I have a thing for Rooftop Bars

Wearing Organza Shirt from tba, The Editor's Market, white cropped pants from H&M, mirrored court shoes from Rubi


I've been visiting a lot of small boutique bars as well as brunch places with my boyfriend lately and I just thought that I'd share some of these places with you. I've recently discovered the quaint little rooftop bar located on top of Mint Museum of Toys, which is a small museum exhibiting nostalgic, retro toys of the 50s - 70s. They offer quite a large range of cocktails, mocktails, beers and hard liquors. I ordered Dr.'s concoction, designed to chase away Monday Blues and my boyfriend got Mr Punch. Both were sweet, fruity with a hint of tangy.

I wore this lovely lavender organza shirt to the first day of Asia Fashion Summit, a two-day business conference held annually to discuss fashion and retail trends. The topic of the moment these days predominantly revolve how social media and new media outlets has influenced fashion and how brands can engage their consumers on the plethora of social platform. This is my second participation at AFS and I love it because every year I just learn so so much from all the industry professionals coming in to talk about their experiences or from fashion consultancy firms analyzing retail trends. I will be reporting exclusively on my interviews with 3 venerable figures in fashion - Ann (Founder of Front Row and Front Row Studio), Daniel Saynt (Chief of Marketing at Rebecca Minkoff) and Mercedes Gonzalez (Director of Global Purchasing consultancy firm).

Look out for those upcoming posts soon! :)

Soulpot Studio - Exploring the Korean fabric of the soul

I had the opportunity to discover Korean designer Kim Sujinn's work during the Blueprint tradeshow and was very impressed by her vision and the sense of intimacy that her clothes seem to carry, simply through its fabrics and loose, poetic silhouettes. 

Sujinn K. is the youngest designer to show at Seoul Fashion Week and the amazing thing is that she is an entirely self-taught designer. She has never had any formal training in dressmaking nor fashion - previously she studied Chemistry in university. Her love for fashion started when she began reading dressmaking through books and through the years, she has been creating beautiful things and is now into her 11th collection already. Handling all aspects of her label alone (designing, sourcing for fabrics, marketing, PR...), this is one amazing and strong girl. Despite all this, she remains very humble and down to earth. 


I first met her at her Blueprint booth - a seemingly quiet and reserved girl. Upon touching and feeling the subtle luxury of the fabrics, I was drawn into her collection, but unfortunately we couldn't communicate. It was only on the second day when I returned to her booth that I managed to interview her informally through a translator. 

Hand dyed parka with Hanbok inspired high collar & cutouts

Loose silhouettes & tie-belts to allow for free styling

Linen inner layer cotton weaved muslin outer

Naked Glory: What are the inspirations behind your designs? Why do you choose such soft and slouchy silhouettes in these neutral colors? 
Sujinn K: I want to use organic fabrics and the traditional Korean ways of dyeing and treating fabric so that it is better and more comfortable for the human body. I'm not trying to achieve the Japanese Zen - that is another set of values altogether. A lot of the styles here are reinterpretations of the traditional Korean Hanbok in a modern way. Because a lot of Koreans hate traditional costumes nowadays, so I want to change that mentality and show my designs internationally for people to know what traditional Korean fabrics and believes are.  I want to make my styling free and easy so there is a lot of lightweight fabrics and draping. 


In Korea in the past, our ancestors used to wear long pants and long sleeves even in summer. This was because their fabrics were very breathable and lightweight. So I have incorporated a lot of linen in my designs. 

I personally observed that Sujinn paid a lot of details - it all lines within her stitching, buttons at the side of her maxi skirts and ingenious draping.

NG: I really love your designs but I'm concerned about the commercial factor of your designs - how are sales doing so far in Korea and what about your stockists elsewhere?

In the beginning it was very difficult because I was a young designer and because of my minimalistic designs that are unlike what the KPop culture promotes nowadays. That's why I have my diffusion line Soulpot Studio Basic Words, which is a selection of 10 essential basics trickled down from my main line. But unlike some other labels that assert itself with loud colors and futuristic designs, I want to establish soft design principles that resonate with my customers/wearers of my clothes. So gradually, I have attained local customers that can identify with my designs and values. 

Every tag comes with complete breakdown of fabrics used & swatches

SBSW - diffusion line

Soulpot Studio embodies a quiet sophistication in its designs, but yet at the same time a determination to create change and express values through fashion. It is not just retailing clothing, but the brand itself reflects the cultural level of Korea and has created a mature elegance by relating to its own cultural aesthetic and identity. In today's age, it's not easy to find that anymore. And that's why I love the label. 


