Singapore may be small, but it sure punches above its weight in the fashion world. The global spotlight has been shining brighter on designers and brands from the city-state in recent years as support from consumers and investors alike grows, spurring a wave of optimism and efforts to develop more homegrown talent.
Debra Langley, partner at UK-based lifestyle investment platform CAPTIS, tells Options that the fashion scene in Singapore has become “more sophisticated”. A big part of this, she notes, has come from growing global interconnectivity. “Designers have gained exposure to accessible technology and insights into what other designers are doing in other parts of the world, so there’s a path to emulate and that has driven experimentation.”
This is generating interest not just within Singapore but also from elsewhere. Homegrown label Aupen grabbed headlines earlier this year for its partnership with LVMH Metiers d’Art; its signature asymmetrical handbags have been spotted on the shoulders and arms of A-list celebrities from Beyoncé to Lady Gaga. Earlier, in 2021, fellow Singaporean brand Love, Bonito secured US$50 million ($67.1 million) in a Series C funding round led by China’s Primavera Capital Group.
Zhang Ting-Ting, CEO of the Singapore Fashion Council (SFC), says that from a fashion business perspective, the city-state has several advantages that make it stand out from other markets despite its small size. “Singapore plays a powerful part in the growth of the region thanks to the connectivity to other markets in the region, our advanced infrastructure and talent.”
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Boosting the next generation
Riding on this, institutions here are coming up with ways to encourage young designers to not only continue pursuing a career in the fashion industry but also to reconsider how they might go about operating their fashion businesses.
SFC recently launched its first pool of scholarships, comprising a Fashion Industry Scholarship supported by garment supplier Fu Yuan International and a Responsible Fashion Scholarship supported by multinational group RGE. “We hope to dress [young talents] with the right tools and critical skills to navigate the different moving parts of the industry,” says Zhang of the scholarships, which entail awards of $10,000 each.
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The council also runs The Bridge Fashion Incubator (TBFI), which provides support to young startups in the fashion and lifestyle sector. One such beneficiary of the programme is GINLEE Studio, a local label known for its intricately pleated garments and accessories.
“TBFI encouraged us to adopt a startup mindset, challenging us to rethink our business model and explore new opportunities,” says founder and designer Gin Lee. Through the programme, GINLEE conceived the idea for MAKE, a made-to-order mode of production that Lee describes as “an antithesis to the mass, ready-made retail model”.
The concept was further developed after Lee and co-founder Tamir Niv completed the Good Design Research programme administered by the DesignSingapore Council in 2020 and it was eventually launched in October of that year. The model proved popular with consumers and government agencies, says Lee, adding that this gave the brand much-needed support during a difficult period.
“Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, MAKE helped us engage consumers with a unique retail experience that included customisation and learning, all while being supported by a local supply chain,” says the designer. “This not only introduced GINLEE to new customer segments but also helped us navigate the supply-chain disruptions that affected many businesses during that time.”
Besides MAKE, GINLEE also operates a “get-order-on-demand” — or just “GOOD” for short — preorder service to reduce excessive production and waste. “GOOD is our take on slow fashion and also our way of encouraging customers to lean into conscious buying,” Lee explains. The initiative, which gives shoppers a 15% discount for a longer three-to-five-week preorder period, allows the brand to more accurately gauge demand before production actually commences.
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Such models are gaining traction among fashion brands not only because of their reduced impact on the environment but also because operating on a low-waste basis makes good business sense. CAPTIS’ Langley adds that investors are often keen on brands that disrupt traditional ways of operating to create bottom-line benefits. “Implementing a ‘consumer-to-manufacturer’ approach or leveraging technologies for design, development and on-demand production can be appealing as well since investors typically hate the impact of unsold inventory on a business.”
Multidisciplinary disruption
Others in the local scene are also diving deeper into sustainability, industry experts tell Options. Langley notes that fashion “is trying to shift towards more agile and responsive production models”, pointing to the rise of small-batch production and on-demand manufacturing.
