Made

March has been my 'Project Runway' month, because I've sewn myself a record of 3 dresses this month.

I've been going crazy over prints, and it was love at first sight when I saw this paneled fabric. Its somehow reminiscent of the prints that were seen at Mary Katrantzou's S/S 2012 show and I was inspired to pair another printed fabric with this one to create an effect like that of Mary K's dresses, but that didn't quite materialize because I couldn't find a good enough printed cloth to go with this one. 

My initial sketch

The finished work

I decided to experiment with a solid coloured fabric. My choice of fabric -  a royal blue linen material. This piece is so versatile - I went a little crazy with the accessories.

Necklaces: Marni x H&M, Clutch: Korea, Leopard print flats: H&M

Here's another piece that I made from this gorgeous cotton fabric that I got from Arab Street. I like the way the prints look like waves + denim mixed together. I wanted to do a dress that was not overly sophisticated, so I decided to do a sportswear inspired racer neck + A-line skirt.

The sketch

Heels: Korea

The dress

♥,
Fal

BOB | Best of British Favourites

There were so many designers at the BOB | Best of British Trunk Show but the clear favourite for me was Antoni & Alison. From the minute I set eyes on this three piece suit dress, I was enraptured by the sheer genius of their collection. Using the dress as a blank canvas, each dress has been sketched, drawn on and collaged into complex artwork sizes. The collection captures what we love to do best during our primary school art class - collaging. Using a mixed medium of felt tipped pens, cardboard, cellophane,  bin- bags, plastic and various shaped stickers, glued glitter, felt twigs, biscuits and a brown paper bag juxtaposed with stapled tweed and draped taffetas, brocades enhanced with sequins and feathers on spots of paper, these dresses require little or no fashion accompaniments.

The collection, which is aptly titled 'Models Walking Up and Down in Dresses', captures a raw idea in it's simplest and smallest form; and just like that a dress has been transformed into a work of art. What I like best is Antoni Burakowski and Alison Roberts' ability to capture the movement of a certain 'medium'. The superimposed shadow and life-like texture of the medium really do give the otherwise simple flat dress a sort of 3D like quality.

Coming in a close second is BOUDICCA, helmed by London based design duo Zowie Braach and Brian Kirkby. Since BOUDICCA's inception was in 1997, the brand come a long way, becoming the first Independent British fashion house to be officially invited to become a guest member of Haute Couture in Paris. This is truly an incredible recognition for BOUDICCA's work as its designers develop and hone their skills as true tailors and designers on a couture level. It comes as no surprise to me that BOUDICCA was extended such a great invitation. The tailoring in BOUDICCA's latest collection is truly immaculate. I guess these orange and black pieces speak for themselves. I'm also loving this white dress - the choice of fabric is gorgeous with tiny daisy-like flowers dotting the entire dress.

I'm a sucker for clutches and I find myself using them 90% of the time, so Amishi's collection totally won me over. Amishi means 'pure' in the ancient language of Sanskrit, and the pieces truly embody the pure beauty.

These hard-covered clutch come in brightly coloured and bold fabrics. They also come with a large precious stone clasp which is absolutely desirable and luxurious.

Bracher Emden is another label that carries drool-worthy bags. The British accessories label which embraces all things opulent and glamorous, celebrates its tenth anniversary this season. These unique and eye-catching bags come in exciting shapes and intricate designs such as this angular black clutch, and are certainly fashion statements in themselves.

Photos by thefword. Photos of Glamour Inc by Richard Chen.

♥,
Fal

Loot of the month

Two weeks ago, I joined in the madness which surrounded the launch of the much awaited designer collabs - Marni x H&M and Mary Katrantzou for Topshop as well as the Topshop NEWGEN collection.

I queued, braved the crowds and emerged victorious with awesome buys (more so for the Marni x H&M collection), and I couldn't be more satisfied.

Marni x H&M was total chaos with every batch of shoppers limited to 10 minutes of shopping time. As you can imagine, it was more of a grab and go affair. I'm glad I got everything I wanted and I was lucky enough to get my hands on the last set of Marni x H&M necklaces in Singapore. Very proud of myself.

While the Mary K for Topshop and Topshop NEWGEN collection was a more subdued affair; no queueing required, all of Mary K's dresses, tops and pants were sold out in a matter of 10 minutes. And missing from the racks of Topshop's NEWGEN collection were the Erdem t-shirts and Mary K t-shirts. I only managed to catch a glimpse of the Mary K t-shirt before it was tucked under the arm of a lucky shopper who got there first. At least Topshop handed me a Mary K for Topshop tote which had Mary K's signature floral prints on it. That made me feel a tad bit better. I did however, get myself the Marios Schwab and J.W. Anderson tees. I'm loving the prints on these tees and not regretting the buy one bit.

♥,
Fal

Opposites

Here's what Fir and myself wore for the BOB | Best of British Trunk Show. Fir was all summery in this gorgeous green dress. I love the prints and the belt that she paired with it. She told me that she had no time to think about her outfit and picked out a random pair of sandals and her usual set of chunky bangles to go with the dress. Nevertheless, she still looked so effortlessly cool.

