STYLO Fashion Week 2012

Last week was mental! It was a week of juggling work assignments, helping out friends in a video shoot, and dashing off for STYLO right after work. Seeing they were themed parties, I had to allocate time to dress up for them. My friend, Jimmy, generously gave me invites to this year's Mercedes-Benz Stylo Fashion Grand Prix - yup, you've guessed it, organised in conjunction with the F1 Grand Prix season. This is my first time attending Stylo, and boy! did I have a blast (although it was somewhat tiring having to work my ass off during the day and party at night with minimal sleep)

The themed nights I attended were:

RAPUNZEL IN PARIS OF THE EAST
presented by Kronenbourg L'Aperitif Fashion
20th March 2012

The night featured designs by Carven Ong, the only 'fashion' show that evening. Followed by sci-fi fantasy-like hair shows from Winnie Loo @ A Cut Above and Lois Lee. Gotta love Carven Ong's gowns, he is one of my favorite local designers.

Carven Ong

Winnie Loo @ A Cut Above

Lois Lee

Also bumped into a few familiar faces that night, whom I have not seen for yonks: (left) Linora, looking gorgeous as ever; and (right) Mun Yee @ Zana, we had crazy fun as prefects in high school!

 

The BBQ lamb served that night was SO GOOD!!! especially with the mint sauce that gave me garlic-breath the whole night. I should have gotten the caterer's number


HARRY POTTER AT THE CIRCUS
held in Carlsberg's Headquarters
21st March 2012

This was my favorite night of all. They transformed the whole backyard at Carlsberg's HQ into a carnival. There were stalls with pizza, chocolate fondue, popcorn, candy floss, BBQ, alcohol (!), and also had circus-like performers present on the grounds, including a fortune teller. Of course, it was also that one night where I can don something cheerful. The majority were dressed in black, because the dresscode mentioned 'witches and wizards'. I went with a more goofy, circus-themed outfit.

 

Oh, how tempted I was to kidnap the albino into my bag! One of the featured designs (out of recycled items) were from the Stylo Emerging Designers finalists.

Seeing I never had my fortune told, I sat in front of the 'fortune teller' and picked three cards out of the deck, as told. The first thing he told me was, "You are going to get married, TWICE" *eye-opener* continued by information such as I am going to have two kids, my life is going to be good, I will lead a happy life, I will be more successful as a singer than acting, etc..

I always knew I should take what was told by a fortune teller with a pinch of salt, but I can't help pondering about what he said. Though, I did question his deck of cards (regular playing cards with Carlsberg print) but thought maybe that's part of the company's marketing strategy?! Lo and behold, he is not a real fortune teller, but an event blogger! HAH! Nevertheless, I would still like to think that I am going to end up with a happy life! *positive thinking*

 

I invited my sister to the Circus with me, she was not free the other nights. I had a tough time browsing through my list of friends in my head, wondering who to invite, as not many of my friends are keen on dressing up. Sigh!

 

 

Left: Costume for the night (caged). I bejewelled the sides of my face too.
Right: The Jimmy Choo - 'nuff said


MAD HATTERS BALL
held in Thean Hou Temple
22nd March 2012

Seven designers showcased their pieces on the runway that night. It was one fashion show after the other. Bliss! I enjoyed myself, being inspired by such amazing local talents. My favorites of the night (in no particular order) are Edric Ong, Bill Keith, Jovian Mandagie and Khoon Hooi. We were told that Khoon Hooi's collection just debuted at the Paris Fashion Week a few weeks before Stylo!

Before the fashion show, models paraded the runway with Panasonic Lumix cameras donning dresses from each of the night's designer. Love the one second from left!

Bill Keith's collection opened with a 'ballet dancer' gracing the stage in a costume inspired by the movie Black Swan. Reason I used inverted commas is because I was not the only one doubting she is trained in ballet. Good performance to the start of his collection (also inspired by Black Swan) though. I love Bill's mix of feathers and kebaya tops. Love the sheer-black kebaya top with red embroidery, paired with a black corset-like feathered top.

Moving on... there were some people who were not fond of Edric Ong's design, but I love most of the pieces he presented that night. It is really Bohemian-Meets-Asian themed. He used different textures, prints, materials while crossed cultural touches in each piece.

As for Jovian Mandagie, his designs are amazing! So detailed, so inspiring.. but what attracted me most is his use of models. Throughout the whole fashion week, the only healthy-looking model I've seen is from Jovian's show. I overheard some people calling this girl 'fat' when she appeared on stage. It is really appalling how skewed fashion's perception is on the 'ideal' proportion of one's body, to the extend of endangering a young model's health. Forget about the whole 'Size Zero' thing, one of the models on stage was so obviously anorexic that she looked scarily bony and unattractive in the clothes. Koodos to Jovian for featuring one with curves!

 

Jovian's other collection

Khoon Hooi's collection is very fashionable ready-to-wear. I love every piece presented on the cat walk! No wonder he's a world renowned fashion designer.

I am trying not to overload my post with photos (as if it's not filled with them yet), hence I am only featuring pictures from my favorite four of the night. Of course, the after party photos follow:

Fun people are the ones who dress up!

 

MERCEDES-BENZ STYLO MODEL SEARCH FINALS 2012
held at the newly opened The Pool
25th March 2012

Theme of the night was 'Drop Dead Gorgeous', and I was not in the mood to put on something tight-fitting. Hence, I decided to don a saree, given to me by my best friend, Thasha years ago. This is something one can't wear on a regular dinner date without looking over-dressed.

With the exception of a few Caucasian models, the majority of the guests showed up in black dresses. I kind of stood out in gold!

So, they announced this year's Model Search winners - the girl I have been eyeing on throughout fashion week (not in a sexual way) took home the title! I knew she will win, she stood out among the rest in all the shows. Sadly, I don't remember her name (bad with Asian names, sorry).

On another quite irrelevant note, I did not wear heels that night, just flats. So, I practically felt like a hobbit, though I should not feel so as most girls present were in at least 4-inch heels! Hey, I am 5'4" - average height for an Asian!

Besides attending the fashion shows and be knocked off my feet by the creativity and talent of the designers, I also mastered the art of applying my make up in less than 10 minutes. Winner! haha! I also filled up my bag of used cotton pads, cleaning off the colors on my face each night. Sigh, the things girls do for fashion. I need to pamper my skin now after days of agitating it with make up.

Before I end, one last photo ...

Another photo opportunity with the man himself, how can I say 'No'