Singaporean designer makes her mark on international stage at Paris Fashion Week

PARIS: On Oct 2, 1993, Singaporean designer Kavita Thulasidas introduced her debut collection locally at the young age of 18. 

Thirty-one years later, the owner of local Indian fashion label Stylemart unveiled her collection “Heritage Reinterpreted” on an international stage at Paris Fashion Week on Monday (Oct 2).

On display were 10 looks featuring hand-embroidered vivid and intricate motifs inspired by nature and a reflection of Indian, Chinese and Malaysian heritage.

“This collection is a tribute to the cultural collage of Singapore … its diversity. And yet the unity that we stand as a harmonious community of different cultures,” Ms Thulasidas told CNA at the event. 

The outfits featured on the runway were an extension of Ms Thulasidas’ collection that won her the Singapore Stories Award. She received the award, conferred by the Singapore Fashion Council in collaboration with the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), last year. 

She created 15 new designs for the Paris show, and shortlisted 10 out of them, she told CNA938’s Culture Club.

"I'm very, very proud to have come this far. I think for every designer, Paris is like an endorsement … that you have arrived, where you are showcasing to the world," she said.

MS THULASIDAS’ JOURNEY

While it was her first time getting an opportunity to make a mark on the global stage, it was not Ms Thulasidas' first brush with the city widely regarded as the world's fashion capital. 

She lived there when she was younger and got married, she said. 

“I was one of those who just loved walking into museums and I would sit in the Musée de la Mode, which is a library of fashion books. I think all that had a big part to play in my way of thinking and finding myself, finding what I want to do with life,” she told CNA938.

Ms Thulasidas took over the reins of her family’s fashion boutique Stylemart at the age of 24 as she was very passionate about the work, she said.

“I was already very involved in the business as a teenager,” she said, adding that it was a “very natural process”.

Ms Thulasidas said that she is grateful to the Singapore Fashion Council and ACM for supporting her journey and providing her with opportunities.

Singapore Stories, an initiative that invites fashion designers to showcase their craft and personal interpretations around a Singapore-inspired theme, is a great platform for local designers to come together, she added.

“We share ideas, and we grow and we grow together. I think as individuals, we can't grow. We have to grow as a society,” she said.

LOCAL BRANDS GOING GLOBAL

Mr Leonard Choo, director of industry development at the Singapore Fashion Council, said that Singaporeans featuring at significant events such as Paris Fashion Week marks the beginning of local brands going global.

Singapore is at the “very burgeoning stages of becoming a fashion city”, he said.

“We are able then to define what it means to be a fashion city in our own right,” he said, adding that his organisation is working to create a hub for innovative sustainable fashion brands.

“It gives us the opportunity to put a stake in the ground and show our local brands with prominence.”

The council supports designers at every stage of their growth in business, said Mr Choo.

He gave the examples of a programme called The Bridge Fashion Innovator that aims to bridge the gap between fashion, technology and sustainability, and the Design Orchard retail store on Orchard Road that features over 100 local brands.

“Wherever you are in your business, in your journey as a designer, there are numerous programmes and initiatives and partnerships that give you opportunities like the one that Kavita has,” he said.