I opted for a simple and monochromatic outfit with a loose-fitting blouse and black chiffon pants, and added a dash of colour with a watercolour clutch.


♥,
Fal

BOB | Best of British Trunk Show

Fir and I had the pleasure of attending the BOB | Best of British Autumn/ Winter 2012 - 2013 Trunk Show held by Glamour Inc on Wednesday. In case you didn't know, the trunk show has helped to pave the way for emerging as well as established British designers, such as Mary Katrantzou and KTZ, who would like to enter Asian markets.

At the recent trunkshow, we saw a studio full of works by Antoni & Alison, Haizhen Wang, Hermione de Paula, Pazuki, Vivien Sheriff, Pauric Sweeney, Amishi and more. There were also some of the usual favourites that we saw at the last trunk show - Belle Sauvage, Boudicca and KTZ.

The trunk show was a first hand experience of what its really like to be a buyer/ merchandiser picking out labels that have market potential in Singapore. And the entry of new names and labels every year really attests to the growing fashion scene here. Consumers in Singapore are open to shopping and buying beyond the more established fashion houses like Chanel, Gucci and Prada, and this can only be a good thing.

The upcoming season proves to be as refreshing as Spring/Summer is, since we saw racks and racks of clothes with bright pops of colour. Another trend that will continue through Autumn/ Winter is that of prints. As our guide Rice clearly pointed out, London is going crazy over prints, and in my opinion, no one does prints like the British designers.

On a side note, I must say that it is impressive that British designers get so much support back home. I recently read up about the British Fashion Council, an ad hoc group that supports the British fashion industry actively. Their aim is to showcase British designers and develop London’s position as a major player in the international fashion arena. Besides working closely with UK's fashion colleges, the BFC also provides support schemes and resources to budding British designers. A few of their latest initiatives include NEWGEN an emerging designer initiative sponsored by Topshop and the Fashion Forward awards. Another way to get British fashion designers out there is through the help of big wigs such as Victoria Beckham, and newly minted BFC Young Style Ambassador, Alexa Chung.
It is nice to know that in the UK, the fashion industry is getting such tremendous support. This brings me to the question of whether Singapore will ever be ready to be a fashion capital. Perhaps someday, and perhaps, it would be good to follow in the footsteps of this fashion capital.

Stay tuned to the next few posts where Fir and myself will pick out some of our favourites from the trunk show.



♥,
Fal

Queen Vikander

Meet Alicia Vikander.

A Swedish born actress who is not only drop-dead gorgeous but extremely talented as well. Over here in the temperate part of the world, we're probably not acquainted with her, or any of her works but this gorgeous Swede is definitely on her way to greater things and I can only hope she gets picked up by more publications, directors or photographers to increase her international appeal. She played several musicals at the Gothenburg Opera and trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School for three years, only to hang up those pointe shoes after injuries. Vikander also won the Guldbagge (Golden Beetle or Golden Scarab) Award for Best Actress for her role in the 2010 movie, Pure. 

Vikander's latest film is A Royal Affair, in which she plays Queen Caroline who indulged in a love triangle with her schizophrenic husband King Christian VII and his German physician, Friedrich Struensee. With director Helmer Nikolaj Arcel (who adapted the film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and executive producer Lars von Trier, this film promises to take on some perverse and dark turns. To illustrate the tenacity of this 24 year old, this is what she had to say about being on set,

“Every morning, call time was at 4:30 a.m., and I would always fall asleep in hair-and-makeup,” she recalls of work on the film. “But then an hour and 45 minutes later, I got to wake up a queen.”- Interview Magazine (read the full story) 

Behind her porcelain complexion and immaculate features lies a childhood that brings to mind a sense of nostalgia and the grand theatre. As the daughter of stage actress Maria Fahl Vikander, Vikander spent her childhood days backstage as her mother rehearsed, sometimes even sleeping in the wings. It's tough not to be carried away by the romanticism in the nostalgia, I'm a sucker for the backstage. The show is on stage but the magic is in the wings, the dressing rooms, the hallways; where absolute chaos takes place alongside silence and stillness so quiet and so still all you hear is your own breathing.

I'd love to see more of Vikander. Whilst her looks and talent are no doubt stunning, she evokes a sense of nostalgia and mystery in that smouldering gaze of hers.

By W Magazine

♥,
Fir

Stylist for a day

So yesterday, I had an opportunity to guest style for Dressabelle's collection, and it was lots of fun. It was my first time styling a photo shoot, and it took me awhile to get used to multi-tasking and meeting the time constraints. I just went into the studio and dived straight into the racks of clothes, shelves of accessories and pile of shoes. What made it really easy was the friendly (and crazy) Dressabelle team, Joelle, JJ (Mr. Photographer), Jiawen and of course, the sweet and bubbly model, Priscilla. Here's a behind the scenes look at the shoot.

Click here for my picks from the collection, and click here to shop the collection now!



♥,
Fal