Fashion Forward: Singapore Fashion Council unveils new rebrand and strategic positioning

Amid fast-evolving consumer trends, the Singapore Fashion Council (SFC), formerly known as the Textile and Fashion Federation, has unveiled its new rebrand and strategic positioning to better support the aspirations of its members and the wider fashion industry. Aimed at building a more connected fashion ecosystem, the trade association pivoted its role as a catalyst for new and diverse partnerships across sectors and geographics to bring benefits across the value chain. 

Semun Ho, CEO of Singapore Fashion Council said, “SFC plays a catalytic role in supporting the growth of the industry by connecting stakeholders across the fashion ecosystem to unlock strategic opportunities for meaningful collaborations and community-building. We are particularly focused on capability development to help Singapore’s fashion ecosystem expand and transform as an innovator amid changing consumer demands. Having talents joining the industry will help to achieve our vision of positioning Singapore as the regional nexus for fashion, and allow us to continue providing pathways for local industry players to make a mark in the fashion world of tomorrow.”

The renewed focus on partnership emerged from consultations with industry leaders to review Singapore’s strategic strengths as a fashion hub, and areas in which the local fashion industry can make a positive impact in. To help Singapore fashion industry maintain a competitive edge, SFC has identified three strategic thrusts that the organisation will be looking into as it establishes further collaborations with external parties:

• Innovation & Technology: Finding avenues offered by new and existing technological solutions to disrupt and reshape industry practices and the human experience. This includes examining areas of opportunities to enhance the local fashion industry’s capabilities using 5G, holographic telepresence, augmented reality, virtual reality and opportunities in the Metaverse.

• Sustainability: Finding end-to-end solutions that help to mitigate the environmental impact of fashion. This is accomplished through catalysing the journey for companies to adopt sustainable practices. For example, building standards-based frameworks, introducing capacity building programmes like green financing, training and upskilling of workforce, and development of a future talent pipeline.
  
• Asian Craftsmanship: Working to celebrate, promote, and elevate Asian craftspeople and ecosystems. Creating programmes that harness the power and knowledge of generations of skilled expertise, and foster the continued sophistication, development, and longevity of Asian material heritage and histories.

For a start, SFC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ten partners who will work with the association to support the industry in these three strategic thrusts. They include both local and global names such as Asian Civilisations Museum, B Lab Singapore, Deloitte Singapore, DBS, HSBC, LASALLE College of the Arts, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, STACS, StarHub, and Temasek Polytechnic. 

“Our partnership with Singapore Fashion Council came naturally. We are aligned in our focus on spotlighting Singapore fashion and fashion designers – the council through industry partnerships and development, and ACM through our collections and exhibitions, and by way of our role in education and community engagement,” says Kennie Ting, Director, Asian Civilisations Museum & Peranakan Museum. “There is so much creative talent in Singapore, and we think it is important to celebrate this. Through our partnership with SFC, we hope to be a resource to designers who are interested in exploring and drawing inspiration from our pan-Asian, east-west, port-city heritage in their creative and design process. We look forward to collaborations with industry and community that re-present what “Singapore Fashion” means for our time.”

With the help of the partners, SFC will continue to support local fashion brands by providing them with readily-accessible resources, meaningful networking, sustainability-focused innovations and future-forward insights.

Wilson Teo, President of Singapore Fashion Council said, “The strategic partnerships we entered today affirms a collective commitment from the whole of industry to further Singapore’s mark in the fashion world. They provide a strong steer to address the critical challenges that are driving conversations in the fashion industry both today and in the future. This is just the start, and we look forward to working with more partners in the years to come”.

Images courtesy of Singapore Fashion Council

For more details about Singapore Fashion Council, visit sgfashioncouncil.org.sg.