Su Ann, a 28-year-old Singaporean teacher, had never seen a couture creation up close and could only dream of wearing a pricey designer label.
But thanks to a new exhibition by flamboyant designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, Su Ann and other residents of the label-conscious city state can indulge their passion for high fashion without having to spend a cent.
PHOTO: REUTERS
They can even play at being catwalk supermodels for the French couture king who is famous for his overtly sexy and androgynous outfits. But there is a catch: they can't take the creations home, but nor would they want to.
The French designer has teamed up with a fashion curator to produce an interactive exhibition in a Singapore museum which invites visitors to take part in a simulated fashion show dressed up in Gaultier-inspired outfits.
The exhibition forms part of Singapore's annual fashion festival and offers a showcase for Gaultier's avant garde style as the label launches an expansion drive in Asia, with stores planned in Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei.
The quirky new designs at the exhibition are not likely to appear on any store shelves.
The would-be fashionistas don a white gown at the beginning of the show and walk through a series of rooms in which they choose Gaultier "accessories" made out of paper, cardboard and cloth.
They emerge on a catwalk to strike various dramatic poses and a photographer superimposes their face on an image of a real Gaultier outfit they have chosen.
The models take home a printout of their experience as a souvenir of their moment in the fashion spotlight.
"A garment is a state of mind ... it is the screen for a nice surprise," Jean-Louis Froment, the show's curator, told Reuters in an interview, saying Gaultier aimed to create an interactive experience using aesthetic and playful objects.
Visitors were in high spirits as they applied neon-colored false lips and tried out a selection of cardboard wigs before strutting along the catwalk.
"It brings out people's creativity and encourages you to break out from your shell, especially for Singaporeans who are generally reserved," said Lani Chan, a 41-year-old manager. "I think everybody dressed themselves up well. It's interesting to see the different elements that emerged."
The exhibition, which debuted in Tokyo last year, runs for three weeks at Singapore's Asian Civilizations Museum before heading to Paris. Asia is already a key market for Gaultier, contributing one-third of the brand's retail turnover of 600 million euros (US$522 million) last year. But although the Gaultier label aims to make inroads in Asia, organizers say the show is not intended as a commercial fashion promotion.
"This is a creation by Jean-Paul Gaultier for a museum. A reflection on the artistic spirit of a fashion designer more than that for a fashion show," Froment said. "This is not a fashion showcase."
Su Ann, whose only exposure to Gaultier until now was through wearing the designer's perfume, enjoyed her fleeting fashion experience. "It's just an opportunity for people to dress up in high-camp fashion," she said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks
RSS