Alright, enough with the whole H&M is coming to town shtick already. If we’re not gonna get any of the Lanvin collaborations in store when it opens, we shouldn’t get too over-excited. What I’m more thrilled about, really, is the new Hansel shop that’s just opened at Mandarin Gallery. Fashionistas should already know by now about designer-owner Jo Soh’s playful take on clothes with their vintage cuts and prints that have gone down well with both the twee and office crowds. The new store will not only stock the current “Lily the Lady” collection, but also a great new range of limited-edition accessories such as the versatile necklace piece which also doubles up as a brooch, created in collaboration with local jewelry brand Goldilocks. Not only does the store boast a bigger selection of clothes, it also features video works created by local artist/illustrator MsXi, known for her distinctive hand-drawn, stop-motion animation videos, and images of Jap jazz pianist Aye Sekine performing to add even more dimension to the store. Check it out already at #02–14 Mandarin Gallery, 333 Orchard Rd., 6337-0992.
I’ve sworn not to shop anymore, well at least not till the end of the year after I’m done with all my Christmas shopping; but this I must get. The latest Feiyue sneakers are done in collaboration with famous French graffiti artist Andre Saraiva a.k.a. Mr. A (whom I’m also following on Twitter, by the way) and are one of the unassumingly classiest of the lot yet (well, at $106, they’d better be). Andre has reinterpreted the classic “martial arts” Chinese sneakers to produce a highly collectible footwear (there are only 350 pairs in the world), emblazoned simply with a small little logo on the left side of the shoe, keeping the look minimal and effortless. Andre turned his attention to the sole instead, which he has embellished with his groovy take on the city of Paris, replete with psychedelic images from the 60s and 70s. Watch me as I rock these after I make my purchase at Blackmarket, 19 Jalan Pisang, 6296-8512.
But what do I want for Christmas, really? OK to all you good Samaritans out there who have some extra cash to spare ($2,435 to be
exact), the Marcel Wanders designed The Killing of the Piggy Bank by famed home décor experts Moooi is simply a must. Essentially a piggy bank and an art deco pièce de resistance, the work is symbolic of a digital age of currency and the approaching to extinction of physical money. The design is such that it illustrates the precise moment the piggy bank is struck. How clever. How pretty. How ironic. This is the perfect Christmas gift for the obsessively clued-in. Available at 2/F Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Blvd., 6415-0000.
