Oroton, a leading Australian designer leather goods brand, has launched an impressive AW 2011 campaign. It’s high profile collaboration with star street style photographer Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil has resulted in a gorgeous campaign film and a series of stylish pictures that, in the spirit of street style photography, look pleasingly candid. To make the experience more intimate, the brand has also invited us to explore this season’s inspiration, meet the cast behind the campaign and take a sneak peek at the behind-the-scenes action.

On top of this well-developed digital campaign, Oroton also has a treat just for its fans in Singapore – from 12-18 August, it will be presenting the latest AW11 collection, together with a viewing of the campaign shots, at The Glass House, ION². 

Christmas comes early every May whenever the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) makes it marks upon our shores. From finding a vintage Dior scarf for $20 to walking away from M[phosis with half the store in hand, we’ve survived through numerous battles in the hunt for that shiny new treasure we can give a new home to. While our wallets and credit cards take the brunt of our battle scars, we’ve wised up to the challenges of surviving the GSS to bring you these tried-and-tested tips. Carry on soldier!

• Wear something comfortable yet easy to for you to slip clothes over in order to beat the lines for dressing rooms. Our usual shopping uniform consists of leggings,  a cute tanktop, oversized shirt and ballet flats. Who said you’d to sacrifice style for practicality?

• Satisfy the munchies and stay hydrated with granola bars and vitamin water. Save the sweet treats for the end of the day to avoid the sugar crash in the middle ; )

• Be an early bird — you’ll usually get the best deals during the first half of the day as most stores re-stock their merchandise the night before. Another pro-tip: stores might restock the shelves during off-peak hours as well.

• Shop for shoes in the afternoon and evening because feet swell during the day so that cute pair of stilettos you’d bought in the morning might prove to be killer on the dancefloor later on (and not in a good way)!

• Bring your own shopping bags — not only are you doing your bit to save the earth, some stores give you an additional discount to encourage green habits with less plastic and paper bags. Check out reusable bags like Baggu or a sleek take like Cast of Vices Corner store collection.

• They might have finally taken 70% off that dress you might have had your eye on forever but it’s a tad too big — is it still worth it then? You could consider sending it for alterations as long as it’s relatively inexpensive to the cost of the item but if the thought ‘Well if I go on a diet….” pops up then go ahead and find something else you’ll really love and use right now instead.

• While the last thing we wanna do is sound like our mothers but make sure your personal belongings are you with at all times. It’s easy to be swept away in excitement of a good bargain hunt but pickpockets and thieves thrive in big crowds so remember to stay vigilant and be aware of all your valuables.

• Do more with that iPhone than just call, text or Facebook-stalk. Download helpful apps to help you make the most out of shopping like Redlaser that can help you compare prices and money management apps like Daybank that lets you keep track of how much you’ve spent.

• Love a good bargain but loathe the crowds and traffic? Let your fingers do the clicking instead — discover amazing buys and new designers on Fashionspace right from the comfort of your home. Now wasn’t that easy?

Tell us, what was your best buy ever?

Star Creation 2011, held a prejudging session at *SCAPE on 11 May 2011. The contestants presented their collections to four of the events’ seven judges that morning. The judges were happy with the contestants’ designs. The contestants had to give descriptions and their interpretations of this year’s theme - Internationally Asian. The judges present were Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin, David Wang, chair of the Designers and Retailers Group, Textile and Fashion Federation, Colid McDowell, Creative Director of the Audi Fashion Festival and Desmond Yang, owner and designer of fashion label, Abyzz. 11 May 2011,

The 12 finalists from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam were chosen from over 140 entries – more than double the number of entries
received in the competition’s inaugural year.

The winners will receive a year-long internship with leading retailer, F J Benjamin, and the chance to launch their own capsule collections at Star Creation 2012.
One of the three also stands a chance to win an additional S$10,000 – the Audi Young Designer Award – in collaboration with Harper’s Bazaar, given to the designer whose creations best embody the Audi design spirit of innovation, technology and progression.
Star Creation is organized by the Textile and Fashion Federation, and is an event of the Asia
Fashion Exchange, which also includes the Audi Fashion Festival, Blueprint and the Asia Fashion Summit.

Speaking after the pre-judging, Mr. Benjamin did not reveal his favourites, but said it was
likely to be a close fight on the runway – the last stage of the judging.
“The quality is really very good. There has been a lot of use of technique and craft which we
did not see last year. A lot of the finalists have been on trend in terms of colour-blocking and
the use of leather. The quality of the finishing was also very impressive. So I think it’s going to
be a very hard job for the judges tonight,” he said.

The finalists’ creations will hit the runway at an exclusive Audi Gala Event.

On 12 May 2011, 12 finalists of Star Creation 2011 had a showdown at the exclusive Audi Gala Event at Tents@Orchard. After an intense fight, Singapore’s Tsia Ming Hung, China’s Chen Zhi Gang and Malaysia’s Tiang Boon Tieon emerged as the winners.

One of the judges, Douglas Bejamin, commented, ” The quality of the pieces has really been very good. There has been a lot of use of technique and craft which we did not see last year. A lot of the finalists have also been on trend in terms of color-blocking and the use of leather, so the judges have been quite impressed. “

The competition has an additional award – the Audi Young Designers Award which is a collaboration with Harper Bazaar‘s magazine plus a $10000 cash prize. This exclusive award was given to Hiroyuki Watanabe from Japan, whose collection, Modern Folk Costume, infused colorful ethnic elements into women’s wear, giving it a modern twist.

The designs of the four winners and eight finalists will be showcased to industry players, fashion experts on May 16. The winners of Star Creation 2010 will also launch their first capsule collections that day.

Here is a little snippet of the winner of the Audi Young Designers Award:

Hiroyuki Watanabe, 24. Japan

Hiroyuki is a freelance fashion designer who studied at the Hiroshima school of fashion – the Hiroshima Fashion Specialty College. His collection, Modern Folk Costume, was spaked by a long-time interest in Asian ethnic costumes from all over the world. In this collection, he ventured to offer women the opportunity to delve into the ethnic, yet look modern and chic.