For Singapore’s fashion designers, post-Covid recovery rests on drawing customers from overseas
- Fashion designers in the Lion City have been selling to local customers for the past two years and have struggled to survive the pandemic and its restrictions
- Now, with tourism resuming, these labels are counting on post-pandemic travellers from overseas to boost their bottom line
The Design Orchard multi-label retail space is an experience like no other along Singapore’s Orchard Road. Unlike other glitzy malls in the country’s prime shopping district full of designer labels as well as popular fast fashion brands, this 2½-storey building focuses exclusively on home-grown independent designs.
It recently reopened following a redesign after two years of pandemic-induced restrictions. Among its targets are post-pandemic travellers.
Improvements include a more prominent entrance facing a busy pedestrian crossing at the junction of Orchard and Cairnhill Roads to increase its visibility, a dynamic modular layout to allow the store to be reconfigured for activations and pop-ups, and a VIP lounge.
Just a few steps into the cavernous 9,000 sq ft (840 square metre) ground floor are racks featuring some of the country’s most well regarded labels, including Akinn, Ginlee Studio, Reckless Ericka, Sabrina Goh and Thomas Wee.
Further in are many more gems to uncover, from handbags by Ling Wu and jewellery by Marilyn Tan to gifts such as colouring books and origami sets. The space, operated by the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFF), houses over 100 local brands, the biggest range anywhere in Singapore.
