Fashion designers push on digitally

SINGAPORE'S digital fashion festival The Front Row returns for its second year. And it's perhaps no surprise that one of the models fronting the event is Rae, a computer-generated avatar with over 500,000 followers in Weibo and Instagram combined.

A purple-haired beauty with pan-Asian features, she does not look out of place in a photo shoot with four real-life models fronting the event: Diya Prabhakar, Alexis Cooke, Lisa Van Duren and Srri Raam.

Rae, communicating only digitally, says: "I'm created digitally by CGI technology and powered by AI, and this marks the first time I'm fronting a fashion festival. The future of fashion and digital trends are closer than never before. The feeling is electric!" Well, of course.

Though Rae has not graced physical catwalks as the others have, she has appeared in more campaigns than most flesh-and-blood models. Since her debut in Oct 2020, she's collaborated with sneakers brand SBTG, cult label Monsoon Patrol, street artist Sam Lo, luxury car brand Audi and celebrity stylist Kim Robinson (who gave her the purple locks) - a testament to the meteoric rise of virtual influencers globally.

Rae says: "It's definitely an exciting time to be virtual, especially when there are fully digital closets now to put your best foot forward - minus the carbon impact because there won't be any textile waste."

In fact, sustainability is a key theme in The Front Row, which will showcase 10 homegrown brands and eight regional and international labels from Aug 27 onwards on the website www.thefrontrow.style.

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Many of these brands are wholly committed to making fashion that is responsible, inclusive and seasonless: Jude by Jude Ng upcycles all unused cloth. Korean label Ki Lee makes chic accessories from eco-friendly material only. ITT Swim makes sexy swimwear from recycled plastics and other waste. The Better Diamond promotes lab-grown diamonds as an ethical alternative to mined diamonds.

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Madly Gems, a jewellery design house founded by former-Kiss92 deejay Maddy Barber, will be showcasing its baubles. PHOTO: MADLY GEMS

Madly Gems, a jewellery design house founded by former-Kiss92 deejay Maddy Barber, will be showcasing its baubles. PHOTO: MADLY GEMS

[scald=246141:article_inline_image] Madly Gems, a jewellery design house founded by former-Kiss92 deejay Maddy Barber, will be showcasing its baubles. PHOTO: MADLY GEMS

Other brands featured in the festival include In Good Company, Marilyn Tan, Madly Gems, Max.Tan, Olive Ankara, Shirt Number White, Tria The Label, Michael Cinco, Sebastian Gunawan and Nuboaix.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has also compelled almost every brand to pivot online, with expanded e-stores and concerted social media campaigns. The Front Row, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, is helping these brands with their online push.

Rae, a natural champion of digital transformations, says: "The pandemic has greatly influenced how we shop now. We probably spend more time now thinking of what clothes to cart out... than trying them physically in-store.

"The extensive information on measurements, model's sizes, colour options and lookbooks have greatly increased our appetite for an offline-to-online experience. And a lot of the emotional attachment or perceived value to a certain label is probably the result of a digitally-driven journey rather than interacting with retailers face-to-face."

We look at three Singapore-born designers now living overseas who are making their debut appearances at The Front Row festival.

JUDE Melbourne

JUDE is the namesake label of Jude Ng, a Singapore-born Melbourne-based designer who set up his flagship store in 2016 in the trendy suburb of Fitzroy. Since then, he's maintained a steady clientele of forward-thinking locals who appreciate his asymmetrical, gender-free designs as well as his commitment to sustainability and social issues.

"We're all about manufacturing our pieces in Melbourne ethically and sustainably, and we try our best to use as much natural fibres as possible. I have a zero-waste policy, so any fabric that gets cut by the makers gets right back to our studio. Here we turn them into accessories, bags and one-off garments... Our business model is all about being slow, small, sustainable and ethical."

Besides that, Ng also favours asymmetry and genderneutral designs: "We have menswear and womenswear, but a lot of the shapes are gender neutral. So, for example, the jackets and pants can pretty much be worn by both sexes. And they're also trans-seasonal, meaning they can be worn for years to come."

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Jude by Jude Ng favours asymmetrical, gender-neutral and seasonless designs. PHOTO: JUDE

Jude by Jude Ng favours asymmetrical, gender-neutral and seasonless designs. PHOTO: JUDE

Jude by Jude Ng favours asymmetrical, gender-neutral and seasonless designs. PHOTO: JUDE

[scald=246142:article_inline_image] Jude by Jude Ng favours asymmetrical, gender-neutral and seasonless designs. PHOTO: JUDE

"We build our collections each season such that they can tie back to the previous one. That way, our customers can keep building their wardrobe where they can pick things from five years ago to match with what they just bought – instead of throwing away these older pieces.

"It's very important to us to be very conscious and ecofriendly." Ng, 36, left Singapore for Melbourne in his mid-teens with his family. But he maintains strong ties to Singapore where he still has relatives and good friends whom he has not seen for some time because of the current travel restrictions. Melbourne has endured five lockdowns and just came out of its latest one.

