Mr Mark Lee, President, Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore) (Taff),

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

1.    First of all, let me say how delighted I am to join you in championing our local designers and apparel manufacturing companies. At MTI, I have been working with our economic agencies and industry stakeholders on implementing the Retail Industry Transformation Map (ITM). You cannot talk about retail without paying attention to fashion. I have always regarded fashion as one of the most critical engines in the retail landscape. For its ability to absorb newcomers into entrepreneurship, attract consumer attention, drive discretionary spending, and project the identity of a people, fashion is hard to beat. A thriving home-grown fashion sector is a necessary aspiration of any global city. This is why I am honoured to accept Taff’s invitation to serve as your Patron.

Singapore’s deep design talent

2.    To create and own one’s fashion label is a dream cherished by many. Whether these dreams can come true is a question of talent, as well as opportunities.

3.    Do we have the talent? My answer is a confident ‘yes’.

4.    Earlier this month, I attended Boutiques Edit, a collaboration between Taff and Boutique Fairs, and supported by the DesignSingapore Council. There, I met many young designers of apparel and accessories. For example, Cherre Hermogena Eng of GENA, designs and sells shoes with adjustable heels that easily convert from high to low in a matter of seconds. She wants to revolutionise the experience of wearing heels and show there is no need to suffer for beauty. All the finalists for this afternoon’s Emerging Designer of the Year awards, both for fashion and accessories, bring fresh new perspectives to Singaporean fashion. With further grooming and development, I look forward to them joining of the ranks of our more established designers, who are also being recognised today. The variety of fashion and lifestyle products that are conceptualised and made by Singaporeans is a strong affirmation of the depth of Singaporean talent.

5.    Do we have the opportunities? We must keep creating them for our designers, whether established ones or aspiring ones. 

6.    First and foremost, we must encourage more Singaporeans to get to know and take pride in designed-in-Singapore fashion products. Taff has called for Singaporeans to “Buy & Wear Singapore”, and I wholeheartedly support this call. There is momentum building amongst those wanting to support and willing to pay for local design. I understand that this month’s edition of Boutiques Edit quadrupled its take compared to the March edition. This shows that despite the challenges facing the global retail industry, people are willing to back our local talent.

Supporting our local designers to build capabilities, scale, and internationalise

7.    Next, there are many practical steps we can take to help our young designers turn their passion into reality. They face the same type of problems in scaling up their businesses as do many new entrepreneurs in other sectors. In their first forays into the fashion industry, young designers may not be familiar with the manufacturing, branding and marketing needed to make their labels a success. In addition, the Singapore market is not large, and when manufacturing of garments and accessories often depends on scale, our young designers have to build their business with internationalisation in mind.

8.    We want a large and vibrant ecosystem of brand owners with global footprints by 2020. This is captured in the Retail Industry Transformation Map, which envisions these brand owners in a thriving retail industry with highly-productive omni-channel retailers, supported by a professional and skilled workforce. In order to achieve this vision, we need to assist our young designers on two fronts.

9.    First, by building up their capabilities. Because Taff represents fashion, retail and garment manufacturers, you are uniquely positioned to guide these young talents and develop the ecosystem. I am glad to see that you are able to do so with the support of agencies like SPRING Singapore, IE Singapore and the DesignSingapore Council. I would also like to extend my sincerest thanks to the designers who have spent your time at the Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre (TaF.tc), and other institutes, to transfer your expertise and deep insights to generation after generation of young designers.

10.      Second, by helping our designers to internationalise. With the support of IE Singapore, Taff has put in place programmes to better position our designers at trade shows in key fashion markets in New York, Paris and Shanghai through the Internationalisation of Singapore Designers Programme. Some of our more seasoned designers, such as Whole9Yards, have benefited from the trade shows platform and are now represented in fashion showrooms.

11.      Taff’s FUZE Fashion Technology Summit is an example of an event that has successfully managed to both build capabilities and enable internationalisation. The summit aims to widen the intersection of fashion and technology, and position Singapore as a fashion technology hub. The two-day event included masterclasses which offered new insights for businesses to drive future innovation and business growth through the use of technology. I am happy to see that it drew both foreign and local delegates and generated business leads for our local companies.

Partnerships in support for local design

12.      As designers, when you take this journey of growing your label, know that you are among supporters and partners. Besides Taff and other like-minded trade associations and chambers, we have champions in the form of people like Carolyn Kan, who founded KEEPERS. Her new retail space at the National Design Centre continues to curate and showcase the best work of our local design talent, and bring them to the attention of the public. The collaboration between her label, Carrie K, and Disney is a finalist for the “Best Collaboration” award category.

13.      The Government also stands with you. In October, many of you here joined me and Minister Iswaran for the launch of Design Orchard. This is a joint project by JTC, SPRING Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and it will open by the end of next year. As a retail showcase featuring local labels, it will increase the presence of local design along Orchard Road. As an incubation space, it will provide holistic support to local designers in capability development and internationalisation. Design Orchard will enable designers to connect with overseas production partners and fashion associations, as well as get support for tradeshows and market access trips, business mentoring and training.

14.      There is a wonderful opportunity next year for “Buy & Wear Singapore” that I encourage our local designers to be a part of. Singapore has taken on the chairmanship of ASEAN for 2018. Among our duties will be to chair and facilitate official meetings and task forces, hosted in Singapore. We will be requiring gifts for delegates and outfits for the ASEAN Ministers. I have asked our public sector agencies to be on the active lookout for Singapore brands to showcase, and they are already in conversations with some of you. Even outside these official channels, there will be demand for unique local gifts when all the international delegates are in town. With the launch of the Singapore Food Gifts initiative at Changi Airport just this past weekend, we are allowing more visitors to bring a taste of Singapore back home with them. We must do the same for our local fashion and design to add vibrancy to the retail scene and strengthen our brand as a favoured destination for regional and international travellers.

Conclusion

15.      To all designers, whether experienced or aspiring: there is no better time than now to tap into your well of inspiration and create beautiful things for your fellow Singaporeans to buy, wear, and enjoy. So many stakeholders, from the industry and from the Government, are joining hands to help you fulfil your dreams. The sponsors and partners of this event, together with everyday Singaporeans, are all putting their faith into Singaporean talent, and we cannot wait to see what you have in store.

16.      Let me close by congratulating all the finalists and winners this evening. Let us all continue to build the Singapore fashion scene.

17.      I wish you all an exciting afternoon ahead.

18.      Thank you.