Twice a year Singapore gets a real buzz, the kind of buzz I am used to; having lived in the Big Apple for 20 years.  The first one happens during the F1 weekend when international celebs, race car drivers together with their various crew and the party people descend upon this tiny island and hotel rates triple! The second and more tiring is during Singapore Fashion week. International designers, Editors, Buyers and Celebs once again descend upon this tiny island. There are back to back shows, and back to back events for an entire week. You can see how tired the Fash Pack are, especially the magazine editors.

This year DVF who is also the President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America ‘Opened’ SFW. Victoria Beckham will be ‘Closing’ making these 2 shows the most highly anticipated.

90 min before the big event my phone rang. “Julia I’ve got terrible news,” Bon Bon Girl sounded a little shaken. I found out later that her grandmother had passed away. “Would you like to take my front row seat? It would be such a waste.” Let me think about it for a second… Ahh, Yes please!

So what does a personal stylist who usually helps others get ready for big events do? Panic? No! I had to make a quick decision. Do I wear something from DVF to her event and run a risk of someone else wearing the same outfit or do I just concentrate on looking the best in what makes me feel confident at that moment? I opted to option #2. My choice of clothes: Classic Cigarette pants with a silk Pucci blouse. Muted makeup and an elegant clutch that’s big enough to fit a phone and a small camera.

A fashion show held by a highly respected designer is for the stylist, what Formula 1 is for an avid driver. I loved the whole atmosphere of anticipation, what the designer ???. It’s also right here that Singapore’s fashionistas and ‘it’ girls make the best effort to showcase their personalities through the choice of clothes.

After everyone was seated, and the lights were dimmed, the most seductive song of all from the movie “50 shades of grey came on. “Seduction” was the name of the new DVF collection. I was expecting to see lots of wrap dresses in floral prints but was surprised yet excited to find a new wave. Outfits were structured and exuded power with a lot of sensuality. They were very much in line with the movie 50 shades of grey. It was clear even the designers drank from the same cooler. I liked the idea of what I called a “jack-dress” it’s a jacket with a built-in dress. I think it will be a new hit in the office as well as a good alternative to a boring shift dress or a suit. My two favorite outfits of the evening were: 1. classic black and white wool with rayon mix wrap dress that Diane is famous for and a long evening dress with peekaboo black lace bodice.

In the finally Diane Von Furstenburg walked down the runway to a famous Billy Joel song “She is always a woman to me”. The message was clear. Even though the fashion changes, and at times takes on masculine elements, at the end of the day the woman has to feel like The Woman.