For his debut, China’s Chen Zhi Gang chose to build on his Star Creation 2011 womenswear collection, We’re Inseparable, inspired by a man’s love for a woman. He applied the cut and workmanship of men’s jackets and suits to his pieces, and accentuated them by using different shades of black juxtaposed against his favourite colour, peach blossom.

“I really liked my original concept from 2011 and wanted to expand on it. Being able to do a 16-piece collection also meant being able to play with a wider range of ideas and to give the collection more depth and breadth,” Chen explained. Mr Benjamin, said the overall look of the collection was well measured and multifunctional, and he also liked the use of zips that allowed each piece to be worn in different ways.

Malaysian Tiang Boon Tieon, who wowed the judges last year with his women’s collection Along, put forward an untitled womenswear collection that borrowed common menswear items such as blazers and pantsuits, and adapted them to fit the modern, fashionable woman. It featured the heavy use of monochromatic colors in gradients.

On his collection, Tiang said: ““My fundamental spirit as a designer is still the same, but I find that the presentation of my designs is different and evolving. The final product is now more subtle, adaptable and commercial.” Mr Benjamin said Tiang’s collection was a nomadic twist on minimalism, adding: “It has really clean, simple lines, and you get the feeling that it is made for people who want to move around the world with ease.”

Finally, Singapore’s very own Tsai Ming Hung, who created Internationally Asian for Star Creation 2011, gave us Gerar, a menswear collection inspired by the ancient village of the same name, and the trees along the riverbank which bore its inhabitants fruit every season. In the spirit of those trees, Tsai used a wide spectrum of colours, including shades of blue, brown, green, grey and red, to reflect the changing landscape of the seasons.

“I think my one-year internship has really helped me to better understand the industry. I have also become braver in terms of design, even as I retain a ‘traditional base’ in my thought process. That is why I went with Gerar. It references the earth, people and villages while still having an edge and being very wearable. I also strived for a slightly different look from last year – it is a lot less grungy,” he said.

Mr Benjamin also gave his nod to Tsai’s mixture of knit and handwork, adding that  some of the pieces are also reversible, making the collection even more interesting.

“Actually, all three collections are very different – each is quite interesting. Compared to the capsule collections from our 2010 winners, we are seeing more creativity, and the messages are much bigger, even if they are not as clear-cut as last year. They all also have pieces that would fit in well at modern, contemporary stores,” concluded Mr Benjamin.

Over the last year, he has seen all three really grow as designers, he said, adding: “They are certainly a lot more confident. They have dealt with the real-life fashion business, negotiating over fabrics and designing amongst other things, so they have been pushed out of their comfort zones. When they first came in, each had their favourite things to do or a specialty. Now, they have done more and different things. They have a sharper point of view.”

All three are also currently showcasing their collections to local and international buyers at the tradeshow platform of the Asia Fashion Exchange, BLUEPRINT, which is taking place at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 17 to 20.

Also at the Capsule Showcase today were the winners of Audi Star Creation 2012: China’s Roderic Wong (Liang Wang), South Korea’s Ko Youngji, and Thailand’s Soravit Kaewkamon, who returned to the runway with their winning competition collections. Like the previous year’s winners, they will now go on to do their one-year internships with FJ Benjamin, during which they will develop capsule collections to be launched at Audi Star Creation 2013.

So, who is qualified for the programme?

- Audi Star Creation finalists
- Graduating designers from fashion incubator project PARCO next NEXT

Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan announced the programme this evening at the Asia Fashion Exchange Audi Red Carpet Night, where he also presented prizes to the winners of Audi Star Creation 2012.

From left to right: Benny Pua, President of Textile and Fashion Federation; Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore; Star Creation winner and Audi Young Designer 2012 Roderic Wong (China) & his model; Star creation winner Soravit Kaewkamon (Thailand) and her model; Star Creation winner Ko Youngji (South Korea) and her model; Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry; Douglas Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer of FJ Benjamin Singapore Pte Ltd.

Ms Callia Chua, Group Director of the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFf), Singapore, explained, “Each year, Audi Star Creation culls really talented designers from around the region – this year’s winners were chosen from over 250 submissions, and it is often a tough fight for the top spots. This programme allows for us to secure even more of the finalists jobs, especially since most of them say they really want to work in Singapore, and extends access to this talent pool to more Singapore companies.”

