Digital Fashion Week 2013: Dressing the Screen exhibition

Yes, Digital Fashion Week (DFW) is returning this year. And yes once again I will be hosting it alongside my dear friend and gorgeous host Yvette from Tanjong Bazaar. 

But the thing I’m so excited about in this second edition is the amount of local Singaporean talent it is showcasing as well as its fringe event which combines two of my favourite things: fashion and film.

Prepare yourself as there will be more coverage coming up about DFW closer to the date and some AMAZING SURPRISES you never guessed (wink wink I cannot tell you yet!!!) but this particular post is about the event which is happening with the support of the British Council and starts end of this week.

I am taking about the ‘Dressing the Screen: The Rise of Fashion Film’ exhibition which will showcase works by some of the world’s best fashion designers and film-makers from varying angles and perspectives – all through a series of films put together by respected British curator Katheryn Ferguson.

What I wore to London Fashion Week A/W13

Fashion weeks these days are as much about the shows, new trends and designers as they are about streetstyle. But nothing prepared me to the streetstyle mayhem at Somerset House where it was more like paparazzi frenzy!

The decision to attend London Fashion Week this year came late and I hardly had any time to prepare – or pack any outfits to bring from Singapore. But even if I did plan, my outfits after living eight years between Dubai and Singapore meant very little I owned was suitable for the freezing London temperatures.

But it’s not all bad. While I didn’t have time (or the budget) to shop for an LFW wardrobe I did manage to recycle the outfits I had worn and mix and match them with accessories and a few pieces I picked up between London and Beirut in the past few months.

Almost all my LFW wardrobe was recycled from stuff I had already worn and
owned for years! And when I have a bad hair day, my kafeyya is still the best solution ;-)

London Fashion Week: War and fashion collide with Taiwan’s Ming Pin Tien

If there is one designer who truly wowed me during London Fashion Week, it has to be Ming Pin Tien.

Another Asian designer whose talent has already been attracting some interest from significant industry players, this was a show that a lot of mainstream writers had their eyes on.

The London-based young Taiwanese designer was named as ‘one to watch’ by the prestigious Vauxhall Fashion Scout last September and took the challenge head on. Stepping up his game with some innovation and originality – traits not always common in the industry these days.

Fashion mainly entertains. It inspires sometimes but it rarely moves you. However Ming’s show gave me goose bumps as it wasn’t just about clothes, there was something much deeper to his work that allowed you to admire him as an artist.

London Fashion Week: Huishan Zhang does East meets West at its best

It might be surprising to some that the majority of the London-based Asian designers who showed at LFW did not force their cultural or ethnic backgrounds into their designs.

And while it was a refreshing change to see designers from the East feeling confident enough to simply design beautiful and wearable clothes sans any ethnic twist or gimmick, there is something to be said for keeping your influences subtly on display.

Step forward Huishan Zhang, the Chinese-born designer held a mainstream LFW show and demonstrated that it is possible to nod to tradition without being a total cliché.

I mean, a man who considers the picture of Chinese elegance that is Maggie Cheung his ultimate style icon isn’t going to veer off into making asymmetrical monochrome prints with conical bras and Grecian draping is he?

London Fashion Week: Haizhen Wang rounds up Asia's triumph

Closing London Fashion Week has got to be a big honour. And that honour went this year to a rising Asian designer who has emerged on the fashion scene lately by winning the prestigious Fashion Fringe award last year.

This is Haizhen Wang, the Chinese-born designer who is fast making a name for himself in the industry.

Haizhen’s show was a treat and his stunning creations came as an appropriate end to this fashion week which saw a huge rise in emerging talent – one of the things that London has carved a reputation for.

London Fashion Week: Eugene Lin's evolutionary AW13 collection (photos+video)

When I was first introduced to Eugene Lin’s work – just before he took part in the first Singapore Digital Fashion Week (DFW) – I was truly impressed.

And even though he felt the need to head to London to pursue his dream, his talent gave me even more  conviction that there are many more world class creative gems in the little red dot.

I was initially attracted by the obvious. The breathtaking digital prints which featured in Eugene’s past two seasons collections have been extraordinary. But when interviewing the designer as part of DFW he mentioned to me that it is not something he will keep doing for long so I half expected his latest collection at London Fashion Week might come as a surprise for those used to seeing his stunning prints.

What he actually did was evolution and not revolution. He hasn’t ditched his staples, instead improving on his existing strengths and adding smaller experimental twists which hint at a new direction.

London Fashion Week: South Korean designer J. JS Lee's show

Transitioning from warm and sunny Singapore to freezing London in winter is no joke. Especially when my entire wardrobe consists of summer-friendly frocks with hardly any jackets or knitwear in sight.

As a warm weather lover, I’m no big fan of chunky winter wear but seeing the second South Korean-born designer Jackie Lee’s collection (under her label J. JS Lee) at London Fashion Week had me wishing I lived in cold weather all year long. Well not quite but at least a few month per year so I get to wear some of it ;-)

The beautiful and effortlessly chic pieces - from outerwear to elegant dresses - won me over. The main reason I never liked winter clothes is that heavy, gloomy feel and chunky silhouette which never looked flattering on me. The London-based designer’s mostly A-line coats on the other hand had a certain weightlessness about them. They looked comfy yet sharp and chic at the same time.

London Fashion Week: Korea’s Eudon Choi opens Day1 with a bang

If there are still any skeptics out there about the power of Asian designers, this London Fashion Week (LFW) has come to prove them wrong.

Just looking at the schedules – both the main and the fashion scout one which is designated for emerging talent – shows you the sheer amount of Asian-born designers who are making it big and are on the rise to dominate the fashion soon really soon.

From names who have earned their spot in the main lineup like Jackie Lee and Eudon Choi – the winner of last year’s Emerging Talent Award at the Global Fashion Awards in New York – to more recently spotted designers like Nova Chiu.

On top of that are those who have a bit more excitement around them. The lucky few who have been billed by those in the know as the ones to watch: Patrick Li and Yeashin. And these are just the ones showing in the first two days!

Bonjour Singapore at London Fashion Week

When asked about my favourite fashion capital, my answer has always been London.

The city’s quirky and care-free style is much more fun and closer to mine than any of the other cities.

While New York’s is mostly chic, minimal and established, London’s runway is always bursting with cutting egde, prints, textures, colours and extravagance which reflect this city’s multi-cultural identity.

Attending London Fashion Week (LFW) has always featured heavily on my fashion bucket list. And luckily I can tick this one off long before the end approaches. The official crossing off takes place on Friday (February 15) to be precise.

I feel so incredibly lucky and excited to be able to report back from such a huge event! Trust me, I’ve been mixing and matching my wardrobe for five days straight now.

Honestly I’m not really bothered about the big shows. I mean who am I kidding? I’m not competing with Vogue or Elle who would have their expert reviews and flawless photos uploaded instantly after the show. And with today’s LIVE-streaming for shows like Burberry’s, I don’t see the point in fist-fighting to get a ticket (somewhere in the back if I was lucky!) when I can watch the show from the comfort of my own home.