Inside Vogue Singapore gala, where famous couturiers mingle with loving unknowns

Vogue Singapore - the local edition of fashion publication Vogue - marked five years in print in a blur of fast-flying air kisses, pomaded updos and brocade capes at a gala on Oct 18.

- Carmen Sin

It was that rare social event where few shirked the dress code. A mood board sent to guests had ordered Southeast Asian opulence for the fete, which doubled as the finale to the magazine's annual fashion conference. It was headlined in its third rodeo by major designers like Nepalese-American Prabal Gurung and Hong Kong-born, London-based Robert Wun.

They and some 300 invitees swished into Sentosa's newest hotel The Laurus, ready to be photographed as a matter of first priority. Champagne, which floated about the lobby mostly unabused, came second.

Fittingly for a title that has made a mission of foregrounding the tropics, there was a pasar (Malay for marketplace) feel to the ball.

Famous clothiers, like Chinese designer and star of Netflix reality survival show Next In Fashion (2020) Angel Chen, mingled with small label-owners still better known by their Instagram handles, not all local or in fashion. Expatriates in public relations, venture capital and luxury fashion closed ranks; and from the wings, one could spot local rapper Abangsapau in his trademark sarong, content creator Preetipls in a twinkling sari, the miniature Chinese fans in actress Tan Kheng Hua's earrings and influencers with personal photographers in tow.