Jay Chou in Singapore, says Nathan Hartono won’t be performing at his concert

SINGAPORE — Taiwanese mandopop superstar Jay Chou was met with a screaming crowd on Friday afternoon (Sept 2), when he arrived at his PHANTACi boutique at orchardgateway to witness its official launch. The brand, which had a soft launch in May, is its first overseas boutique outside of Taiwan.

Chou, who was wearing a PHANTACi Singapore Grand Opening Limited Edition t-shirt and PHANTACi black shades, waved to his fans when he arrived at around 4.15pm, sending the crowd, which numbered some 250 to 300 people, into loud shrieks.

Asked by the emcee whether homegrown jazz singer-songwriter Nathan Hartono, who had picked Chou as his Sing! China mentor recently, will be performing in his concert on Saturday, Chou said no.

“I wish I could bring him to the concert but he’s busy preparing for his next competition. However, I’ve already prepared tickets for his parents who wanted to attend my concert,” he added.

On why Singapore was his choice for PHANTACi’s first overseas store, Chou — the brand’s co-founder, creative director and special guest for the opening ceremony — explained that he “shops in Singapore quite often”, and so decided that it “was not a bad idea” to set up shop here.

The crowd started building some two hours before Chou was scheduled to arrive at 4pm. Some fans waved his newest album Bedtime Stories, while another shouted that she had just touched down this morning from China, and was here specially to meet Chou at PHANTACi’s official opening.

At the official opening, Chou took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony before he was presented a Looney Tunes-themed cake that had flames shooting from sparklers.

Located at the second level of the mall, the modern 1,200sqf street wear boutique features sleek pink shelvings and black and white display tables that was purposed to resemble piano keys.

Founded by Chou, Ric Chiang and Chou’s creative team in 2006, PHANTACi is a streetwear apparel brand which designs take inspirations from Taipei — the epicentre of Taiwan pop culture.

In addition to their in-house collection, the brand also actively collaborates with other top brands such as Nike, Casio and Stussy, to “bring in new and exciting products”.

One can expect to find PHANTACi’s Fall/Winter 2015 and Spring/Summer 2016 collection at the Singapore boutique. That includes a range of graphic print T-shirts and caps designed for both males and females. Prices range from S$49 for a crop top to S$400 for limited edition Nike and New Balance shoes.

PHANTACi currently has four stores in Taiwan. It is also celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

PHANTACi is located at orchardgateway, #02-05/06, from 11.30am to 9.30pm. For more information, visit www.phantaci.com.sg