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Winter is coming

SINGAPORE — The balmy, tropical climate in Singapore is perfect for the lightweight, breezy pieces that define the Spring/Summer fashion season. But conversely, it makes the Fall/Winter collections a conundrum for local shoppers.

SINGAPORE — The balmy, tropical climate in Singapore is perfect for the lightweight, breezy pieces that define the Spring/Summer fashion season. But conversely, it makes the Fall/Winter collections a conundrum for local shoppers.

It’s the same story for the buyers of retail stores and fashion brands, who have to grapple with the annual challenge of choosing pieces that will sell well here, from a fashion season that focuses on heavy fabrics and clothes designed to keep out the cold.

The trick, according to Ivy Teo, general manager of merchandising at Robinsons, is to take an even greater curatorial and strategic approach, which means bringing in less outerwear and more perennial favourites like dresses — even to the point of working closely with the brands’ principals to develop lighter pieces.

For high-street fashion giant Mango, strong trends that consumers can relate to and fall in love with can overcome the traditional antipathy that local consumers have towards the Fall/Winter collections, said Idoya Noain Ruiz, head of area public relations department.

“As with every season, the Mango collection highlights different trends,” she said, citing the continuing popularity of last season’s 1970s boho trend as one such example, albeit given a new spin using various textural fabrics.

Givenchy’s senior brand manager Clara Tan agreed. “The buying pattern (at Givenchy) is not significantly different from one season to another because, ultimately, it’s the style and strength of the collection that matters,” she said.

Bucking the general trend of bringing in hot-weather friendly pieces are the labels on the far end of the luxury spectrum, who say that their well-heeled and cosmopolitan clientele, in fact, expect to see a good representative of the runway collections, regardless of the season.

A local spokesperson for Hermes affirmed this, saying that the brand’s customers “want to be able to see the same collections” as those seen in Paris, Milan or New York. “Season after season in fashion, we bring in different styles of coats, capes, leather and other exceptional pieces so that our customers can update their wardrobe. Customers want to feel that the local boutiques have a well-rounded collection that will cater to their needs.”

Added Celine Tan, head buyer at high-end multi-label store Club 21: “In general, we tend to pick the less heavy pieces which will sit better with our customers. Having said that, our customers do travel and so we also carry an assortment of thick winter pieces. Essentially, the mix of our buys during (this season) has to cater to the different needs of our range of customers.”

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