Almost two decades since the height of the flashy ‘80s, fashion is opting for flamboyant, high shine embellishments again. Only this time, the looks are more glamourous than tacky. If you have any pre-conceived ideas about wearing sequins, studs and metallic colours (i.e. gold and silver), throw them right out of the window – they are probably out-of-date anyway. From the high luxury houses to fashion labels specialising in street and casual wear, everyone is going glittery. TriBeCa, Singapore’s leading designer multi-brands concept store, has brought in a selection of bling bling apparel that will render you starry-eyed.

Balmain
Moving away from the distressed, military looks of summer, Balmain has gone darker, classier and dressier for their Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. Christophe Decarnin has gone all out on the shine factor and the result is nothing short of excessive, in a good way. The underlying theme of ‘Baroque ‘n’ Roll’ translated into a lot of gold and silver hardware, skinny tailored pantsuits and short, tight, big-shouldered sequined dresses. For the less bold among us, a perfect way of introducing Balmain’s unique brand of glamour luxe into our wardrobe will be via the gold painted drainpipe jeans that are good for day and excellent for achieving a nonchalant glitz at night.

Markus Lupfer
London-based, German-born designer Markus Lupfer has the dry wit and quirky humour of the Brits but possesses an artful eye for precision tailoring that no doubt comes from his Deutsche roots. His style is innovative with a penchant for decorative techniques like embroidery and graphic embellishments. In particular, his exceptional knitwear has earned him a devoted celebrity following. Other than his staple of popular jersey pieces (i.e. mini t-shirt dresses), his latest collection also features a series of sweatshirts with hand-stitched, tongue-in-cheek motifs like a pair of plump sexy lips, a perfume bottle and a robin (yes, the bird). It may be a little random, but who are we to say no to a little quirky, shiny fun?

Other exciting brands stocked at TriBeCa include L’agence, Preen and Isabel Marant. Check them out in person at #02-05/06/07/08, Mandarin Gallery