Front Row relocates; +9 Autumn/Winter 2009

we're moving, folks.

Front Row, one of Singapore's foremost cult boutiques, is relocating from the current premises at 5 Ann Siang Road to:

Raffles Hotel Arcade

#02-08/09

328 North Bridge Road

5 Ann Siang Road has seen Front Row from its opening in 2004 till now - and of course, back then, the boutique was one of the first of its kind to move into the area. all good things do come to an end, but our new location is hardly shoddy now, is it?

personally, i love the Ann Siang area; the soothing location away from the main shopping belt and that its maintained its cache... unlike the post-trendy Haji Lane, which has long lost its edge and seems more like a ghost town these days. blame it on the trendy wannabes.

anyway, Front Row is holding a final moving out sale from 5th - 7th November, which will also be the last day of operation at 5 Ann Siang Road.

7th November is this Saturday, so if you do like our boutique at Ann Siang, pay a visit before we move for good.

(for details of the sale, HERE)

operations resume 1st December at Raffles Hotel Arcade.

anyway the collective group of 9 young local designers, +9, staged its autumn/winter 2009 show at Front Row's roof top a few weeks back.

n.nchal.nt by Timothy Lee

Demisemiquaver by Teo Ying Hui

Mad Dog's Gang Men by Ong Wei Sheng

iamwhoiam by Tan Qiu Wen

FAKE by Windy Aulia

Antebellum by Chia Wei Choong

Pettifogr by Anastasia Hoeng

YOVIAJOGIA by Yovia Jogia

see you at Raffles Hotel Arcade in December.

Horace Greeley

"Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character."

Dolce & Gabbana: Ion Orchard

Dolce & Gabbana celebrated the official opening of its flagship boutique at Ion Orchard Singapore on Friday, and yes, everyone was there.

quite a mouthful, but the bloody awesome party Dolce & Gabbana threw was worth it.

with Laila, pre-party.

very Chloe, Laila. loved it.

with Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, The New Paper columnist.

like i said, everyone was there.. including a certain David Gandy, long time muse and face of Dolce & Gabbana's.

Grace Lee, editor-in-chief of Nuyou magazine. Amazing Grace, as she is known in the local scene. she hardly wears any make-up, or if she is, it's the barest minimum. gotta love that in a lady. it's always a treat to spot Grace at any event, and i do tend to look out for her.

Chia Wei Choong, designer of Antebellum and one-ninth of the collective group +9, together with Wei Lun, currently a stylist at Men's Folio magazine.

Sharon Tulasidas! resident fashion editrix of Style: magazine!

this lady is awfully familiar looking but i just can't place her name.. she was compelling in what looks like a Lanvin skirt and possibly.. a Dries bolero?

it was a relief to see Zoe Tay clad in something that wasn't strong-shouldered or with those fall 2009 leg of mutton sleeves that was everywhere at the party.

Zoe was burning it up in a crimson leopard print gown, which Eva Mendes also wore to the Venice Film Festival.

i love it whenever Zoe does variations of the short, boyish crop; she pulls them off exceptionally well, if you haven't realized.

Laila's sister, if you will.

i kid, but this lady was the cutest, shyest thing with her long skirt (a nod to that), striped top (Laila and I; we can't resist stripes) and that hairband with the gigantic bow.

usually i have no tolerance for silly girls with their cutesy hairbands but we were all in love with her.

infectious, easy music that even i, the non-clubber, couldn't resist.

whooping music, Veuve Clicquot, stunning crowd (hello, David Gandy?) of celebs, all the major media, movers & shakers of the local scene and eye candy overload; thank you, Club 21.

in a sense, Dolce & Gabbana have been ahead of the game by embracing bloggers to a greater extent than others, no?

