Singapore’s Parisian Dream

May 28

By Angelene Wong

This article explores the relationship between Paris and Singapore, how Singaporean journalists have interpreted Paris for a Singaporean audience to sustain Paris’s influence as a fashion capital, how Parisianness has been adapted for Singaporean consumers, and how Paris was used as a benchmark for international success for Singaporean fashion practitioners.

“Exclusive is the word for all the wonders around me. The thing that stays in the mind long after you walk out of the House is this exclusiveness – and the prices that go with it. But, as one girl said to me as we sauntered round the soft-carpeted showrooms, is it not an extra-nice feeling to be the proud owner of something bearing the Dior label? And I had to agree.”

– Judith Yong, 24 December 1967, The Straits Times

Introduction

For Singapore’s fashion industry, Paris has not only been a destination where designers and models went to seek international success, but the ideas from Paris have persistently permeated local mainstream discourse on fashionability, filtered through fashion journalists’ eyes. This article explores the relationship between Paris and Singapore, how Singaporean journalists have interpreted Paris for a Singaporean audience to sustain Paris’s influence as a fashion capital, how Parisianness has been adapted for Singaporean consumers, and how Paris was used as a benchmark for international success for Singaporean fashion practitioners.

Paris through Singaporean Eyes

Paris, in the international circuit of the four fashion capitals (Paris, London, Milan, New York), was known for haute couture, an industry that was institutionalised from the late 19th century to the early 20th century (Font 2012). Despite many of its designers not being from France, the laws regarding haute couture implemented through the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne ensured that only a select pool of designers based in Paris would be accorded the status of couturier. This, together with the wide circulation of fashion images from Paris, were key reasons that enshrined Paris as a symbol of originality, exclusivity, and high fashion in the global imaginary.

The second half of the twentieth century for Singapore was a time of intense modernisation when fashion was used to increase the nation-state’s cultural and economic capital. Influence from Paris took the form of reportage of fashion trends and news in mainstream media, and the buying of Parisian fashions and selling them to an elite sector of Singaporean consumers. France was the arbiter of ‘good taste’ and the Singaporean clientele’s admiration for “high class dress fabrics” culminated in Singapore being the second largest buyer of French textiles after Hong Kong from A. and V. Kandelaft and Co., according to its representative, a Lyon-based textile manufacturer that supplied textiles to Christian Dior and the like. French fashion trends also frequently made Singapore news, such as in a 1958 “quick fashion guide on how to get that Paris look” that delivered tips on hemlines, colours, and how to emulate Dior’s ‘New Look’ silhouette. Fashionability was consistently dictated by what was new in Paris, as indicated in a 1980 report on footwear that mused that Singaporean readers, despite being cognizant of the repetitiveness of trends from Paris, would still follow them “with total and utter slavishness.” The latest news on French fashion houses such as Givenchy, Chanel, and Balmain also piqued the Singaporean reader’s interest, as well as the arrival of French models for local fashion shows.

Paris thus cultivated an aura of spectacle in which the stylish Singaporean enthusiastically participated. This was confirmed by Judith Yong, a Straits Times journalist with a fashion column who wrote in 1967 on her trip to Paris when she visited the House of Dior during the tenure of creative director Marc Bohan. Though entering the premise with skepticism, she left seemingly convinced of the glamour that Dior offered, evidenced in the quotation in the beginning of the article.

Adapting Paris to Singapore

Yong’s enamour speaks to the greater allure Dior had established in Singapore. In 1964, “Parisienne fashions by Vicky Dutton” was held in the Goodwood Park Hotel, sponsored by Christian Dior. During the fashion show, dresses designed by Dutton “blending of national fashions adapted to the Western figure” were shown. Again in 1978, Dior made its mark in Singapore by showing its 1978/79 Prep-a-Porter collection at the same venue promising to “be a fashion treat for the local trendsetter” and to tease the opening of a Dior boutique in Singapore.

Dutton’s 1974 show demonstrates the adaptation of Parisienne tastes for a Malaysian audience through fashion design that mixes design elements from both cultures. For example, Figure 2 shows one of Dutton’s ensembles, a white pique suit with scarlet batik lining and a matching blouse and beret.

Figure 1. Vicky Dutton and models for “Parisienne fashions by Vicky Dutton” at Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 December 1964 (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

Figure 2. Model Isobel in “Parisienne fashions by Vicky Dutton” at Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 December 1964 (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

The first French Fortnite was held in 1965 to strengthen ties between Singapore and France. Due to its reported success, a second Fortnite was held in 1967, “aimed at intensifying good trade and friendship ties between Singapore and France and acquainting the public with French products.” The Fortnite included fashion shows featuring French models and fashion designs, shopping malls decorated to emulate scenes in Paris, Cold Storage supermarket stocking French food products including wines and cheeses, and Robinson’s department store displaying French fashion. French Fortnite would continue until at least the 1980s with the 1984 iteration involving the restaurant Maxim’s de Paris Pavillon-Continental and multi-label boutiques – models wore designs from Karl Lagerfeld Autumn-Winter 1984 collection, Azzedine Alaia, and Body Map, among other labels and designers, as they walked between tables of guests sipping champagne and eating French canapes and desserts.