Watch Soulpot Studio's SS12 show at Seoul Fashion Week here to see how her clothes move. Notice that she casted all Asian models.

A day in the life of a Fashion Buyer

I signed up as a buyer host this year for the annual Blueprint tradeshow for independent fashion designers instead of as the media because I thought it'd be interesting to follow buyers around to see how they decide to place orders. I was attached with the founder and buyers from Hong Kong multi-label boutique, Voulez Vous - two very cute ladies - Karen Peng and Stella Tang.

On day 1:
8.40am - I arrived at Suntec City convention centre where Blueprint is held this year to wait for my buyers.
tick tock tick tock
10ish am - My buyers are finally here! I was introduced to Karen and Stella.
Stella zooms straight onto L'ile aux Ashby, a local accessory designer, having previously received his lookbook images before. The co-designer is engaged with someone else - we move on.

10.30am - Stella discovered a London based label designed by an Indonesian lady featuring loud graphic prints of animals - lions, parrots and chimpanzees dressed in royal headgear. Their dresses also featuring a mashup of colors and black tutu skirts. Karen got in talks with the designer and we find out that they customize graphic prints as well and is currently not stocked in HK yet. Stella liked the brand immediately for this loud prints and colors. "Hong Kong people like bright, loud colors and big prints," she says.

Stella also found another Hong Kong designer that specializes in "tattoo" leggings - I must say I'm also in love with their graphic print leggings, being made from a blend of nylon and spandex. It feels very smooth, breathable and luxurious. She has never heard of the Hong Kong designer's label before and seems interested to work with her. After a short chat in Cantonese, we move on.



10.50am - Stella spots New York label Dzojchen and is interested in their leather and denim spring collection. She likes the feel of the fabrics but feels that the designs may not do well in the HK market. The designer offered them a thick lookbook and line sheet of the looks. The ladies politely turned her down.

11am - Karen and Stella goes over to RougeRouge, a Bangkok designer offered quirky leather clutches and small bags. Stella loves the designs and gets Karen to take photos of her carrying their Salvador Dali inspired eye clutch bag, book clutches and mustache clutch.

For the rest of the day, Stella and Karen pretty much work very fast - talking to designers whom they feel would be suitable for the Hong Kong market. The rest of the designers they spoke to were Mae Pang, Juma, Unbounded Awe (for their cute graphic socks), Vice & Vanity and Nikicio. They are mostly interested in stocking loud and chunky accessories such as those from Vice & Vanity, and also graphic prints/digitally manipulated loud prints for clothes.

I've learnt that in HK, there are a lot of small multi-label boutiques like theirs so Stella is keen on keeping the collections she orders exclusive to Causeway Bay (where her boutique is located) and the Central area. Nobody likes seeing other people stocking the same stuff they spent time curating and selecting. Approaching a brand involves talking about their delivery mode (consignment, drop shipment?), duration of lead time, line sheets, minimum order quantity if any, counter samples and also wholesale and recommended retail pricing.

We were done with the tradeshow by just over 1pm, so in short, the buyers took only roughly 3 hours for the tradeshow of over 100 brands. Some of the brands were good but they were just not suitable for their HK clientele so we didn't even approach those brands. This experience definitely strengthened my wanting to be a buyer! It's such a niche market in the sense that it requires you to be good at both numbers and people - building relationships with designers and suppliers, and also negotiating the best prices for yourself.
Hope this post is useful for anyone who's interested in being a buyer.

Revival

I confess I feel insanely guilty that I haven't updated my blog in so long. Believe me - it pains me to see it looking so abandoned as well. Since summer holidays have begun in 5 May, I've been really busy with my work at Zalora Singapore and also with my other projects. The past week has seen me waking up at 830am daily and ending my day only at 10pm = a terribly exhausted Vera who is now sick.

But here is a revival - I will begin to recount my experiences of the amazing past week filled with activities under the Asia Fashion Exchange 2012.

EDIT: This giveaway is no longer valid because Zalora terminated the campaign early! It was due to be terminated on 22 June but they have invalidated the code already ):
So sorry to everyone who have participated - I'll hold another giveaway real soon!
To thank my dear readers who continue to follow and read my blog, I have something for you - $25 off vouchers from Zalora Singapore (with min $50 purchase)!
To get the vouchers, simply:

1. Like my Facebook page here.
2. Follow me on Google Reader here.
3. Then leave a comment to this post with your name and email!

I have quite a lot of vouchers to giveaway so everyone will get 2 vouchers :D Whilst stocks last!