Jude the label is making its debut in The Front Row festival because Ng sees the urgency of spreading the label's message to the rest of Asia during this time. He says: "It's exciting for me to be part of something from my home that is also trying to promote independent labels internationally. It's an opportunity for me to broaden my audience in South-east Asia as well as the rest of the world."

For the festival, Ng will showcase his pieces against the backdrop of Melbourne, "turning these everyday streets into the everyday person's runways… That's what we're about – designs for everyday people."Visit designbyjude.com

DEVA & GABO Paris

DEVAKI was once a prolific visual artist in Singapore. Having graduated as the top fine arts student from Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts in 2000, she painted beautiful nature-inspired images that earned her an Honorable Mention Award at the Philip Morris Asean Art Awards in 2002. Her canvases are in the collections of numerous institutions including Singapore Art Museum and Economic Development Board. And to top it off, she even modelled in her free time for Carrie Models Singapore.

When she got married in the early 2000s, she moved to Paris with her husband and had a daughter whom they affectionately call Gabo. Now in her teens, Gabo loves clothes as much as her ex-fashion model mother. So when Devaki decided to launch her own label earlier this year, it seemed apropos to name it Deva & Gabo.

Devaki says: "My husband has a job that requires us to move around. And when we were living in Ghana, I couldn't find clothes that I felt comfortable wearing. So I started making some of my own... Doing so reconnected me to my simultaneous love of fashion, art and creating things. And the desire to start my own label was born."

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Deva & Gabo is founded by artist and ex-model Devaki, who handpaints patterns and motifs directly on some of her garments. PHOTO: Deva & Gabo

Deva & Gabo is founded by artist and ex-model Devaki, who handpaints patterns and motifs directly on some of her garments. PHOTO: Deva & Gabo

Deva & Gabo is founded by artist and ex-model Devaki, who handpaints patterns and motifs directly on some of her garments. PHOTO: Deva & Gabo

[scald=246143:article_inline_image] Deva & Gabo is founded by artist and ex-model Devaki, who handpaints patterns and motifs directly on some of her garments. PHOTO: Deva & Gabo

Deva & Gabo features ultra-feminine clothing infused with colour and lightness. Some of the sleeves and skirts feature semi-abstract nature images reminiscent of her paintings, as anyone familiar with her art can attest. "I even hand painted these (floral and butterfly motifs) directly on the silk, so that every garment we sell is unique."

With the brand just under a year old and the Paris fashion scene still adjusting itself post-lockdown, she is participating in The Front Row festival to get the word out on her label. She says: "Deva & Gabo is about bespoke dresses in quality materials, created with a bit of fantasy. These are dresses that can work whether you're wearing heels, boots or Converse sneakers, with or without make-up. These are garments that'll bring out your personality rather than overwhelm it."Visit devaandgabo.com

CELEST THOI Kuala Lumpur

Singapore designer Celest Thoi moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2009 because her husband is Malaysian. In 2011, she launched her namesake label specialising in bridal and formal wear for women, attracting a loyal clientele in Singapore, Malaysia and even Australia and the UK.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 decimated much of her business because countless weddings got cancelled or postponed. The weddings that did carry on were simple or even sombre affairs, with brides opting for casual no-fuss white dresses.

Thoi says: "Business had been good for many years up till February 2020: That was when I made my very last wedding dress. After that, all my wedding jobs kept getting postponed, some as many as six times. Every time we thought we could come out of a lockdown and hold a wedding, something happens that derails all our plans."

But Thoi wasn't going down without a fight. She decided to reinvent her business with a new line of chic white dresses and shirts called Coterie, which will be featured in The Front Row festival. The collection is inspired by her modern independent female friends who, like her, turn to white tops and dresses as a default signifier of strength and empowerment.

Thoi says: "I've always wanted to start a casual readyto- wear range. But the wedding business has always kept me very busy, with some months requiring me to deliver as many as 20 dresses... So now's the best to start Coterie, in honour of all the strong independent women out there going through these challenging times."

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Celest Thoi's Coterie range features white dresses, shirts and shirt dresses. PHOTO: CELEST THOI

Celest Thoi's Coterie range features white dresses, shirts and shirt dresses. PHOTO: CELEST THOI

[scald=246144:article_inline_image] Celest Thoi's Coterie range features white dresses, shirts and shirt dresses. PHOTO: CELEST THOI

Launched a year ago on Thoi's website and social media accounts, Coterie has seen many of its designs snapped up by stuck-at-home shoppers eager to try her new line. Beyond that, Thoi's dresses have also been popular with brides who getting married on Zoom or in small ceremonies with no more than 10 guests. "For these brides, it does not make sense to buy an elaborate bridal dress because there's no proper reception. So they're choosing to wear a simple but elegant and timeless white dress for the occasion – which in part reflects the times we live in."

Thoi says:"I've always loved white shirts and dresses, in all the various shades of white. Who knew that a pandemic would push me to start a new line, revamp my website and sell my creations online – something I had never done before when I was making bespoke wedding dresses."

Thoi turned her silver lining into a golden opportunity.Visit celestthoi.co