TaFf hopes to be able to place up to 14 designers in its first year, with the first of them starting work in September. Response to the programme has been encouraging; already, over a dozen companies have expressed interest, including Charles & Keith, Crocodile International and Escala Fashion.

Ms Christy Wong, Chief Fashion Designer at Crocodile International, admits that when it comes to sourcing talent, there are challenges – while they may be creative, not every designer understands branding and the impact it has on profits, or has proper technical skills.

She adds that her company stands to gain from access to this talent pool. “I hope that they are able to bring a fresh perspective to the brand. These designers clearly have unique qualities and ability, so I believe they will complement my existing pool of designers well,” said Ms Wong, who currently leads a design team of six.

Loh Soi Min, Director of SPRING Singapore’s Lifestyle Division, adds, “The Designer Attachment Programme will nurture a pipeline of talents for our local fashion businesses. This is a win-win as the designers will gain hands-on experience in product design, brand revitalisation and customer engagement while the foreign designers will give valuable Asian insights beyond the local market. This will inject fresh design innovation in the local companies and help them stay competitive in the international fashion marketplace.”

Roderic Wong from China wins the Audi Young Designer Award. This award is given to the Audi Star Creation winner whose creations best embody the Audi design spirit of innovation, technology and progression. Wong bagged an additional cash prize of SGD$10,000 with his collection, Tissue of Being.

At the runway showdown yesterday, Wong was a hot favourite of the seven judges, who were struck by the fabric that he specially created for the collection over the last month – the work was so intense that he found himself having to get by with less than three hours of sleep a night.

Managing Director of Audi Singapore Reinhold Carl said: “I really like how he developed a whole new material for his collection. His designs had such clean lines and were not overloaded. Those are similar principles that Audi believes when developing our cars. We are always looking for new materials and to create a style that is timeless and elegant. That is why we felt he best encapsulated the spirit of the Audi Young Designer Award.”

Be sure to catch the winning collections, which will make their final appearance at the Audi Star Creation Capsule Showcase on May 18 at 2pm! The event will be headlined by the winners of Star Creation 2011 – Chen Zhi Gang, 29 (China), Tiang Boon Tieon, 28 (Malaysia) and Tsai Ming Hung, 29 (Singapore). They will launch their maiden collections, which they have developed over the past year under the mentorship of FJ Benjamin.

The judging panel unanimously agreed that it was Chinese designer Roderic Wong (Liang Wang), 27, whose womenswear collection, Tissue of Being, paid homage to handmade craftsmanship.

What struck the judges most was the fabric used for the collection, said Douglas Benjamin, Chief Executive Office of FJ Benjamin Singapore Pte Ltd and Co-Creative Director of Raoul: “We all loved the fact that he developed his own fabric. As far as design goes, he had a minimalist point of view, but it was extremely interesting,” he said.

Mr David Wang, judge and Vice-President of Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore (TaFf), echoed his sentiments, adding that the collection “exuded sophistication and looked international”.

The second winner was Thai designer Soravit Kaewkamon, 23. It was her menswear collection, Love and Friendship, which the judges found to be very visually impactful. Mr Wang added: “The entire collection really popped up on the runway, with her design and details like the embroidered feathers really standing out. It was very polished.”

Bagging the final top spot was Korean designer Ko Youngji, 32, whose womenswear collection,  Li Jin, drew on the traditional blues, greens and pinks of a saekdong and merged them with Western fabrics. The result: a collection that came across as commercially very viable, said Ms Jo Soh, Designer & Owner, Hansel Productions Pte Ltd, adding that Ms Ko’s collection really “lived up to her sketches”.

This is the third year in a row that China has produced a winner, but is a first time win for both Thailand and Korea. It was also the first time that Korea had the strongest showing in the finals, with 4 South Korean contenders.

The winners were picked from a record 255 entries from 13 countries (significantly more than the 144 entries in 2011). Participants from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand had made it into the finals.

Each winner will get SGD$10,000 in cash from Audi Singapore, an internship with leading fashion retailer F J Benjamin and the chance to launch a capsule collection at Star Creation 2013.

This year’s judges also included Mr Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore, Mr Colin McDowell, Creative Director of the Audi Fashion Festival 2012, Mr Mario Boselli, President of the Italian Chamber of Fashion and Milan Fashion Week, and Ms Angelia Teo, Content Director, Asia Pacific, WGSN.

