Antoinette Patterson
It wasn’t the Victoria Secrets Show, but Triumph International Singapore came up with lingerie every woman wants, to appear better endowed. At this year’s Singapore Fashion Festival on Mar 28, their newest collection, Sense and Sensuality, promised to give us the desired cleavage of the most beautiful and voluptuous women in recent entertainment history.
The moment UrbanWire was at the media entrance of The Tent, Ngee Ann City, I was greeted with warm smiles by the smartly dressed service crew who led me to the lounge where I was served chilled Coke and mini Haagen Dazs Cookies and Cream ice cream.
The whole atmosphere felt pampering as the service crew kept refilling my glass while I looked upon the elite and fashion icons of Singapore like Denise Keller and Discovery Channel’s host, Anita Kapoor.
By 5.15 pm, everyone was seated while checking out the gift bags which had catalogues for Triumph lingerie and swimwear 2007 and free sexy Triumph underwear in shades of black, red and pink.
20 models including Singapore’s Charmaine Harn, who has modelled for many Gucci
shows in Asia and won the ’96 Ford Supermodel competition, modelled for this event; drawing many cheers from the predominantly male audience.
The first ‘woman in history’ to be featured was the sex symbol in the 1920s, the deceased Clara Bow. Claiming world recognition for her silent film work, the featured lingerie for her had models strutting to sexy cabaret music with short bobs, a feather head-piece in their hair and wearing provocative and nearly see-through lacy lingerie.
Next up was the legendary pop icon of the 50s, also deceased Marilyn Monroe, who inspired other famous singers like Madonna and Gwen Stefani. The models for her item sashayed down the length of the runway to upbeat music with seductive shoulder-length blonde hair in lingerie that used lush and indulgent fabrics like silk and lace.
Audrey Hepburn was honoured next with models doing her signature poses while having their black hair tied up in a bun. Known for her beautifully classic face, her lingerie was in classic polka dots with silky ribbons and lace. The whole look felt womanly and wholesome just like Hepburn.
The late Grace Kelly had a powerful impact on fashion and popular culture. This Princess of Monaco even had a hairstyle named after her- the ‘Grace Kelly’, which was to use a silk scarf as a hair band, cross it under the chin and knot it at the side or nape of the neck. So it was only fitting that models for her item came out in the ‘Grace Kelly’. But sadly, that seemed to be the only difference between the separate lingerie collections apart from the colour, which was mainly in predictable white or nude. Although it seemed elegant, the prints and lace designs looked too familiar for such distinct and iconic personalities.
The second last item was Beyonce. Her exotic beauty and charm makes her a great role model apart from her achievements in song writing, producing, dancing and acting. The models krumped and shook their bootie to hot R&B beats before hitting the runway. Her lingerie was ghetto glamorous with lots of ‘bling’, sexy corsets and body suits and rich materials like satin.
Finally, the crowd went mad as Charmaine went down the runway in the Triumph Celebrity Bra from Germany. This amazing piece has 7, 500 Swarovski diamond-cut crystals on the bra and thong and is worth $60, 000.
Herman Bin Salleh, 19, a Temasek Polytechnic student skipped his part-time job for a day to make it down for this event with his friend. “It was worth it man ‘cause it’s not all the time, you know, you see girls modelling lingerie that’s not on the TV. If I get the chance, I will sure come again.”
From the looks of things, this show was a triumphant success.
All photos courtesy of the Singapore Fashion Festival.