shop 'til you drop
Singaporeans take their shopping very seriously and, from the looks of things, they’re not letting anything as mundane as a global financial crisis get in the way of a ripping good session of retail therapy. Daven Wu puts his paycheck on the line to unearth the best places to spend up big in the city-state.
There’s no better place to begin your Singapore shopping expedition than along the two-kilometre retail stretch that is Orchard Road. Think you know the shops and malls here inside out? Think again. Over the last year, the strip has been completely revitalised with new gardens, wider pedestrian walkways and a swathe of marbled malls such as 313 @ Somerset and Orchard Central.
The king of the block, however, has to be the sprawling ION Orchard, just across the road from the pagoda-topped Singapore Marriott Hotel. Designed by London-based architects Benoy, the massive steel-and-glass structure resembles a nutmeg pod – a reference to the street’s humble beginnings as an orchard – and opens up into a vast atrium filled with boutiques from big-name brands such as Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Rolex and Alessi.
If you’re looking for local designs, head straight to the upper levels of the mall where you’ll find stores such as { prologue } Bookstore, where local team Ministry of Design (MOD) has transformed the ubiquitous bookshop model into a sexy space with satiny black tiling, arty installations (including a dinosaur ploughing through a cityscape of books) and a red epoxy staircase that slinks up to the second-floor stationery department and café. On your way out of the mall, drop in to TWG’s latest tea salon to purchase a few tins of their specially picked leaves or enjoy afternoon tea – think dainty macaroons accompanied by brews such as Moroccan mint and lemon bush, served in silver pots.
If the Amex still needs a workout, head a few blocks east along Orchard Road to the Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel. The lobby here was recently gutted and transformed into the Mandarin Gallery, featuring four floors of hip boutiques: Bathing Ape, Just Cavalli, Ashley Isham, Marc by Marc Jacobs and more. Be sure to drop by Atomi, a tiny shop on the top floor showcasing beautiful homewares including delicate table linen, vases, furniture and a collection of scents by Paris-based perfumer Miya Shinma.
Meanwhile, over at the newly opened Marina Bay Sands casino-resort, a blowout shopping experience awaits. Spread over some 74,000 square metres, the hotel’s multi-level concourse is headlined by stores from the likes of Tiffany & Co., Manolo Blahnik, Salvatore Ferragamo, Cartier and Chanel.
Singapore’s retail offerings extend well beyond the glitz and glamour of downtown Orchard Road. In a nondescript stretch of old shophouses on the edge of Chinatown, lifestyle emporium Hide & Seek occupies a newly minted space sprawling over four levels. The ground floor is a shrine for local fashion labels – Koops, Quinn and Cloak & Dagger among them – while quirky household items such as retro telephones, vintage toys and furniture take up the top floor.
They may be dotted across the city, but the following shops are also worth seeking out for their retail offerings: cult store Straits Records sells an impossibly comprehensive selection of rare albums and CDs; Polymath & Crust, a charming bookshop, is stuffed with unusual titles on every subject from philosophy to classic fiction and natural history; Vanguard is the place in town to pick up customised bicycles and motorbikes; Valentine Willie Fine Art and Taksu are magnets for art-hounds looking for works by up-and-coming talents; and I Love Hansel stocks feminine, à la mode fashion crafted by local designer Jo Soh, inspired by her neighbourhood and street culture.
Cosseted by tropical greenery at Dempsey Hill, a one-time army barracks dating back to the 1950s, Beauty Emporium is part shopping centre, part spa and totally blissful. Stacks of wooden crates hold creams from a globetrotting array of skincare therapists alongside house-made blends utilising 60-odd different organic fruits and vegetables. Once you’re done shopping, indulge in beauty treatments such as body waxes and hand massages that target BlackBerry-worn fingers.
Despite a great deal of international press, Haji Lane, a short walk from the Bugis district, still remains something of a shopping secret even among Singaporeans. Which is good news for crowd-averse shopaholics. This sleepy stretch of shophouses in the middle of the Malay quarter – called, appropriately, Kampong Glam – is a hive of first-rate boutiques selling everything from vintage Scandinavian furniture (A Thousand Tales) to cult tees and smart shirts by local designers (White Room, Blackmarket and Know It Nothing). Just be sure to show up after 2 p.m. – the shops open later along this stretch. •
travel facts
• Atomi: 65/6887-4138; atomi-jp.com
• Beauty Emporium: 65/6475-7375; dempseyhouse.com
• Hide & Seek: 65/6222-2825; keithpng.blogspot.com
• ION Orchard: 65/6835-8747; ionorchard.com
• I Love Hansel: 65/6337-0992; ilovehansel.com
• Mandarin Gallery: 65/6831-6363; mandaringallery.com.sg
• Marina Bay Sands: 65/6688-8868; marinabaysands.com
• Polymath & Crust: 65/6222-9195
• { prologue } Bookstore: 65/6465-1475
• Straits Records: 65/9769-4837
• Taksu: 65/6476-4788; taksu.com
• TWG Tea: 65/6735-1837; twgtea.com
• Valentine Willie Fine Art: 65/8133-1760; vwfa.net
• Vanguard: 65/6835-7228; vanguard-designs.com
• Singapore Tourism Board: 1800-736-2000; yoursingapore.com
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