In the words of Japanese model Ai Tominaga (above), 'Beauty is not just about blond hair and blue eyes'. But I was disappointed to find that non-Asians dominated the catwalks at the 10 shows I attended. This, despite this year's theme of celebrating Asian beauty.

Organisers said that more than half of the 160 models selected this year were Asian or Pan-Asian, compared to last year's 15 per cent.

But at shows like River Island Rocks The Runway and Tangs Wardrobe which were, incidentally, staged by home-grown retail groups, less than a quarter of the models looked vaguely Asian.

One possible reason for the lack of Asian faces is that festival organisers paid just $320 - $80 below the market rate - per show for a catwalk model from local agencies, says Colin Wee.

A former model, the Singaporean is now a scouting and development manager at home-grown agency Ave. As a result, top home-grown names like Charmaine Harn and Junita Simon, who command higher fees, turned down the bulk of the shows.

Another reason is that Asian models were turned away at castings by IMG.

'We sent quite a few Asian girls for multiple castings,' says Ewan Shah, head booker at local agency Upfront. 'But while fringe events at VivoCity and Raffles City picked our Asian models, I was disappointed to see the same blondes walking at The Tent at Ngee Ann City.'

The SFF also has its own list of IMG models and choreographers from more than 15 - mostly Western - countries.

Show participants are not charged extra if they hire not more than 14 models from this pool but incur additional costs if they engage stylists, producers and models not on the list.

'They flew in big Asian names like Ai Tominaga and Anne Watanabe but failed to cast from the talent pool in local agencies,' Wee laments. Ave provided about 17 models for the SFF, including Harn.

Thank goodness then for show participants like alldressedup, Robinsons, Triumph and The Link, which hired Harn, Simon and other home-grown models such as Lee Mei McCurdy, who can command up to $1,000 per show.

Rising star Sheila Sim was the most prolific local model this year, walking for at least five shows. She was also the only Asian model for Brit brand River Island.

After the River Island show, the Robinsons group decided to up the ante for its Robinsons Fashion Impressions show held the following week by roping in veteran show producer Daniel Boey. Robinsons paid extra to engage him and he then enlisted Singaporean model Simon to open and close the show.

Real people and celebrities also injected a much-needed dose of fun into shows like Tangs Playlab and Femme de Caractere presented by Baylene and L'Oreal Paris.

Let's face it, folks enjoy looking at people they can relate to. Something to ponder on, perhaps, for SFF organisers who want to produce an event that is truly Asian.

May Yip

I didn't shop a lot after last year's Singapore Fashion Festival (SFF). Most of the shows quickly became a blur because their clothes were forgettable.

I do, however, vividly recall alldressedup and Ashley Isham - both labels designed by Singaporeans. Their clothes were beautiful and their shows immaculately choreographed.

I wanted to tell the world about alldressedup by Sven Tan and buy its entire collection - and wouldn't the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have loved me for it.

STB launched the annual SFF in 2001 to position the country as a regional fashion retail hub. The idea is that festival-goers will rush out to the shops right after the shows and snap up whatever they liked on the runway.

Last year, festival organiser IMG-Pico drew much flak from the press for not putting enough local designers on the show schedule.

If you want Singapore to be a regional shopping hub, fashion insiders reasoned, then you need to showcase home-grown design talents.

IMG-Pico listened. This year, 12 out of the 25 shows starred local designers, up from seven out of 23 last year.

But I have to admit I was unimpressed when I first saw the schedule. Not because the local designers lined up were boring, but because the international names didn't excite me.

It took a couple of calls to find out where Vivienne Tam and Matthew Williamson, who opened and closed the festival respectively, were stocked: Tyan at Ngee Ann City and Tribeca at Forum The Shopping Mall respectively.

Clothes by Shanghai's Lu Kun and French designer Jean Luc Amsler are not sold in Singapore at all. Neither are those by Indian designers Priyadarshini Rao, Savio Jon and Anshu Jason.

If STB wants to promote Singapore as the region's retail hub, SFF needs to show labels that can be bought here.

The likes of Lu and Amsler who, no doubt, want to gain entry into the local market, should be shown during Singapore Fashion Week instead. The less glitzy, trade and industry-based cousin of the SFF happens every October.

Thank goodness for the last day of the festival, when 22 of Singapore's top designers - both veterans and newcomers - came together to show couture with a red and white theme in the TaFf (Textile and Fashion Federation) Presents Singapore Fashion Rules show.

The clothes shown were well-cut, unique, wearable and, most importantly, affordable.

This year's festival proved Singapore designers are no longer mere programme fillers. I'd willingly part with my small pay cheque for clothes by Baylene, eWomb, nicholas, alldressedup, Tian and Peter Kor.

And it certainly didn't surprise me to learn that all these labels are either already sold overseas or have just been approached with business deals by foreign buyers.

Someone even ordered eWomb's entire 10-piece collection for $3,000 for herself. It wasn't me, but I wish it could have been.

Michelle Tay