The Brandery Asia plays host to international and Asian brands at inaugural fashion showcase

The Brandery Asia @

BLUEPRINT 2012, an extension of the established The Brandery fashion tradeshow from Barcelona, Spain opens today, presenting Autumn/Winter 2012 and Spring/Summer 2013 collections from a curated selection of some 20 established and up-and-coming contemporary urban, street and casual fashion brands from around the world.

Co-locating with BLUEPRINT, presented by Lee Hwa Jewellery, at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre from 17 to 20 May 2012, The Brandery Asia is positioned as the international launch pad for contemporary urban, street and casual fashion brands looking to gain a foothold on the Asian market, and for Asian brands to be catapulted into the global scene. This complements BLUEPRINT’s 120 emerging designers showcasing their Pre-Spring 2013 collections at the tradeshow.

Buyers and trade visitors can expect a vibrant mix of international and regional brand names to showcase their latest collections at The Brandery Asia. A strong contingent of Singaporean labels will also be participating in The Brandery Asia in an effort to take their brand overseas. These include CORA Lingerie, an intimate apparel line offering a range of fashion bras for women; FEMMEX, a brand new ladies concept fashion wear; Flesh Imp, a cool and trendy label that promotes creative lifestyle for youths; House of AnLi, handmade bags and accessories by Belgian-born Anne-Jean Liétaer, which showcases interesting shapes, fascinating designs and juxtaposed textures interpreted in a variety of colours; Island Shop, which is inspired by global travel bringing a modern and urban twist to the bohemian aesthetic; Les Affaires, a brand of French-inspired sleepwear that draws on European exuberance and love of life; N.Tyler, a contemporary chic men’s clothing line featuring tailor-made masterpieces inspired by the creations found in Savile Row; Pachelbel, a vegan fashion accessories brand that illustrates how vegan fashion does not need to compromise on style and quality; and a collection of fashion footwear brands under the Tangs Group that include Martina Pink for quirky footwear; STUDIOTANGS shoes for the modern woman; and LIBRARY essential footwear for the new urban professional.

These local brands are joined by other Asian labels including Hailey & Sasha, exquisitely tailored ladies lingerie, swimwear and undergarment accessories from Hong Kong; Jessi N.Y, a casual womenswear line from Korea that embodies modern luxury, bohemian deluxe elements, and club tropical style for the artisan traveller; and Per Me, which features elegant and romantic womenswear from Hong Kong.

From Europe and the US, the brand mix includes BAGGU, high quality and brightly coloured multi-usage bags from the US; Custo Barcelona, an iconic Spanish fashion label known for its strong mix of graphics and colour that has been showing its collection at New York Fashion Week since 1997; Feiyue, authentic vintage-inspired iconic canvas shoes from France; Etiquette Clothiers, a global lifestyle brand originating from New York City that combines the traditions of classic craftsmanship and artisanship with modernity in designing essentials like underwear, socks and accessories; Munich, sports and fashion shoes made in Barcelona, Spain and owned by the same family since 1939; and Pointer Footwear, simple and well-designed casual mens and womens footwear from the UK.

The Brandery Asia tradeshow is organised by MP-Fira International, a new joint venture company set up by MP International, an exhibition and conference organiser headquartered in Singapore, and Fira de Barcelona, Spain’s oldest and most established tradeshow organiser.

Mr Ricard Zapatero, International Business Director of Fira de Barcelona, said: “The Brandery has firmly established itself as a unique springboard for the contemporary urban fashion industry in the Spanish market and as a point of access to the southern European market. Similarly, we hope to make The Brandery Asia the gateway for fashion brands to access the Asia market, and to launch Asian brands into the international scene. Like its Spanish counterpart, The Brandery Asia will hopefully be a source of inspiration for fashion businesses all over the world.”

Ms Sylvia Phua, Chief Executive Officer of MP International, added: “It is heartening to note the strong showing of Singaporean brands at The Brandery Asia’s inaugural tradeshow, with half the line-up of fashion brands consisting of local labels. Singapore was voted eighth most fashionable city in a survey by Global Language Monitor last year, and we hope to further its standing as Asia’s premier fashion hub by helping local and international brands extend their reach to global audiences. We welcome all buyers and visitors to source for some of the newest and brightest fashion labels at The Brandery Asia tradeshow.”

More than 200 buyers have confirmed their attendance for BLUEPRINT and The Brandery Asia. These include buyers from top Asian department stores including Central Department Store (Bangkok), Lotte (Seoul), Metro (Jakarta), Parkson (Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur), Robinsons (Bangkok and Manila), Rustan’s (Manila), and the newest store which will be opening soon in Jakarta, Galeries Lafayette, amongst others.

Apart from the tradeshow running from 17 to 18 May – which will see key fashion trade buyers scouting for new brands among the plethora of fashion exhibitors – consumers can look forward to 19 and 20 May, when the trade venue becomes BLUEPRINT Emporium, Asia’s defining shopping destination. This is where fashion consumers and tourists in Singapore can discover and shop from more than 200 brands, including the majority of BLUEPRINT and The Brandery Asia’s tradeshow exhibitors. Most of the brands have not been commercially available in Singapore before, and shoppers can expect special promotions and limited styles from The Brandery Asia exhibitors.

The Brandery Asia is open from 10am to 6pm during the trade days (17 to 18 May) and from 11am to 8pm during the Emporium days which are open to the public (19 to 20 May). For more information, please visit www.thebranderyasia.com.

About BLUEPRINT
BLUEPRINT is a four day fashion trade and consumer event organised by the Blueprint Group, a joint venture between the Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore (TaFF), MP Asia Pte Ltd (MP Asia) and Mercury Marketing and Communications Pte Ltd to catapult emerging talents to international prominence. It was awarded Exhibition of the Year at the Singapore Tourism Board’s Singapore Experience Awards 2011, and the winner of the Red Dot Award: Communication Design for its 2011 rebranding and “A Brave New World” creative campaign by 2011 event Partner Trine Design Associates.

Mercury Marketing & Communications created BLUEPRINT in 2004 as a catwalk showcase to further the careers of young Singaporean and Asian design talents; these young designers and their labels were featured in a limited-edition Blueprint shop at The Heeren for a year. In 2008, nine BLUEPRINT product designers exhibited at the Salone Internazionale Del Mobile in Milan while in 2009, 10 BLUEPRINT designers created unique red dresses auctioned off in aid of the Singapore Heart Foundation. BLUEPRINT 2010 took place over three days with two days specifically for trade and one day for consumers. Since 2011, Blueprint has grown to a two-day fashion trade show featuring Pre-Spring collections of emerging designers from around the world, with a two-day off-shoot Emporium weekend shopping event for consumers.

About MP-Fira International
MP-Fira International Pte Ltd is a new joint venture company set up by MP International and Fira de Barcelona to organise The Brandery Asia.

Established in Singapore in 1987, MP International Pte Ltd specialises in organising exhibitions, conferences and special events. The group has organised and managed over 1,000 national, regional and international events, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2009 Leaders’ Week. It is a leading international organiser of trade exhibitions, including ITMA and ITMA ASIA.

Established in 1932, Fira de Barcelona is a trade fair organiser and venue owner. It has a portfolio of 70 tradeshows, which are participated by some 35,000 companies and 3.5 million visitors. One of the largest venues in Europe, it offers 405,000sqm of exhibition floor space.