Shop

By Md Delower Hossain

Shop, shop, shop! Shop till you drop! For those fashionistas out there who fancy retail therapy on both good days and bad, Singapore will satiate your vainest desires.
Lauded as the shopping haven of Southeast Asia, we carry various luxury brands. We are also home to talented local designers who have their works recognized internationally. In Singapore, thou shall shop.

LV, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Dior, Salvatore Ferragamo!

These are a woman's dreams. The great thing is - they can all be realized on this little red dot! Orchard Road, the shopping district in downtown Singapore is really a stretch of high-end retail. Malls house international haute couture brands which attract expatriates in the weekends to shop for their next evening gowns. The outlets are not small either; most of these luxurious brands situate their Southeast Asian flagship stores here. As such, Takashimaya itself has a 2-storey Tiffany's store, a 2-storey Cartier store and a 2-storey Hugo Boss store! Surely that is enough to tempt even the most prudent shopper. If you can't get enough of these, just cross the road - Paragon has Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo waiting for you. Luxury is everywhere in Orchard Road.

Local designers

What makes shopping in Singapore truly different is local creativity. While we adore international fashion names, we feel proud of the talent our designers have demonstrated at home and abroad. The annual Singapore Fashion Festival wows crowds with showcases of local fashion works. For example, Sven Tan and Ashley Isham, winners of the Mercedes-Benz Asia Fashion Award have both won applause at the festival. Local fashion is unique because these designers have retained their Asian roots while exploring Western concepts. The latest collection named Soulmates Never Die by FruFru & Tigerlily combines prints reminiscent of Hong Kong in the 70's with very eclectic designs. 

Quirky finds and buys

Shopping in Singapore is never just about conventional wears. This tiny island has many quirky stores hidden at its crook and cranny. Ann Siang Hill is one of these. This hipster hangout offers arty farty stores with loyal fan base in love with their one-of-a-kind underground designer items. In Ann Siang Hill, you can find experimental music, handmade notebooks, contemporary art by Commes des Garcons and gourmet selections from Dean & Deluca. If you wish for tradition and culture, then Little India and China Town are the places to be. Shop for soft silk saris and cheongsams, even an antique or two! Retail therapy in Singapore is exciting because it is unpredictable and caters to every lifestyle.

New developments

Always buzzing with hype and trend, the downtown shopping belt does not remain stagnant for long. Upcoming renovations and developments galore, Orchard Road is going through a transformation phase in these coming years. A new member joins us at the end of this year - Ion, the brainchild of Capitaland and Sun Hung Kai. Exquisitely sophisticated and luxurious, this high-end retail space will have Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior and Giorgio Armani as its six major front stores. Shopping in prime districts will resemble Fifth Avenue in New York and Nathan Road in Hong Kong but at a lower price and with good service that we are well-known for.