With the news that one of fashion’s premium retailers, Dover Street Market, is set to open a branch in Singapore in conjunction with COMO Lifestyle at Dempsey Hill, the fashion industry here is a-titter with what fresh, daring concepts it will bring—and what this means for our retail scene.
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Ten years ago, fashion designer Rei Kawakubo and her partner Adrian Joffe launched Dover Street Market. Inspired by the underground markets of Kensington Market in the Seventies and Eighties, the pair set out to create a retail space free from the kind of corporate influences that they felt stifled creativity. Through the years, they have burnished the name such that it is now synonymous with ingenuity in retail, so it’s kind of a big deal that their fourth location ever would be right here in tropical Singapore.
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Not many details have been released about the upcoming store, we only know for sure that it will be placed alongside a brand new Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant and bar, COMO Cuisine, a new restaurant offering signature dishes from COMO properties around the world and local Peranakan restaurant, Candlenut, by Chef Malcolm Lee.
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But fear not, dear readers! Culling research from its three other locations around the world—namely New York, London and Ginza—as well as BAZAAR‘s editors’s firsthand experiences from visiting the aforementioned stores, we’ve predicted four key highlights of DSM that we cannot wait to see materialise in Singapore.
1. One-of-a-kind shop interiors that will thrill any seasoned shopper
When DSM London first opened, one of the striking things about it was that each brand could curate a unique space that reflected their brand identity within its walls. This has since become a signature of the fashion retailer, and we’re expecting it to do the same here as well.
2. Only the coolest collaborations capable of making hardcore fashion fans cry
With a roster of collaborations with brands such as Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton and Alexander Wang among others, DSM has made a name for its exclusive collaborations unlike anything in the market. Who else remembers the Prada menswear capsule inspired by the brand’s own iconic hits through the years retailing at DSM New York? We certainly do.
3. A retail mix that rivals none in existence (in Southeast Asia)
Where else will you find exclusive lines from established labels such as Comme des Garçons, Rick Owens, Saint Laurent, and Prada alongside those of Sacai, Shrimps, Jacquemus, Ellery and Gosha Rubchinshy? Right here, that’s where.
4. Amazing art-meets-fashion installations in their specially curated “spaces”
On top of individually curated spaces, DSM also invites the coolest artists to collaborate with brands on their “spaces”, resulting in some seriously fantastic artwork that only heightens the shopping experience that much more.
By Pakkee
