The Straits Times Interactive Life OCT 12, 2000 Haven for hip shopaholics A new shopping mecca crammed with fresh and unusual brands for the young opens today at The Heeren By ELISABETH GWEE IT HAS all the elements that would make for a claustrophobic and uncomfortable shopping experience. The unfinished cement-floored corridors are narrow and window-less, ""almost like being underground'', as one tenant put it. The shops are small and crammed, measuring around 99 sq ft (about the size of three HDB toilets) to 400 sq ft. Some cannot even be called shops since they occupy just a wall along a corridor, with a few shelves to display merchandise on. For weary, shopped-out bodies, there are no polished marble walls to lean against -- just raw cement walls covered in corrugated iron sheets and wire mesh. The cacophonous mix of music, from hip hop to techno, blaring out from each shop, coupled with the schizophrenically-scrawled grafitti along the narrow corridors, could very well induce the most severe of headaches. And yet, the 47 new shops that collectively make up the Annex on the fourth and fifth levels of The Heeren look set to be the most exciting thing to hit the retail scene here when it opens today at 6.30 pm. Aimed at 15- to 35-year-olds, the shops at the industrial-looking retail space sell everything from funky streetwear and vintage clothes to jewellery, handbags, mobile phones and accessories, skateboards, cutesy bedroom accessories, second-hand books, comics and action figures. In other words, Heaven for young and young-at-heart shopaholics. Mr Tan Boon Tuck, general manager of Swee Cheng Management which runs The Heeren, says the Annex was created at a cost of $3 million to re-energise the three-year-old shopping centre in Orchard Road and to more than double the flow of traffic into it. Annex occupies the 20,000 sq ft of space on the fourth and fifth levels vacated by electronic goods shop Electric City. The Heeren has attracted a mostly teenage and young adult crowd from Day One, thanks largely to its main tenant, music store HMV. Mr Tan credits the British record company with ""putting a name to The Heeren and drawing in the traffic''. While the mall has a wide range of clothing shops, it has also cultivated a slightly upmarket image compared to that other popular youth haunt, Far East Plaza on Scotts Road. This is due to tenants like the Club 21-owned designer streetwear shop Blackjack, which opened recently, and boutiques like Mon Cherie and Ssxy that carry mid- to high-priced Japanese and French high street labels. ""With the Annex, we hope to reach out to a wider audience,'' says Mr Tan. Young homegrown designers like Alfie Leong and Kelvin Chow are also setting up their first shops here. Much of the inspiration behind the Annex came from popular youth hangouts in Asia, like Harajuku in Tokyo, Beverly Commercial Centre in Kowloon, Hongkong and Mahboon krong in Bangkok. Says Mr Tan: ""We've adapted the characteristics of these places to create a one-stop lifestyle, retail and entertainment zone within a shopping centre, but with the same energetic vibe.'' Ms Dorothy Soh, co-owner of homegrown clubwear boutique Solid Fuel, agrees: ""The way the place is laid out, and how it's so packed, gives one a sense of adventure. You don't know what to expect everytime you turn a corner.'' Each shop has its own distinct look, whether it is Austin Powers-psychedelic or techno-cyber. Some tenants have even extended the industrial finish of the Annex's corridors into their own shops. As Ms Teresa Koh, design director for manga-inspired Singapore streetwear label d.po, points out: ""Shopping for clothes is no longer about just coming to a shop, picking what you want, and leaving. It's a whole experience, right down to the way a shop looks.'' Apart from clothes and gift shops, there is also a tattoo shop, a juice bar, and a small stage area on the fifth floor where homegrown bands and theatre groups can sign up to perform on weekends. A games arcade and cafe will also open later. To ensure that it offers shoppers something new, the management made it a point to select tenants for the Annex that were either brand new businesses or companies that did not have more than two outlets in Singapore. Says Mr Tan: ""There are no big names here, so instead of dressing in the usual suspect brands, shoppers here will have more of a chance to make their own statements in the way they dress.'' Hair and makeup: BENJAMIN NG and JUNIE TAN/Ginrich Hair Studio; Styling: DANIEL GOH/9-632-7455; photography: By WONG MAYE-E 77TH STREET #05-032 FUNK FACTOR: Owners and sisters Elim and Sulim Chew have gone for a completely new look for the latest addition to their popular 77th Street streetwear chain. Everything here reeks cyber-chic, from the blue-lit spacey interior to the cyber-punk clubwear on offer. But one thing remains the same -- low prices. PRICE RANGE: 50 cents to $300 CYBER CITY: He wears a rubber and polyester top ($129) and pull-on pants ($350), studded wristband ($19.90). She wears a rubber and polyester top ($89) and cropped slacks ($169). All from 77th Street. FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC #04-35 FUNK FACTOR: We all know that homegrown singer Kit Chan has a great voice. This shop proves that she also has great taste in clothes. Along with partners Iris Wong and Shell, she has set up what is the best-looking shop at The Annex -- a bohemian chic boudoir with dark green walls, sari-swathed dressing rooms and soft lighting. The clothes are just as good to look at, especially the Japanese kimono-print dresses and skirts. Clothes are sourced from Hongkong, as well as from young Singaporean designers who have not launched their own labels. PRICE RANGE: $19.90 to $100 HOME SPUN: T-shirt with top-stitching motif ($49.90), kimono patchwork skirt ($59) sequin slingbag ($43) leather wristbands ($12). All from Flowers In The Attic. RE #05-55 FUNK FACTOR: Designer Kelvin Chow has opened his first shop finally after labouring anonymously for homegrown veterans like Bobby Chng, Celia Loe and Johnny Yong, as well as various department stores, for the last 10 years. He guarantees RE-peat visits with his range of funky knitwear and retro checks and geometric prints in hot colours like Mecca Orange, Jester Red and Medieval Blue. PRICE: $19 to $79 DISCO INFERNO: She wears a metallic halter ($99) and denim splatter skirt ($59). Both from Clothes Matter #04-34. He wears a shirt with a pattern of holes ($39) and metallic pants ($69). Both from RE. OPPT SHOP FUNK FACTOR: This shop carries a truly unique range of second-hand and vintage clothes, catering to all sorts of styles from 1950s Doris Day-sweet to gold-lame clad Cher circa 1980. Unlike its other branch at Queensway Shopping Centre, this one is more upmarket and offers a more glamorous and exclusive selection of vintage wear. Co-owner Jerry de Souza also designs clothes under its in-house OPPT label using vintage fabric. PRICE RANGE: $39 to $700 GO RETRO: He wears a tweed jacket ($150) and used jeans ($65). Both from OPPT Shop. She wears a peasant print blouse ($43) and knit skirt ($55). Both from Oomph! Appeal/ #04-39 d.po #05-12 FUNK FACTOR: Designer Teresa Koh's cute and very wearable designs are based on unusual influences like Manga, retro graphics, pop, picnics and pets. Along with her own d.po and neu labels, she also carries the Australian casual streetwear label maiike, and Japanese handmade handbag line, Miss Foo. PRICE RANGE: $19 to $89 HIPPY CHICK: She wears a halter with faux fur bib ($49) and denim skirt with ruffle trim ($59). Both from d.po. --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.twbbs.org) ◆ From: 140.119.188.178