Such indulgences were for the upper echelons of Singapore society as being acquainted with Frenchness was a status symbol. “400 Years of French Fashion,” first shown in 1981 and then again in 1984, was a charity dinner and fashion show organised by the Singapore Red Cross Society and supported by the French Federation of Ladies’ Ready-to-Wear in Paris, the Hyatt Hotel and Union de Transports Ariéns (UTA) French Airlines. The catwalk featured French models and costumes from the French Museum of Costumes in Paris, from the medieval period until the 20th century including designers Lucien Long, Jacques Fath, Chanel and Chloe. Tables for the event cost between $5,000 and $10,000 for 10 people, with only 32 tables per show. Access to such fashionable ‘education’ thus was reserved for the wealthy, with fashion events not only channeling the total ambience of Paris but the mechanics of exclusivity as well.

Figure 3. Images advertising 18th-century French gowns on show for charity, in “400 Years of French Fashion,” 25 September 1984 (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

Paris as Singaporean Ambition

Transnational exchanges, at least on the cultural front, maintained and further disseminated France’s authority. Paris was continuously used as a benchmark and referent, implying that Singapore was both in competition and had admiration for Parisian fashion culture. Female Singaporean readers of The Straits Times were taught how to “be ahead of Paris” and up-and-coming fashion designer Charmaine Cho Ying Ying was dubbed “Singapore’s own Chanel in the making.” Singaporean women were also compared to French women by Anne Conein, the international promotions director of the skincare brand Orlane and make-up artist, who came to Singapore from France to conduct beauty seminars. She found that Singaporean women were “remarkably similar to their French counterparts.” Journalist Mei-Lin Chew recalls Conein’s comparison: “Like the French, we love good food and … our men. We are feminine, like them, and know exactly how to get our way without having to resort to bra-brandising [sic] brawls. And we are petite and ‘oh so chic’ too!” Such comparisons not only regarding cultural practices but also the dynamics of heteronormative relationships, which, celebrated by a voice of French authority and relished by a Singaporean journalist, reveal the gendered undercurrent of French influence on Singaporean consumption and media production.

The magic of Paris thus set up a vision for what a successful career in fashion would look like for those in the Singapore fashion industry. Roland Chow, the Singaporean hairdresser and fashion designer, who by 1964 was well-known locally, was touring various cities including New York and Paris to show his designs and explore the fashion cultures there. The “Eastern flare” of his designs, which included an evening gown made of Malaysian silk and sari material, reportedly stopped traffic in the process of achieving the photograph in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Roland Chow showing his designs on models Vera and Lez at Palais de Chaillot in Paris, 31 March 1964 (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

In March 1995, Andrew Gn was reportedly the first Singaporean fashion designer to show a collection at the Paris international pret-a-porter, upon the recommendation of fashion journalist Suzy Menkes and the financial help of his wealthy trader father. After a six-year fashion design education at Central Saint Martins as the only Asian student out of a cohort of 30 and Milan’s Domus Academy, Gn assisted French designer Emmanuel Ungaro. Gn’s own designs were then picked up by the Singaporean multi-label boutique Glamourette, Harrods in London, Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue in the US, boutiques in Italy, France, and Japan, actress Nicole Kidman and Yves Saint Laurent’s personal assistant Loulou de la Falaise. Despite such success, Gn believed that, like John Galliano, it was showing at Paris’s international pret-a-porter show that would launch his international fashion career.

Paris was also a key destination for models to go to with the hopes of ‘making it big.’ In 1960, model Susan Koh went on holiday in Paris with the hopes of being scouted, while Marjorie Jones was reported to be following her husband there while having the simultaneous goal of expanding her modelling career. Models Pat Kraal and Hanis Saini were celebrated for the work they had done in Paris in the 1980s, with Kraal modelling for Givenchy and Jean-Louis Scherrer and Saini modelling for Yves Saint Laurent.

Figure 5. Hanis Saini and Pat Kraal, 5 January 1986 (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

Figure 6. Pat Kraal modelling for Jean-Louis Scherrer. Courtesy of Pat Kraal.

With France having a continued presence in Singapore, Singapore, in turn, enjoyed the attention of Paris during its participation in Pret-a-porter Feminin, an international fashion week in Paris where Singapore’s designers showcased their work at an international fair and in-house buyers’ shows. Singapore’s first participation in 1983 saw 10 companies showcase their designs, culminating in more than $5 million of confirmed orders. The purported success encouraged participation again in the following year with more designers and companies, and clients mainly from Germany, Holland, Canada and Australia. Paris thus was also a stepping stone towards a larger international market for Singapore’s fashion practitioners. Fashion was one way for Singapore to participate in a larger global conversation and to establish Singapore’s presence in Paris, as evidenced by Richard Ng, director of Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in 1984, whose task was to “sell Singapore to the French.”

Singapore’s participation in the fashion conversation thus has strategically catered to the tastes of its mainly Western clientele, while harnessing its own perceived exoticism. This tendency applied to modelling as well, as top models Saini and Kraal, though assimilating into the European standards for body proportions, height, and modelling skills, also appeased the European taste for the oriental. Journalist Brenton Wong notes that “Exotic or oriental faces tend to fare better in Europe and Japan.”

Conclusion

Singapore looked to Paris as a creative benchmark and a stepping stone towards international success, and the French fashion industry embraced some of Singapore’s design aesthetics and its models. The transnational relationship was cultural and economic, with such exchanges expanding beyond individual fashion practitioners to industry-wide efforts, such as French Fortnite in Singapore and cohorts of Singaporean fashion designers showing their work in Paris as part of a larger mission to elevate Singapore’s national branding. Yet the cultural exchanges were not performed on a level playing field as not only had Singapore sought to gain capital through Paris, but what had been reported that Paris embraced Singaporean fashion in terms of design and modelling aesthetics largely assimilated into standards of ‘global fashion’ established by the West or catered to Western exotic tastes.