3 Reasons You Need To Buy This Book On Singapore Fashion

#1: It charts the growth of our fashion scene from the 1960s to the 2000s.

Get an incisive look at various fashion milestones spanning five decades, from the time major departmental stores dominated the retail scene to the age of ready-to-wear and the rise of local fashion labels. Some of the interesting stories you'll find in its pages: How the Singapore edition of Interview magazine almost happened, and wistful recollections of how the local fashion scene was thriving in the '80s thanks to brands like Dick Lee's quirky (and short-lived) label Ping Pong.

#2: Get first-hand accounts from movers and shakers in fashion.

If you've always wondered what life at a fashion magazine was like, this book offers a glimpse into the lives of editors who helped shape top reads here. Every decade includes a first-person narrative of fashion heavyweights like Theresa Tan, former editor of Female and Elle magazines and Daniel Goh, former editor of Style and editor-in-chief of Men's Folio.

#3: Find out how local fashion designers got their start.

Why Priscilla Shunmugam ditched a career as a lawyer to start her own fashion label offering modern renditions of cheongsams; how Ashley Isham's red-hot successes on the red carpet (Keira Knightley and other international celebrities once wore his designs) has been parlayed into a new creative vision; and how Thomas Wee became a household name - the book maps out the ways in which these designers went against the tide and carved out their own paths. $35, available at Kinokuniya

Like this? Find out why we think the Asian fashion scene is heating up now, and follow these Singapore brands' Instagram accounts for a dose of sartorial inspiration.