24 February 2012, Singapore – Fashion-watchers are set for a sizzling runway showdown as Audi Star Creation 2012, the Asia-wide fashion design competition, draws a record number of entries from around the region. As the competition enters its third year, luxury automobile manufacturer Audi has also announced that it will be the event’s title sponsor.

A total of 255 fashion design hopefuls from 13 countries made submissions this year – significantly more than the 144 entries received last year, and more than triple the 75 received in 2010, the competition’s inaugural year.

The highest number of submissions this year came from Thailand, which made 56 entries. Last year, two Thai designers – Karn Karnjanamai and Maythar Thadavi – made the finals. While neither won, Karnjanamai won the Star Creation-Fashion TV People’s Choice Award 2011. Also making a strong showing was Vietnam, whose Ngo Quynh Phuong also made last year’s finals. Vietnam produced close to 50 entries. This year also threw up some countries that did not participate last year, including Iran and South Korea.

It is this organic growth that has prompted Audi Singapore to deepen its support for the event, said Mr Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore, adding: “Audi has always found a fit with fashion and we want to be able to support both established and emerging design talent. In its first two years, Star Creation has grown its reach and surfaced fashion designers with great promise, and we have no doubt that it will continue to do so. On its part, Audi Singapore is excited to be able to play a key role in helping to launch the fashion careers of these young stars.”

Audi Star Creation: A competition with a difference

Audi Star Creation, which is spearheaded by the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFf), Singapore, and part of the Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX), is open to aspiring Asian designers between 16 and 35 with less than two years of experience in the fashion industry. They needed to submit six original and previously unreleased designs.

The entries are judged based on creativity, originality and commercial viability. Thirty-six designers have already been shortlisted in the first round of judging, held earlier this month. The second round of judging is under way, and the 12 designers who make the cut will face off on the runway during the AFX, to be held at the Tent@Orchard from May 14 to 20. The competition leg of Audi Star Creation is slated to take place on May 14.

The three winners will each get a $10,000 cash prize and the opportunity of a one-year internship with leading fashion retailer FJ Benjamin. Under the guidance of FJ Benjamin, the three winners will also develop a capsule collection, which they will launch at Audi Star Creation 2013. Of the three, the one that best reflects Audi’s values of innovation, technology and progression will also receive the Audi Young Designer Award (AYDA) – an additional $10,000 cash prize. This is the third time the AYDA is being presented.

It is the holistic combination of prizes that makes the competition so appealing to aspiring designers hoping to launch their fashion careers out of Singapore and, potentially, fast-track their success, said Audi Star Creation spokesman and judge David Wang. He points to the example of Singaporean Audrey Lim, 21, who won the competition in 2010. She secured a position as an assistant designer with the Design and Development team with rising international label RAOUL following her internship and the launch of her capsule collection in May 2011.

Mr Wang, who is also Vice President, TaFf, said that based on the initial judging rounds, he was impressed by what the designers made of this year’s theme, Fashion Without Frontiers.

“The theme was deliberately chosen to allow for a wide variety of interpretations and we were not disappointed. The entries varied so much from one to the next, so it’s going to make for an interesting runway face-off. This year, we have also seen improvements in terms of feasibility and technicality, maturity in concept and thought, and progressiveness in fashion,” he said.

Ms Jo Soh, Founder and Creative Director of homegrown label hansel, joins the judging panel for the first time this year. She said some strong influences came through in many of the submissions, including Alexander Wang and Alexander McQueen.

Audi Star Creation 2012 will have seven judges. Joining Mr Wang and Ms Soh are Mr Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin (Singapore), Mr Colin McDowell, Creative Director of the Audi Fashion Festival, and three more judges, including a representative from Audi, to be announced closer to the event.

Broader reach this year

This year’s Audi Star Creation campaign, which kicked off at the end of November 2011, was accompanied by a stronger outreach to more of the region’s fashion schools and design communities, including in Korea and Vietnam.

Ms Loh Soi Min, SPRING Singapore’s Director of Lifestyle, said: “Audi Star Creation is a talent development programme that aims to promote fashion design in the region. To identify talent with the most potential, we need to reach out to as many markets as possible. We are very happy with the record number of entries received and some of it came from new markets including South Korea. This is testimony to the fact that designers view Audi Star Creation as a good platform on which to be noticed and handpicked, and that they are hungry for the opportunity to kick-start their careers in Singapore.”

At this year’s Audi Star Creation Capsule Collection show, Star Creation 2011 winners, Chen Zhi Gang (China), Tiang Boon Tieon (Malaysia) and Tsai Ming Hung (Singapore) will launch their capsule collections. The show date will be announced closer to the event. In response to strong interest in last year’s capsule launch, this time, their pieces will also be showcased to international and local buyers at AFX’s tradeshow platform, BLUEPRINT, on May 17 and 18.

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For more information about Audi Star Creation 2012, please contact Word of Art:

Mustafa Hatwadi
+65 6222 4469 / 9776 2692
mustafa@word-of-art.biz

Arti Mulchand
+65 6222 4469 / 9066 6152
arti@word-of-art.biz

Star Creation 2011 fashion design competition, winners and runway shows (http://www.starcreation.sg), together with Blueprint 2011 trade event highlights (http://www.blueprint.sg)

We’ve got our hands on Star Creation 2010 winner, Daniel Ngoo’s concept video which hints at what you can look forward to in his upcoming capsule collection. Together with Audrey Lim and Kit Miao, their capsule collections will be launched at our event this May!