FASHION AND URBAN SPACE : POETICS OF THE ORDINARY : ANALYSIS OF THE +65 COMME DES GARCONS GUERRILLA STORES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

'Today, for critics to brand an architectural project as 'fashion' is tantamount to excommunication in architectural circles. ‘Fashion’ is a lethal poison, deadly in even the smallest doses.' - Bradley Quinn, The fashion of Architecture, 2003.

The dissertation challenges the above view by argument of fashion as a legitimate avenue for spaces to be experienced and interpreted. The consumption of fashion often encompasses desire and illusion. The designer thus reciprocates this fascination with innovative retail strategies and design. As an architecture student, the writer is interested in the physical dimension and place arising from the fashion system.

The emergence of modern consumption in the 1980s has stressed upon the importance of urban renaissance, resulting in new consumption practices and demand. Unlike normal clothing lines, high fashion labels contain certain aspects that allow the possibility of having unique concepts which flourish together with the use of space. The Japanese high fashion label Comme des Garcons is thus suitable to be the focus of this dissertation. Its designer’s advocation of experiential space as a concept that extends from the design of her garment is intriguing.

The “+65 Comme des Garcons guerrilla stores” in Singapore is singled out as the medium for inter-relationships between fashion and space and will be analysed as a subject matter. Additionally, retailer and consumer's mindsets concerning such high-fashion commodities in today’s context can reveal unique situations where urban elements become essential and value added criteria. Inasmuch, the author wishes to explore the experiential component of +65 in prolonging the retail experience. In a way, the +65 can be a positive regulator of Singapore urbanism.

Theories that will be covered are mainly regarding how the high fashion semiotics can give meanings to urban spaces and how the spaces subsequently evolved. In addition, the dialectic relationship between fashion and the city will also be discussed.

The methodology employed is qualitative. Through an empirical research of the +65 stores in Singapore, the study will show how contemporary attitudes in the high fashion industry have emerged and influenced the retail spaces. These are essential for the analysis and interpretation of the impact of the +65 stores in Singapore urbanism.