ANN KOSITCHOTITANA, OWNER, FRONT ROW BOUTIQUE
ANN Kositchotitana is 'super optimistic' about Blueprint, the trade segment of this year's Asia Fashion Exchange - and no wonder, given her firepower in the industry.
'I hope to write about $1 million worth of orders for the brands I help to represent,' says the 34-year-old owner of Front Row, a multi-label boutique at Raffles Hotel.
Her optimism springs from her razor-sharp instincts about trends and what buyers look for. After all, she is one herself.
Thai-born Kositchotitana, who majored in marketing at Cornell University, stocks nearly 20 local and international cutting-edge labels, including A.P.C. (Paris), Cosmic Wonder (Tokyo), Fly Now (Bangkok), and Woods & Woods (Singapore).
Married to a Singaporean banking executive, with whom she has a two-year-old daughter, Kositchotitana began working life compiling strategies for companies like Dupont and Unilever.
She has always been an adventurous dresser and decided to open Front Row four years ago when the human resource department of the management consultancy she was with told her to tone down her outfits.
'You only live once, and I'll dress the way I want to,' she says with a giggle.
Sceptics did not believe the edgy labels she stocks would go down well with sartorially conservative Singaporeans. But within a year, Front Row has become a magnet for trendsetters, with influential foreign publications from French Vogue to Madame Figaro Taiwan clamouring to feature her store.
'Initially, people told me nobody would buy my clothes. But I said, 'Why not? It's what I wear, what my friends would wear,'' Kositchotitana says.
'I stock cult brands and very progressive labels. It's fashion of a higher aesthetic but this is the direction fashion is going.
'It's very creative and my clients are those with an understanding and appreciation of fashion. A lot of stores are aping us now.'
Today, her clout is such that many foreign designers now want her to stock their labels.
Two months ago, Kositchotitana set up Front Row Studio, Singapore's first multi-label media showroom and sales agency, in Seah Street to promote established and emerging fashion labels.
'My forte is creative designs and production, and I understand the trade. That's why more and more brands are coming to me to negotiate with buyers on their behalf,' she says.
She gives this year's Blueprint the thumbs up: 'I think they're taking this very seriously and they've put in a lot of effort to make this happen.'
She adds: 'They've got people from the fashion trade involved and that's good because a fashion event should not be run by bureaucrats.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
