credible festival.
And to give them credit, they did in many respects.
Most noteworthy of course, were the headline shows of Christian Lacroix, Gareth Pugh and Vivienne Westwood, all of which did not disappoint.
Take the Christian Lacroix gala dinner, showcasing the latest haute couture collection from the fashion maestro. At $400 a seat, there were naturally grumbles that it was over-priced given the economic crisis. Then again, Singapore was the only other country outside of Paris to witness the intricacies of Monsieur Lacroix's works (which really should be called art instead of works). And not all realise that in Paris itself, an invitation to a haute couture show is not something that can be bought.
Even as paying guests continued to debate the value of their seat, the show continued with Gareth Pugh's show-stopping creations. London's current 'it' designer is best known for his edgy creations inspired by Britain's extreme club scene, and is also rumoured to replace Kris Van Assche as designer for Dior Homme.
The sold-out show - it also featured Pugh's own music guy Matthew Stone who flew in specially from London - was a feast for the eyes and ears, what with his dark, slightly gothic yet very wearable clothes. The visual buffet of 15 male models 1.85m tall with 30-inch waists and 35-inch chests also helped, admittedly.
And finally, Vivienne Westwood's fun-filled show featuring her Anglomania collection ended the festival on a high note, putting a smile on everyone's face despite it being a Sunday.
Despite the over-dependence on international names, local brands such as Ashley Isham and Raoul did the home-grown industry proud.
Singaporean-born designer Isham returned from his London base to showcase his Autumn/Winter collection that impressed even the likes of grand couturier Dominique Sirop who was a guest of the festival, while Raoul pulled off what many would deem a world class fashion show.
Given the over-riding sentiment that local brands are still viewed less positively than foreign big names, Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin (that founded Raoul) commented: 'I hope that after this, people will start to look at us in a different light.'
After all, following the international success of alldressedup, Raoul also made headway by wholesaling its womenswear collection in Paris to international buyers last season.
Unlike Raoul and Isham however, the young designers who showed as part of a collective called Blueprint failed to impress.
Though offered the platform to showcase themselves practically on a silver platter, none of them - with the exception of Reckless Ericka and Gian Romano - stood out, relying instead on uninspiring silhouettes.
Reckless Ericka's collection titled Brit Kid Goes to India made good use of fun and exotic prints and textures to vamp up the runway. The opening piece - a witty combination of a cunningly cut Union Jack top draped over jodphur inspired pants - in particular, stood out as a sign that the collection and theme was well thought out.
As for Gian Romano, the Central Saint Martins' alumnus put his London experience to good use to produce a well executed collection focusing on a minimalist form that showcased the young designer's sharp tailoring.
While the young designers didn't stand out, one particular show will certainly stick in people's minds, albeit for the wrong reasons. Private Lives was the title of a fashion-based theatrical experience featuring aesthetic physician Georgia Lee modelling an array of rare couture outfits sponsored by Jean Paul Gaultier, Dominique Sirop and Christian Lacroix.
The piece de resistance was Dr Lee strutting the runway in a Vera Wang gown, as a shower - or some say snowstorm - of feathers descended from above, enveloping the stage, and everybody's hair, with wispy white stuff.
It may have had a dramatic effect, but the feathers soon had asthmatics and guests with allergies racing for the door, while others were left cursing and vainly trying to pick out the white lint from their designer attire. Drama, indeed.
With its hits and misses, the real question remains: was this first independent fashion festival, sans the Singapore Tourism Board's financial backing, worth the effort?
For it to have been staged despite the lack of government assistance is already a feat in itself, and the organisers succeeded in attracting enough international names to accompany their collections. However, more could have been done to highlight local and regional designers, and support from regional press would have helped to create some buzz outside of the city itself.
Still, the organisers showed they could still put up a decent event and one would be interested to see what they can do at next year's show - if there's another one, that is.
This article was first published in The Business Times