Mr Carl said that what struck him was how, as someone whose background is not in fashion, his impression of the designs was aligned with the other judges.

“In touching and feeling the pieces from the finalists, I felt that the level of craftsmanship in some of the works was not too different from established international names. The young designers have done a really good job. As a consumer, I see that some of these works are already very close to commercial standards. If I had seen them in a shop, I would have bought them.”

At a pre-judging session this morning, the judges got to see how the sketches had translated into actual outfits, and hear each designer’s interpretation of this year’s theme, Fashion Without Frontiers. However, their opinions were so divided that all seven ended up regrouping for more than half an hour before the runway showdown to look at the outfits once more. They then went through a third round of deliberations before finally delivering their verdict.

Even the finalists who did not take top spot say they drew a lot from the experience, including Indonesian Natalia Kiantoro, who won the People’s Choice Award, based on having garnered over 24,000 votes online for her sketches in the month leading up to the event.

“I am very excited to have won the People’s Choice Award and I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. Despite not having won, I have learnt a lot during my Audi Star Creation 2012 journey and I’m glad I made the finals. The winners have inspired me to relook my use of fabric. Some of them were really creative in that way,” she said.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development Lee Yi Shyan will present the winners with their prizes tomorrow (May 15) at the Audi Red Carpet Night. That is also when the Audi Young Designer Award (AYDA) will be announced. This award is given to the winner whose collection best embodies the Audi design spirit of innovation, technology and progression. An additional SGD$10,000 cash prize will be awarded to the winner.

The winning collections will return to the Tent@Orchard runway at the Star Creation Capsule Showcase on May 18 at 3pm. At the event, which will be attended by industry players, fashion experts and their peers, the winners of Star Creation 2011 will also launch their maiden capsule collections, which they have been developing over the last year.

Inspired by this year’s collections and hoping to participate? The call for entries for Audi Star Creation 2013 will go out in November, and the deadline for submissions is January 31, 2013.

1. Ko Youngji (South Korea) – ‘Li Jin’
2. Roderic Wong (China) – ‘ Tissue of Being’
3. Soravit Kaewkamon (Thailand) – ‘Love and Friendship’

The three winners of the Audi Star Creation competition will each receive  $10,000 in cash from Audi Singapore, an internship with leading fashion retailer F J Benjamin and the chance to launch a capsule collection at Star Creation 2013.

We would also like to congratulate Natalia Kiantoro from Indonesia for winning the People’s Choice Award with over 24,299 votes!

More details to come; in the meantime, be sure to check out the photos of the runway showdown at our Facebook Page.

We are just an hour away from the runway showdown, so stay tuned to find out what happens, and who wins the competition!

Countdown: We’re just about 24 hours away from the runway showdown!

The other judges are:

1. Mr Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore
2. Ms Angelia Teo, Content Director, Asia Pacific, WGSN
3. Mr David Wang, Vice-President of the Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore)
4. Mr Douglas Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer of FJ Benjamin Singapore Pte Ltd
5. Ms Jo Soh, Designer & Owner, Hansel Productions Pte Ltd
6. Mr Colin McDowell, Creative Director, Audi Fashion Festival 2012

Like Mr Boselli, Mr Carl, Ms Teo and Ms Soh are all new to the judging panel.

The two-part competition on May 14 begins at 9am, when, during a pre-judging segment at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore, each designer will get the chance to explain their interpretation of the theme – Fashion Without Frontiers – to the judges. They will then bring their collections to life on the catwalk at a 3pm runway showdown at the Tent@Orchard (Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza), when this year’s winners will be picked. The winners will get prize money of $10,000 and a one-year internship with leading fashion retailer FJ Benjamin, during which they will have the chance to develop their maiden capsule collections. Both segments are open to the media.

The prizes will be presented at the closed-door Audi Red Carpet Night on May 15, during which the winner whose design best embodies the Audi design spirit of innovation, technology and progression will also be receive the Audi Young Designer Award.

The excitement continues at the Audi Star Creation Capsule Showcase at 2pm on May 18, when the 2011 winners – Chen Zhi Gang (China), Tiang Boon Tieon (Malaysia) and Tsai Ming Hung (Singapore) – will launch the maiden capsule collections they have developed over the last year at the Audi Fashion Festival at the Tent@Orchard. This event is also open to the media. The collection pieces will also be showcased to international and local buyers at Asia Fashion Exchange’s tradeshow platform, BLUEPRINT, on May 17 and 18.

