Following last year’s successful launch of Asia’s inaugural Men’s Fashion Week, the buzz surrounding this year’s version has only gotten more intense.
Taking place once again at Marina Bay Sands, Men’s Fashion Week 2012 will run for five days from April 18 to April 22, with an international medley of fashion brands sending their collections down the runway, many of them for the first time in Singapore.
This year’s event will cost an estimated $8 million, double that of last year’s, with a total of 19 shows taking place and an expected turnout of more than 50,000 people.
Nick Hart (left)
The headlining brand will be British label Spencer Hart – with designer Nick Hart at the helm – which counts celebrities such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Robbie Williams and Benedict Cumberbatch as fans of the brand.
Diet Butcher Slim Skin SS2012
Japanese designer Hisashi Fukatami, creative director of cult Japanese label Diet Butcher Slim Skin will also be in Singapore to debut his full collection on the runway, as will American Korean designer Richard Chai, who is a regular name on the runways of New York Fashion Week.
French designer Alexis Mabille, who showcased his haute couture collection in Singapore for Women’s Fashion Week last year, will return to show his ready-to-wear menswear line.
From left: Alexis Mabille, Bodybound and Songzio
Other returning brands from last year’s Men’s Fashion Week include Korean label Songzio, UK brand Bodybound and Singapore’s very own Reckless Erica.
More names confirmed to show are Japanese labels Factotum, Jun Hashimoto and Pascal Donquino, as well as British brands Casely Hayford and Matthew Miller.
From left: Beyond Closet from Korea, Jun Hashimoto from Japan and Casely Hayford from Britain
From Korea, brands like Beyond Closet, D.GNAK, General Idea, Resurrection and Vandal will also put their collections on show.
But the number one show to look out for will be Korean-based German luxury leather goods brand MCM, which is best known for their monogrammed leather bags that have been spotted on the backs of Korean stars like Rain, TVXQ, SNSD and Big Bang.
Rain in the MCM ad campaign
According to Frank Cintamani, chairman of MFW Singapore, music will be very much an inherent part of Men’s Fashion Week.
“If the heart of fashion shows is the labels and clothes, music will certainly be the soul. Fashion, like music, is something for all to appreciate. As such, MFW Singapore 2012 will experience a fusion of sartorial elegance and eclectic beats. You can call this, the Music and Men’s Fashion Week,” he said.
Specific names have yet to be announced, but it has been said that 10 Korean and Japanese bands will be making their way to Singapore to take part in Men’s Fashion Week, possibly performing alongside the fashion shows. It is likely that some of these names will be invited guests of the Korean and Japanese brands showing here, which means fans will be in for a treat when their favourite stars descend on Singapore in April.
From left: Yunho from TVXQ, Rain and G Dragon from Big Bang are all fans of MCM. Photo Credit: Soompi
Another exciting segment of Men’s Fashion Week 2012 will be the second instalment of World Runway. Debuting last year in Singapore, the multi-country styling competition in the vein of the popular Tokyo Girls’ Collection will this time take place as part of Men’s Fashion Week, giving stylists from Singapore, Japan and the UK the chance to battle it out on stage.
There’s more good news. The public will be able to purchase tickets to all the runway shows except the opening and closing shows, but only 20 per cent of the total number of show tickets will be released for sale.
Men’s fashion might not interest many of us women, but the hordes of male eye candy that will be walking the runways, as well as the Korean or Japanese celebrities that will be present, will get every girl’s heart beating faster.
We can’t wait to find out the names that will be attending Men’s Fashion Week 2012, so watch this space for more updates to come your way.
Men’s Fashion Week 2012 will take place from April 18-22 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. Tickets priced at $60 will be available at SISTIC from April 1.
