Through The Viewfinder : Tracy Phillips
In August 2011, Singapore, for the first time, ranked 8th as the most fashionable cities in the world. The list was made by The Global Language Monitor through Narrative Tracking technology which analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, print and electronic media, and social media sources. And with the upcoming major fashion events in the Lion City, it will showcase again what it can offer to the world as a fashion nation.
One of these events is the Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX) which is slated to commence on May 14. AFX is comprised of four key pillars; Audi Fashion Festival, Asia Fashion Summit, Star Creation and the Blueprint. In this feature, we will learn more about the Blueprint, straight from the woman behind this fashion trade, Tracy Phillips.
Tracy Phillips took over from former fashion editor Cat Ong, and has been tasked to engage key fashion trade buyers and designers, opinion influencers and taste-makers from the industry. During her decade-long tenure as Marketing Manager of Singapore’s most iconic nightlight institution, Zouk, Tracy helped shape Singapore’s nightlight, music, and popular culture landscape. She was known for being a tastemaker and champion of the creative community, seeking out the most talented designers and giving them opportunities to collaborate or put on their own shows. This relationship was continued through her concept lifestyle online store A Curious Teepee and creative consultancy Present Purpose, where she bridged art and commerce and assisted brands in staying relevant and engaging their consumers through fashion, design, music and culture.
Tell us more about Blueprint. How did it start and what is the ultimate goal of it?
BLUEPRINT, presented by Lee Hwa Jewellery is a four day fashion trade and consumer event organised by the Blueprint Group, a joint venture between the Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore (TaFF), MP Asia Pte Ltd (MP Asia) and Mercury Marketing and Communications Pte Ltd to catapult emerging talents to international prominence. Mercury Marketing & Communications created BLUEPRINT in 2004 as a catwalk showcase to further the careers of young Singaporean and Asian design talents; these young designers and their labels were featured in a limited-edition BLUEPRINT shop at The Heeren for a year. Since 2011, BLUEPRINT has grown to a two-day fashion trade show featuring Pre-Spring collections of emerging designers from around the world, with a two-day off-shoot Emporium weekend shopping event for consumers. The goal is to grow the awareness and export potential of brands from Singapore and the region, as well as to be the gateway for international brands to the rest of Asia.
You worked as a marketing manager for Zouk, and you own and manage a creative agency Present Purpose and lifestyle online store A Curious Teepee. How does that help you now as the Project Director of Blueprint?
Knowing and having an existing relationship with many of the local designers, retailers and media was a fortunate starting point, especially with the short working timeline. It allowed me to dive straight in to the project. My previous experience has given me an insight into lifestyle, fashion, design and retail trends and environments, which have all been useful for Blueprint.
How many people are there working and organizing Blueprint?
There are five of us for sales, marketing, branding and PR. But we also have a team from MP who handles the event set up & logistics, as well as a steering committee which comprises Blueprint’s stakeholders- Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore (TaFf), MP International Pte Ltd and Mercury Marketing and Communications, and government agencies: International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, SPRING Singapore (SPRING) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB). It is a lean team, especially on ground during the event so we are also engaging almost 100 buyer hosts to assist us.
During the press conference, Wear Emerging Designers was mentioned. Kindly share more about it and how it is related to Blueprint.
Emerging designers are the lifeline of Blueprint. We wanted to do more to support them beyond the 4 days that Blueprint takes place and decided starting the ‘Wear Emerging Designers’ Movement was the best way. We launched it by creating a button on Facebook and Twitter where people could show their affinity by placing the button on their profile pictures. Hope your readers will do the same! We shot a stop motion video that featured our local designers dressing two models that got more than 4000 hits in a few short weeks. We’re also posting street style shots of people wearing emerging labels regularly through social media to keep the awareness going.
I met and photographed Ana, co-owner and brand manager of a luxury brand KLutch, during the press conference of AFX. She joined last year’s Blueprint. Ana said that through the trade, she was able to get few potential buyers from Middle East and she is expecting to meet fashion-thought leaders and buyers within the fashion industry from all over the world. What are your views on that?
I would agree. Blueprint has attracted a really outstanding host of buyers over the past 2 years and we are expecting even more this year.
Where do the buyers come from?
The buyers come from all over the world and buy for a wide range of stores, from status multi label boutiques, to departmental stores, to online retailers. In 2010, there were 73 hosted buyers from 43 stores in 17 countries such as Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Browns Focus, Matches and ASOS.com from the UK, Seven and Babel Fair from New York, Vakko (Turkey), Piaff (Lebanon), Lotte (Seoul), Lane Crawford and Pedder Group from HK, Emporium, Siam Paragon and The Mall from Bangkok. In 2011, more than 250 buyers from a wide cross-section of international stores, such as Le Mill in Mumbai, Triple Major in Beijing, and Oki-ni from the United Kingdom came. We expect even more this year.
There are other fashion trade shows in Asia, like in Hong Kong, but what makes it interesting to have it done here in Singapore?
Unlike many tradeshows in the region that focus mainly on their domestic market, BLUEPRINT is positioned as an East West fashion gateway so there is a greater variety and breadth in the brands and buyers that participate which makes it exciting. Also, as the key trade pillar (with a consumer shopping component) of the Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX), having the Audi Fashion Festival Singapore, Audi Star Creation and Asia Fashion Summit on at the same time, means one can totally immerse in fashion, from consumer events and trade shows to business conferences and talent development programmes.
Give us a glimpse of what is happening on this year’s trade. When will it start and what will happen during it’s run?
More than 150 emerging designer, established, and up-and-coming fashion brands will be taking part in this year’s Blueprint, presented by Lee Hwa Jewellery. It will take place from 17 to 20 of May, at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The tradeshow on first 2 days will feature Pre-Spring 2013 collections of more than 100 international and Asian emerging designer labels. While Blueprint Emporium for consumers takes place over the weekend which when the trade venue becomes Asia’s defining shopping event for consumers to shop from many of the brands who took part in trade, plus more. This year, for the first, we are co-locating with The Brandery Asia, an extension of The Brandery fashion tradeshow from Barcelona to expand BLUEPRINT. Established and up-and-coming contemporary urban, street, and casual fashion brands from Asia, Europe, and the United States will be presenting their Spring/Summer 2013 collections and participating in BLUEPRINT Emporium.We also welcome new country collectives this year from France, Australia, and Germany. South Korea is returning with an even bigger contingent of designers. Nightly parties will also give designers, buyers, media and the public more opportunities to engage and to enjoy the fashion season.
For ordinary fashion consumers, what should they expect from it?
As the edgiest pillar of Asia Fashion Exchange that works with young designers from Singapore and beyond, Blueprint represents the dynamism of the fashion scene and its artistic influences. Blueprint 2012 and its fringe activities will reflect this, making it a good opportunity to tap into the creative pulse of the city. Most importantly consumers will be given a rare opportunity to buy creations from many of the designers and labels that are currently unavailable in Singapore and be exposed to fresh emerging talent.
Finally, for those who are interested in joining Blueprint, how can they do it?
We have completely revamped the website so their registration can all be done online at www.blueprint.sg