About the Audi Star Creation 2012 Judges

Angelia Teo, Content Director, Asia Pacific, WGSN

Angelia Teo sits on the cross-section of design and business, having worked across lifestyle categories and the media over the past 15 years. From her vantage point as Content Director of Asia Pacific at WGSN, Hong Kong-based Teo has personally witnessed phenomenal change in the fashion and beauty market in the region. As a consumer researcher and journalist, she tracks and monitors shopping behavior, purchasing drivers and cultural shifts in the region, and oversees an expert team in WGSN’s Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai creative labs, as well as its freelancers.Teo, a Singaporean, is best known at home for her work with Harper’s Bazaar and her involvement in FashBash, Singapore’s celebrated cult shopping event. She is also a skilled speaker and has hosted and presented at industry conferences including Asia Fashion Summit, Hong Kong Fashion Week, CHIC Beijing, World Retail Congress Asia Pacific and Retail Asia Congress.

Colin McDowell, Creative Director, Audi Fashion Festival 2012

Colin McDowell is one of the world’s top fashion commentators, and has worked in the fashion industry for some thirty years. He has played roles on both sides of the catwalk, including designer, stylist, editor, journalist and biographer. He has authored over 20 books on fashion and related subjects and written on style and design for newspapers and magazines around the world. Among the biographies he has penned are those of Ralph Lauren, John Galliano and Manolo Blahnik. He is the senior fashion writer for the Sunday Times Style and is the founder and creative director of Fashion Fringe, a London-based initiative that supports young designers. Colin is also Creative Editor at Large for Net-A-Porter.com and Editor-in-Chief of Distil. He was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for the Order of the British Empire in 2008. He lives in London and Kent.

David Wang, Vice-President, Textile & Fashion Federation (Singapore)

David Wang is a familiar name in Singapore’s fashion scene. He is the Vice-President of Singapore Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore) and Chairman of its Designers and Retailers Group. He is also Singapore’s representative to the Asia Fashion Federation. Wang also sits on the working committee that oversees PARCO next NEXT, Singapore’s fashion incubator project, which has helped launch at least 50 homegrown labels, including max.tan and MAE PANG. Wang, who graduated with a Diploma in Fashion Design in Hong Kong Institute of Fashion Design in 1985, designed for local fashion houses before starting Advance Apparel Pte Ltd, which designs and produces collections for department stores. Today, it represents three labels: Daniel Yam, I.S., and Nine to Nine.

Douglas Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer, F J Benjamin (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Douglas Benjamin is the Chief Executive Officer of F J Benjamin (Singapore) Pte Ltd, which retails international luxury and lifestyle brands. He is also Co-Creative Director of homegrown label RAOUL, and directed its international expansion. Today, RAOUL 13 company-owned stores in Asia, and is distributed through 30 points-of-sale across the United States and 50 in Europe. He is married to Odile Benjamin, Divisional CEO – Creative and Design of RAOUL. They recently welcomed their fourth child into the family. He is also a committee member of Kids Horizon Appeal, which helps children with chronic illnesses, and sits on the board of trustees for the KK Hospital Health Endowment Fund.

Jo Soh, Founder and Creative Director, Hansel

Jo Soh is the owner and designer of Singaporean womenswear labels “hansel” and “hello hansel”. Soh, who graduated with 1st class Honours from the renowned Central St. Martins in London, honed her skills with design stints around the world, including with Tristan Webber in London. Her nine-year-old hansel label, which captures Soh’s modern and unique take on retro-inspired styles, made an impressive debut at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia in November 2003 and went on to garner accolades and fans. Jo’s designs have captured the eye of industry critics and she has won awards that include Perspective magazine’s “40 under 40” 2011 (Fashion category), ELLE’s Singaporean Designer of the Year 2009 and Monocle’s “Top Five Fashion Designers” (Singapore Survey 2009).

Mario Boselli, President of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (the Italian Chamber of Fashion)

Mario Boselli, the President of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (the Italian Chamber of Fashion), is a leading figure in Italian fashion. He began his career in 1959 at his father’s company, Carlo Boselli of Garbagnate Monastero, a silk mill steeped in tradition, and, through the years, developed the business in Italy and abroad, in Slovakia. He left the company for other pursuits in 2005.  Boselli is also Chairman of the Cariplo, Setefi and Moneta (Intesa SanPaolo Group) Pension Funds as well as of the Italy-Hong Kong Association, and sits on several company boards. He has been President of Federtessile, Fiera Internazionale di Milano, Pitti Immagine, International Silk Association (Lyon), Italian-Slovak Chamber of Commerce (Bratislava), Centrobanca, as well as Member of the Board of UBI Banca. Among his many honours, he was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro (1990), Commandeur de l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur (France 2002) and Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (2007).