Max Tan

outfit by Max Tan, runway image via plussixfive.

the ankle length, pleated pants and general flow of the fabric were all very much to my liking. personally, my favourite number (and designer) off the entire show - Manifesto by Blackmarket, held at Zouk on friday night, in which four Singaporean/regional labels were presented:

Max Tan

Tangle

Gian Romano

Frufru & Tigerlily.

attended with the classmates and Laila Lu, the force behind Rock The Trend.

polka dots, tartan checks (Scottish kilt, $3) and off-white long johns? surely my.. most unexpected outfit to date, colour-wise. guess i was feeling colour, for once.

stripes are unfailing obsessions in my book, polka dots come second.

Here's a thought:

if you must do the whole strong shoulder trend, why don't you style it with options that aren't immediately obvious and predictable?

i love love love the options that she's chosen: loose trousers and Converse sneakers. ESPECIALLY the Converse.

think it over, girls. THINK IT.

quit being lazy and easy like all the Others.

Yawn.

is the status of "being straight off the spring 2010 runway" supposed to be valid justification for something unremarkable? next, add that the aforementioned item is from Givenchy and watch fashion victims everywhere tumble over themselves to declare that they would just D.I.E for what is "absolutely the coolest sandals they have like, ever seen."

until next season comes along and another seasonal, oh-so-fancy trinket catches their eye of course. then they'll absolutely die all over again.

haven't you heard? in fashion, we have more lives than a cat.

the same theory applies to these Vuitton clogs as well - though they might even be cooler than those groundbreaking-Givenchy-studded-gladiators because LOVE mag head honcho Katie Grand (LV show stylist.. duh!) and Francesa Burns were seen wearing them! and they were like, wearing such cool clogs mere hours after the show!

really, hours? i'm surprised they didn't pull a Carine and wear the clogs before the actual runway show itself.

seriously, can we move on? such coolness is killing my brain cells.

Daniela

Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010

closing the Dolce show? i think that should be one of Daniela Kocianova's biggest breaks so far.. she's had a slow and steady momentum over the past two seasons but Daniela's surely moving up, up, up.

can't wait for her to turn up in Paris.

Atelier Versace Fall 2009

rather unexpected, Donatella - the technique and materials on this dress really reminded me of Paco Rabanne, who shook up the stuffy haute couture establishment with his technologically advanced metal and plastics creations in the 1960s.

if it's really Donatella that's designing, of course.

anyway, just a little thought on Spring 2010 collections so far.. the overall mood seems to be a step backward again.. that of the early Noughties/late 90s, or perhaps it's just especially so with the Milan shows (especially D&G).

Armani had an awfully lackluster collection (garishly "aunty" dresses and sickening belts) - bad timing coinciding with Mr.Armani's unbanning of New York Times critic Cathy Horyn from his shows.

also, Frida Giannini showed us a Gucci collection that i, surprisingly, didn't despise. it was actually getting quite hilarious anticipating the Gucci show, wondering how bad it could stoop to.. almost a pity that Gucci spring 2010 put an end to the trainwreck of the past couple of seasons - with their fall 2009 collection being the most wretched of them all.

speaking of Fall 2009, i'm just glad to see designers departing from the overwhelming "nostalgia" from that season; was never one to appreciate the garish fashions of the 1980s.

in The September Issue, Anna says that fashion is not about looking back - it's always about looking forward. but i'm always unsettled whenever i hear it, because fashion is constantly mining the past and repackaging it for the now, isn't it?

more thoughts on The September Issue next time, please do watch it if you (shockingly) haven't already.

and yes, Candy Pratts Price reaffirmed my dislike of her - she really came across as a shameless toad falling all over herself to lavish praise upon Anna. can you be any more blatant, Ms.Toad-Face Price?

“I can’t think of anything more confusing or overwhelming than having a big walk-in wardrobe. It would exhaust me having to sift through that many clothes. If you know what works for your body, you can actually turn 15 or 20 great items into a hundred outfits...

If you have too many options, I find that you actually end up losing your direction and the sense of who you are."

- Yasmin Sewell.

Giovanna

the only woman (so far) with the ability to make thigh-high boots look natural, not trendy.

you know how i feel towards oh-so-trendy little girls... but Giovanna is thoroughly convincing that those boots have already been in her closet long before the trend overdosed last season.