Lots of things happened at the second night of Audi Fashion Festival at the Tent @ Orchard.
First and we say this again, fashion festivals are all about spotting the pretty faces. Last night at The Inspiring World of Redken, as attendees were being wowed by the dizzying heights - and shapes - that hair can achieve with the humble spray, we were heartened to see that one Asian model whom we spied on the runway stood out with her beautiful high cheekbones and perfectly proportioned facial features - big eyes, lush lips, and a nose that even the Caucasian models would be proud of.
This being a local fashion fest, we are cheering for any model who is Asian and pretty! We haven't had a chance to find out her name yet, but we do hope we'll see more of her around soon.
Still, the models were just the canvas.The real show-stealers were their heads of hair. Pouffy, bouffant, call it what you will, but hairpieces and a generous overdose of hair spray make for a theatre of drama on the runway. Hair pieces that resemble opening blossoms, round balls of hair attached to the head with chains that swing around like some medieval weapon of destruction, mohawks created pleats and pleats of tresses, spiky hair extensions that do for your hairstyle what your own hair can't. They were all there last night.
And since hair stylists and make-up artists would traditionally work with the designer to create looks that suit the apparels, of course the styles had to be this over-the-top to give Redken a chance to show off what their range of products can do. If you were like our photographer, you'd have marvelled at the amount of hairspray used to set these styles, which was demonstrated with aplomb by Redken artists Eugene Ong and Casey Chua. "They just kept spraying everywhere!" he exclaimed. Ok, so it's not good for the environment (nor the models' hair) but it's only once a year.
Having said that, we do feel the pain for the models too. They who endured the endless sticking of pins into their heads as hairpieces were stuck on by Casey and Eugene. One of the poor dears was spotted wincing and trying very hard to keep a straight face as she sat through the demonstration. To this end, we say to those out there who have supermodel dreams - the pain of a modelling life is for real, not to mention a very real risk of losing your hair if you keep putting yourselves through this kind of a punishing pace.
But if you can't be called pretty, you can always be viewed as "interesting". And at the runway show by cult label KTZ, we saw lots of that. From caps that look like Mickey Mouse's ears gone wrong, to a jester's collar (yes, it was one of those frilly collars you'll only read and imagine about in your children's fairytale books, not on Orchard Road's Takashimaya) and metrosexual dressing of varying extents, there was nothing short to capture your attention. It could be the fact that everyone felt the urge to live up to the "creativity" that was KTZ - after all, one of its designer-founders, Marjan Pejoski, was the one who put Bjork into The Swan dress and captured our collective imaginations forever with that memory. No wonder then that fans also include Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
We're also very sure that was the reason why the fashionistas made it a point to wait until midnight to catch the KTZ showcase - so they can all dress "creatively" while paying homage to designers Sasko and Marjan Pejoski.
There was a bright spot through it all though, as a gorgeous-looking pan-Asian model made his entrance in KTZ's very progressive design. We're very certain the ladies - and more than a few men - noticed him too. So do check out our photo galleries to see if you can spot the aforementioned models.
As a post-script to our observations tonight, it should be recorded that we are disappointed at having been unable to catch all the fashion shows - and that includes the ones over at Blueprint, held at the Pit Building next to The Singapore Flyer. Even with all the hype of housing some of our local, regional and even international up-and-coming labels, we are pained at not being able to split ourselves to run between all the shows to bring you even more happenings. Having said that, it does sound like Blueprint is turning out to be a poorer cousin to the AFF, with all its glam and glitz.
Our spies there tell us that the models at today's Blueprint shows are exactly the same ones used the night before, and the seats aren't quite half full. Compared to AFF which has everything going for it - the models, the designers, the infrastructure, we're mourning the fact that some of our more promising local designers aren't being featured in more mainstream fare.