Reinhold Carl, Managing Director, Audi Singapore

Reinhold Carl is the Managing Director of Audi Singapore, and an Audi die-hard. Having joined the company some 20 years ago, he has held several senior positions, his varied portfolio having included Sales, Product Marketing, Customer Service, Global Training and Dealer Network Development. In 1993, he was responsible for the highly successful launch of the marque’s flagship product, the Audi A8. More recently, Carl was Global Head of Training, a division he started in 1994. Carl’s passion in cars sees his interest in both sports as well as vintage cars. Every opportunity will find him doing laps on the racetrack, if not participating in driving events. He is also a keen sportsman, with interests ranging from basketball, tennis, running marathons, to soccer and mountain trekking. Carl is also an avid skier, and is frequently seen on the slopes at Flims and Laxx in Switzerland.

Audi Star Creation 2012 at a glance

The 12 aspiring fashion stars who will face off on the runway at Audi Star Creation 2012 have been picked from over 250 submissions for the regional fashion design competition. The strongest showing this year came from South Korea, which produced four finalists. Singapore and Malaysia have two finalists each, and China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand complete the seven countries that will be represented at the finals.

The 12 finalists for Audi Star Creation 2012 are:

Liang Wang, 27, China	Natalia Kiantoro, 22, Indonesia	Tatsuya Tsukahara, 24, Japan
Ling Siu Gin, 21, Malaysia	Vincent Wong, 22, Malaysia	Eugenice Chen, 20, Singapore
Jaslin Ong, 21, Singapore	Kim Soo-Jeong, 25, South Korea	Kim Yong Woo, 27, South Korea
Kim Mina, 24 South Korea	Ko Youngji, 32, South Korea	Soravit Kaewkamon, 23, Thailand

Singapore is fielding this year’s youngest finalist – Temasek Polytechnic Apparel Design and Merchandising student Eugenice Chen, 20. The oldest contender comes from Korea – 32-year-old Ko Youngji. Details of the collections that all 12 will present on the runway are appended.

Aspiring designers from around the region were challenged to come up with six original, creative and commercially viable designs based on the theme, “Fashion Without Frontiers”. The competition was open to designers between 16 and 35 with less than two years of experience in the fashion industry, and after an intense month of judging, these 12 have been chosen to transform their ideas into catwalk-ready collections.

The final face-off takes place at the Asia Fashion Exchange’s Tent@Orchard on May 14. Three of the 12 winners stand to walk away with a $10,000 cash prize from Audi Singapore, a one-year internship with leading fashion retailer FJ Benjamin and the chance to develop a capsule collection that will be launched at Audi Star Creation 2013. Of the three, the one whose collection best embodies Audi’s design spirit of innovation, technology and progression will receive the Audi Young Designer Award (AYDA) – an additional  $10,000 cash prize. This is the third time the AYDA is being presented.

Three-time Audi Star Creation judge and Vice-President of the Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore), Mr David Wang, says this year’s judging was significantly harder given the sheer number of entries and the rising standards of submissions. This year saw a record number of 255 entries from 13 countries.

“The theme was deliberately chosen to allow for a wide interpretation, but we were surprised at how far some designers were able to push it while still infusing their collections with both personal and cultural styles. This year, we’re going to be treated to everything from military-inspired womenswear to bold and unorthodox draping. It is going to be quite spectacular,” said Mr Wang.

Audi Singapore, which has increased its stake this year in Star Creation to be the competition’s presenting sponsor, will again also be presenting the Audi Young Designer Award to one of the winners.

Mr Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore, said: “Since 2010, we have kept an eye on the winners of Star Creation to give out the Audi Young Designer Award. This goes to the designer who best embodies the progressive spirit of our brand in their designs, and the past winners of the award, Daniel Ngoo and Hiroyuki Watanabe, have wowed us with distinctive twists in their work. I am most excited to see how these qualities will be embodied in the collections of this year’s participants.”