Singapore's First Virtual Fashion Fest

A NEW DIGITAL fashion festival called The Front Row may be what the local industry needs to become viable. The festival features virtual fashion shows and style presentations by two dozen homegrown labels, as well as interactive workshops and gallery tours, from August 20 to 29. Labels include Elohim by Sabrina Goh, GINLEE Studio, Holtan Vibes, ITT SWIM, MAX.TAN, Olive Ankara, Reckless Ericka and Shirt Number White, as well as guest collections from other ASEAN countries.

The festival offers ''front row'' seats for anyone watching it online, and promises versatile, ''season-less'' looks that you can theoretically carry across trends and seasons. Right after the show, you can click on a button to instantly purchase something - or stick around for the post-show dialogue with the designer, to whom you can pose questions virtually.

Supported by Enterprise Singapore and organised by Daniel Boey Creatives and AP Media, the festival is no doubt an attempt to combat the pandemic's social distancing measures that have kept many shoppers at home. But beyond that, an online showcase also helps address the many challenging issues facing the industry now, such as high carbon emissions, wastage and overheads.

The festival's creative director Daniel Boey says: ''Some people might hate me for saying this. But even prior to Covid-19, the fashion industry had become so saturated, it had nowhere else to go but down. Fast fashion was getting faster and faster, and creatives were being priced out of jobs because of the price wars in various segments. We were seeing fewer and fewer opportunities, and local models, stylists, photographers and hair-and-makeup experts couldn't survive.''

INDUSTRY REBOOT

As a longtime fashion producer frequently hired to direct shows, Mr Boey does not deny his role in the wastage: ''We build beautiful stages only to tear it down. We fly across the world just to see a show. The manufacturing of clothes sucks up a lot of environmental resources. Our carbon footprint is really high.''

According to a BBC Future report published in March 2020, the fashion industry accounts for about 10 per cent of global carbon emissions, and nearly 20 per cent of wastewater. In fact, fashion uses up more energy than both aviation and shipping combined.

But when Covid-19 struck and disrupted the entire industry, that became the wakeup call for every label around the world to reconsider its approach. Here in Singapore, with high overheads threatening the survival of local labels, the savvier ones have aggressively taken to the digital sphere to woo customers.

Indeed, during the first phase of Singapore's lockdown, some Singapore labels such as State Property, Maisha Concept, GINLEE Studio and Binary Style did well online, selling out several items. Mr Boey thinks that ''forwardthinking labels that had the foresight to realise that digital is the way of the future are the ones who will survive this crisis and beyond.''

For the record, Mr Boey stresses many of the two dozen brands participating in The Front Row festival have already adopted various forms of sustainable practices: ''We have a wide range of designers who have different interpretations of being responsible.

''Being a sustainable label doesn't just mean recycling materials or buying from responsible sources. Other things such as making madeto-measure clothes and not keeping stock are also ways of being responsible... Many of these brands are either already practicing some of these things, or taking the necessary steps in that direction.''

RETURN TO CRAFT

My Boey imagines that when it is safe enough to hold fashion shows again, labels might prefer a smaller-scale presentation instead: ''We should bring back the tea shows of old, where we showed fashion during high tea to a very intimate audience. We can also do workshops for a very small audience, but which can also be livestreamed so that you can watch it anywhere around the world. The possibilities of online engagement are endless.''

Paradoxically, he says, ''Covid-19 has helped us focus once again on the clothes, design and craftsmanship - instead of the Instagram snapshots of people drinking champagne at fashion shows.''

Nick Tan, managing director of AP Media, which is designing the online space, says the festival will take place in a 360 degree virtual environment where, just like in a festival village, there will be various buildings with different purposes. Visitors will have to make their way through the virtual space in order to, say, watch a fashion show, attend a workshop or enjoy a fashion photography exhibition.

Mr Boey says the festival helps democratise fashion by allowing anyone - instead of only fashion buyers, celebs, journalists and other VIPs - to access the festival. ''Whereas a lot of fashion shows are B2B trade shows, these shows are B2C. With no limit on the number of people who can watch the shows, we can finally have everyone in the same room with us.''

The Front Row runs from 20 to 29 August. Visit www.thefrontrow.style