Parco Next Next’S Designers Take Flight!

It has taken 18 months of blood, sweat and some tears but success is no longer a myth. It has become a reality for designers who have been part of the PARCO next NEXT programme.

Under the watchful eye of Singapore's own Tim Gunn -- David Wang, the designers have matured. They're now ready to export and be part of AFX's (Asia Fashion Exchange) Blueprint.

"We are so pleased with the successes of our designers. They've had to learn a lot in a very short time. They've had to retain their creative spirit while managing a business. It is heartening to see them pursue their dreams and succeed. We hope that they grow from strength to strength." -- David Wang, VP-TAFF

Here's a short list of successes PARCO's next NEXT designers have had in the past year.

Skins 'n' Bones -- matured into a designer who has been head hunted to create and launch a label in China. A bold venture!

Chalk -- Priscilla, a former Singapore Fashion Week (SFW) Competition winner has expanded her footprint from 1 to 3 distribution points in Singapore, plus a pop-up store in Tangs in April. She's also making plans to break into the Australian market and debuting in Blueprint this year.

OwnMuse -- Juang and Johanna has also expanded from 1 to 3 locations. Apart from having a good following, they have been featured in major magazine titles in Singapore such as Simply Her, Juice and Amica.

MAE PANG -- showing independently at Blueprint, this diminutive designer has come into her own. While also expanding her footprint, Aimei has been mentioned by blogs in Hong Kong as a fashion destination.

Un-covered -- Joanne Loh has just confirmed an order from New Caledonia! Joanne is known for her knits with a 'transforming' concept -- that is a versatile piece of clothing that can be worn in many ways.

Max.tan -- Max was the runner up of SFW Young Designer competition in 2007. At only 26, he was invited to participate in an international showcase of eight avant-garde designers at Modefabriek (a prestigious trade show in Amsterdam). He was also ranked top 10 among new designers on stylesight.com. Max also exports to multi label boutiques in Europe. He was recently featured as the next designer to look out for in the inaugural issue of Surface Asia.

The designers who will be showing under the PARCO next NEXT Banner at Blueprint are Chalk, Coupé-cousu and PAULINE.NING. These designers will also continue to retail at Parco.

Other designers continuing to retail at Parco and showing independently at Blueprint include MAE PANG, SOPHIELLE, Yumumu and L'ILE AUX ASHBY.

Designers who will show at Blueprint independently but will no longer retail at Parco are amuse, Bedlamite, max.tan and Tilly.

In addition, Shito, one of the first year designers will be showing at Blueprint independently. In spite of being only in the first year in the incubator programme, Shito has shown amazing maturity, focus and direction in their shoe creations.

"We've shared the path with the designers in the past 18 months and seen how much heart and soul they've put into their work. We're proud and happy to see them spread their wings and soar. The first batch of designers will always have a special place in our hearts," says Lai Sau Kuen, GM of Parco.

The success of the designers is also in part due to the efforts of the mentors and the incubator programme. The first year covers the fashion as a retail business. In the second year, the mentoring is geared towards expanding their business. At the same time the creative mentors ensure that designs and finishing continue to mature and improve. So much so that many of the designers have been invited to do collaborations, for example for AFX -- to design car skins for Audi.

Here's what some of the designers had to say about the incubator programme and the mentors:-

"This one year at Parco has opened so many doors for us! Not just to the press but also to our customers and potential buyers from around the region. We have benefitted from the mentorship program through our patient and passionate mentors and also through Parco who created many opportunities for us to grow our brand through various events. We're thoroughly grateful to start our business through this incubator program." -- Priscilla Tan (Chalk)

"I was really lucky to have 2 helpful mentors. They guided me in both design and business aspects helping me become more marketable and teaching me about merchandising. They were accessible, constructive and supportive. My mentors even shared their industry contacts with me!" -- Pauline Ning (Paulin. Ning)

As the incubator programme moves into the second year, it looks forward to nurturing, mentoring and growing aspiring fashion talent.

The fashion incubator at PARCO next NEXT has been an important milestone in nurturing our budding local designers in both design and business capabilities. With more young designers benefitting from this programme, we look forward to springboard more talents into the international arena," said Mrs Kee Ai Nah, Group Director, Industry Development Group.

-ENDS-

PARCO next NEXT fashion incubator project is collaboration between PARCO (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Textile & Fashion Federation (Singapore) ("TaFf"), supported by the government agency Spring Singapore. The project is housed within the 85,000 sq ft Parco Marina Bay store located in Millenia Walk and commenced operation on 31 March 2010. It accommodates a selection of fashion designers who will undergo an 18-month incubation period. These specially selected budding designers occupy a total gross area of approximately 6,000 sq ft, segmented into 2 different types of retail space -- an open concept area and stand-alone shop units.

PARCO
Parco Singapore was set up in 1991 and is wholly owned by Parco Co., Ltd, a major shopping centre developer and manager in Japan. The Singapore subsidiary was established as part of its growth strategy to explore and expand its business in the region. Outside Singapore, it renders retail consultancy services to third party projects in other Asian countries like China & Vietnam.

Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore) (TaFf)
Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore) (TaFf) was formed through a coalition of the textile and garment association in 1981. Singapore's textile and garment industry has since then transformed from a manufacturing base to a regional fashion, marketing and sourcing hub. As the industry's proponent, TaFf works closely with the Singapore government agencies to introduce many initiatives to help the industry players, develop Singapore companies and also to provide associated services and to supply their members with economic and statistical data necessary for them to further their growth and expansion at the international level. TaFf is also proud to have groomed many young design talents and companies, and for helping them to expand internationally.

SPRING Singapore
SPRING Singapore is the enterprise development agency responsible for helping Singapore enterprises grow. We work with partners to help enterprises in financing, capability and management development, technology and innovation, and accessing new markets. As the national standards and accreditation body, SPRING develops and promotes internationally-recognised standards and quality assurance infrastructure that builds trust in Singapore enterprises, products and services, thereby enabling their global competitiveness and facilitating global trade.

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