For fashion companies seeking funding, Langley says that besides the usual factors of scalability and solid financials, new factors are coming into the fore for investors, including green credentials. “As sustainability has become increasingly important, brands that incorporate eco-friendly materials, ethical production processes and circular economy principles are likely to attract investor attention.”
SFC’s Zhang cites Singapore’s strengths in “innovation, finance, supply-chain management and talent” as factors that give companies here a leg up in the race to go green. “Local brands have been developing great new technology to tackle pertinent sustainability issues, and Singapore has the infrastructure for investment deployment to power innovation, which can then be scaled up and deployed regionally.”
Asked about other topics that are shaking up fashion today, Langley cites new tools and new models of commerce as two major factors in disrupting the industry’s status quo. “Looking ahead, we can expect increased integration of technology, [such as] 3D tools, AI and generative AI,” she says, adding that “increasingly innovative” sales channels are also set to gain ground.
Some companies are even meshing themes, taking high technology for high impact. Among these is Xinterra, a Singapore-based material-development startup that has received support from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Last October, it launched COzTERRA, a carbon dioxide-absorbing fabric.
“In 2022, we were studying the possibility of adopting the textile and fashion industry as our beachhead market for our CO2 capture materials,” says Xinterra CEO and co-founder Patrick Teyssonneyre. He explains that while the Xinterra team did not have any prior experience in fashion, they benefited from programmes like TBFI and link-ups made through SFC.
Since its launch, Xinterra has partnered with the new label Kemunna to create T-shirts that absorb CO2 from the surrounding environment while being worn. The absorbed greenhouse gas is converted into sodium bicarbonate — better known as baking soda — when the garments are washed. By Xinterra’s estimates, each T-shirt can absorb between 16 and 41 grams of CO2 in its lifetime.
Leveraging technology
While the development of materials such as COzTERRA is usually a very lengthy process, Teyssonneyre says the integration of AI in Xinterra’s research and development (R&D) processes has helped push things along significantly. COzTERRA was created in about 14 months. He says: “Compared to the five years that established chemicals and materials companies would have taken”.
“Materials are a combination of many different raw materials, additives and processing conditions,” Teyssonneyre explains. “There might be millions — maybe billions — of combinations possible for just one class of material or formulation … The use of AI allows us to run millions of virtual experiments in a short period, exploring a massive amount of possibilities and shortlisting those that will be validated in the physical lab.”
Of course, AI has drawn its share of criticism, particularly in the creative industries. Langley points out that while generative tools can “take on many of the repetitive tasks”, human ingenuity can’t quite yet be replaced.
She thus views the dawn of the AI age as one where designers’ roles are “evolving” rather than diminishing. “Designers will use these quintessentially human skills — imagination, instincts and intuition — to think beyond what we’ve ever thought possible while at the same time moving into the role of curators and directors of AI-generated ideas.”
This, then, will mean new ways of engaging with technology, Langley adds. “Undoubtedly, designers will need to develop skills in using AI, like prompt engineering and manipulation, to guide these technologies towards creating designs and processes that align with their own brand aesthetics, market trends, consumer preferences and, of course, business needs.”
Going international
As the fashion industry here continues to develop and as global interest in Singapore fashion grows, more homegrown brands are looking to dig into a slice of the international pie.
But expanding out of Singapore isn’t all that easy. SFC’s director for industry development and internationalisation, Leonard Augustine Choo, tells Options that the barriers to breaking out on the global stage are multifaceted, with challenges ranging from macro issues such as investment appetites and costs to individual-level concerns like market knowledge.
Besides continuing to facilitate opportunities for local fashion companies at trade shows, business missions and trunk shows, Choo shares that SFC has developed a Global Fashion Programme, which will be rolled out at the end of the year to help such companies internationalise. Support provided under the programme will include “consultation and knowledge-building for business development, deep insights into market trends, data and culture for specific markets and direct operational analysis and augmentation planning”, he elaborates.
Langley, who sits on the advisory board of the DesignSingapore Council, says it is certainly possible for Singapore to continue producing fashion brands with an international presence. “There is always potential for something new and innovative that touches a chord in the cultural zeitgeist, organically generates customer appetite and demand, and that is agile and able to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves in different ways.”
