When I first moved to Singapore and started this blog, apart
from the fun and excitement I wanted to share, I had one thing on my mind which
I wished to concentrate on and keep as my ‘mission’. That was and still is,
highlighting young talents from Singapore and the region.
Since then, I had the pleasure of meeting and discovering a
lot of them especially through the Parco incubator program which allowed me to
see the first-hand how hard-working, determined and talented some of them are and I couldn’t be happier to
dedicate a big part of my blog to show off their work.
Recently, another scheme promoting Asian talent has caught
my eye and I decided to equally give it the coverage it deserves especially
that it has great deal of promising talent. This is the Audi Star Creation - a
fashion design competition open to all aspiring Asian designers who reside in
the region.
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| Audrey Lim, one of our three winners in 2010. She is working now as an Assistant Designer with the Design and Development team in RAOUL. |
The contestants were asked to come up with six creative and
commercially viable designs based on the theme “Fashion Without Frontiers” and
after preliminary judging, 12 finalists were chosen ranging from a 20-year-old
Singaporean to a 32-year-old South Korean.
Three winners will be announced on the 14th of May
with a planned fashion show, and will be given the opportunity to intern at FJ
Benjamin and a cash prize of S$10,000. One of the three winners, whose design best embodies the Audi design spirit will also stand to win the Audi Young Designer Award, which carries an additional $10,000 prize!
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| Eugenice Chen from Singapore is the youngest finalist this year! scroll down for the Q&A with her |
There is only one final winner but I do believe all the 12
finalists deserve to be highlighted, so I decided to email few questions to ALL
of them and got back some very interesting insight on their collection and
aspirations.
Starting today, I will publish one interview every
Tuesday and Thursday of the week until May 10 to cover all 12 finalists. I will
also be at the fashion show where the winner will be announced and bring you
back all the good news shortly after so stay tuned!
So here’s the first Q&A starting with the youngest
finalist, 20-year old Eugenice Chen from Singapore.
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| Eugenice's mood board, inspired by Japanese architecture |
Name of designer: Eugenice Chen (Singapore)
Age: 20
Name of Collection: Morning Mist
Age: 20
Name of Collection: Morning Mist
- What made you participate in the Audi Star
Creation? How did you hear about it?
Audi Star Creation was introduced to me by my one of my lecturers, Jay
Quek who at that time was in-charge of our final year project. I also attended
a talk by representatives from Textile and Fashion Federation in school, where
I learnt more about the competition. More than anything I wanted my designs to
be recognized and this was a great opportunity for that! Haha and also the
prizes and the experience it had to offer were an added bonus!
- What was the inspiration behind your
collection?
My collection, Morning Mist, draws influence from
the structured curves and forms of Japanese architecture and is a nod to how
the country incorporates Zen Buddhism and its culture into the building forms.
- What new ideas/approach do you think you bring
to the fashion scene in the region?
My collection
is a play on classic pieces, like shirts and dresses. I added subtle but unique
details to make the otherwise ‘regular-looking’ pieces stand out.
- Any Asian designers/labels that you like and
look up to?
I love Asian-American
designer Alexander Wang for his clean cut silhouettes, his understanding of
what women want and what clothes complement them most.
- What would you like to do if you win and who
would be your target audience (people in the region, age group, style,
etc...)?
If I win, I
would save the prize money to start my own label one day.
I can see a lady
in her twenties wearing my collection. She has a fresh face and enjoys drinking
tea in the morning.
To find out more about the Audi Star Creation, go to http://www.starcreation.sg/
To find out more about the Audi Star Creation, go to http://www.starcreation.sg/
