Just Woman @ AsiaOne

Front row seat

Seven new labels are debuting at cult boutique Front Row from Dec 7. Of these, six are Singaporean and one is a Malaysian design collective.
Michelle Tay

Thu, Nov 29, 2007
Urban, The Straits Times

Seven new labels are debuting at cult boutique Front Row from Dec 7.

Of these, six are Singaporean and one is a Malaysian design collective.

demisemiquaver (left) by Teo Ying Hui and Antebellum (right) by Chia Wei Choong are among the home-grown brands debuting at Front Row boutique.

Among the home-grown brands are Antebellum, the label of Asian Young Fashion Designers Contest 2008 winner Chia Wei Choong, as well as demisemiquaver, I Am Who I Am and Fake from the Haji Lane-based design collective Studio Prive.

Many items will be one-of-a-kind pieces with prices ranging from $50 to $700.

This is the Ann Siang Road boutique's initiative to dedicate retail space to feature young designers from Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. The store already stocks hip home-grown brands like Jonathan Seow's Woods & Woods and Vik Lim's Crux.

Front Row owner Ann Kositchotitana, 31, says: 'I want these young designers, most of whom have never dealt with buyers, to know what it's like to have the pressure to produce and design with commercial viability in mind, and to meet deadlines.'

Antebellum and Fake are menswear labels. The former boasts lean silhouettes, clean lines and finely tailored fabrics while the latter is more relaxed, with fine knits and sporty separates.

Womenswear labels Utt'er, demisemiquaver, n.nchal.nt, I Am Who I Am and Malaysian collective ThirtyFour offer well-cut apparel with clean lines, deconstructed jerseys and tailored jackets.

Kositchotitana is confident the clothes will sell well.

She says: 'Their designs should have international appeal as Front Row gets many tourist shoppers.'

The launch of the new labels coincides with the second anniversary of the three-storey store, which also sells art, design books and music CDs.

 
   
 
 
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