Singapore Fashion Week 2016 Day 4 Review: Nida Shay, Ong Shunmugam & Stolen

A magical trip down memory lane and an emotional fashion performance on day four of SGFW

By Annabelle Fernandez - published 30 Oct 2016

For Spring 2017 Nida Shay was inspired by fond memories of playing in the garden as a child: to that end the opening passage of pink, white and silver looks at her show struck a girlish note, transporting the audience back to Shay's youth. As the show went on flowers, insects and birds stitched in sequins and bullion drew us further into the designer's childhood secret garden. Low-riding, silver fingerless gloves and matching gogo boots (Karl Lagerfeld would approve) were a discordant but fun touch.

Priscilla Shunmugam was part of the pioneer batch of designers selected to take part in the Fashion Futures program, an incubator program jointly launched by the Council of Fashion Designers of America that allowed chosen Singaporean designers access and exposure to the American fashion industry. It was obvious from the latest collection she showed last night that, more than a year on, Shunmugam has benefited from being part of the initiative. Barring a confusing start where a troop of models stomped down the runway in double quick time only to emerge from backstage in the same exact outfits mere moments later, Shunmugam's clothes displayed a newfound finesse. Dedicating it to her rediscovery of the colour theory, she mixed bright hues with floral and traditional Asian-inspired motifs on feminine dresses, some of which featured her signature peplums on the waists and overturned scallop hems.

Eschewing the traditional runway show format, Elyn Wong opted to stage a performance for her latest Stolen collection instead. In between flashes of light and darkness, models climbed a golden platform and formed a lovely, constantly shifting tableau vivant: seated, sprawled languidly, prostrate or standing motionless, Wong’s sheer pleats and soft shapes in duck-egg blue and powder pink took on the qualities (and drama) of a Greek sculpture. A warning about the brief strobe lighting segment, however, would not have gone amiss.

By Gerald Tan and Ryan Sng