3 exciting developments at this year’s Singapore Fashion Week

It has a new name.

Cozying up to the “big four” (New York, London, Milan and Paris) fashion weeks, our fashion festival has now been bestowed with the “iconic” name of Singapore Fashion Week (SFW). We’re sorry to see the previous years’ title sponsor (Audi) go, though—if even New York and London have Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks, why can’t we?

Local talents will get to sell to international buyers.

This year’s SFW includes the pilot edition of Fashion Futures, a development program with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for sending local designers out into the international marketplace. Three local designers—Priscilla Shunmugam of Ong Shunmugam, Sabrina Goh of Elohim and Chelsea Scott-Blackhall of Dzojchen—will present their collections at SFW and a panel of buyers from regional and international retailers (who have been seeded with a $150,000 fund) will place orders based on their presentation. The program also includes mentorship opportunities and an induction program that includes learning experiences in New York.

There’s a focus on women designers this year.

Of the six shows that have been announced, five are by female designers. Including the three local designers mentioned above, Diane von Furstenberg (chairperson of the CFDA, incidentally) will open the week on May 13 with her Fall 2015 collection, while celebrity designer Victoria Beckham will close it on May 17 with her Autumn/Winter 2015 collection.