The Gallery Wellness Festival 2023 presented by the National Gallery Singapore is back for the second year. It has a line-up of over 20 unique wellness experiences happening from 17 June to 9 July 2023. This year theme is all about "Art Connects" highlighting the importance of connecting with our emotions and the people around us.
There are tons of different activities that let participants engage their five senses. I had the chance to check out a scent workshop that focused on my sense of smell. Scents-ing: Aroma Workshop for Two is organized by Scentopia Singapore.
We started off by meeting up at the Supreme Court Foyer before heading over to the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery. Once there, we were given the task of picking an artwork that spoke to us and imagining what kind of scent it would have. The artwork there were mainly landscape paintings. This workshop aimed to help us engage in a mindful and intentional appreciation for art through scents.
Next, we were taken upstairs to the workshop room where we sat in pairs. Before we got started, there was a short presentation where we learned more about the different personalities and the scents. We even took a personality test to help us create our own unique scent. My result was "Fresh" while Jessie got "Floral". We then got to blend different oils to make our own customized scents. It was a hands-on experience, where we could smell all the oils in the box and record down which are our favourites on the result sheet before we blend them together in our own bottle according to the number of drops in the personality test. We were also asked to add in some drops that connects with our chosen artwork earlier. Oh ya, for this workshop, even guys can participate too as there's another separate box of scents for men.
At the end of the day, we got to take home our own creation as a memento from the Gallery Wellness Festive. The bottle that contains our unique scents also has different attractions of Singapore such as Gardens by the Bay, merlion, esplanade at the bottle cap. It was such a great way to practice self-care on a Friday night and the process was super enjoyable and therapeutic.
After that, we headed to Funan for dinner at Eventasty. It's been so long since we last ate here. I ordered the tomato soup noodle and it tasted just as yummy as I remembered. Best of all, we got to enjoy 50% off (excluding drinks) because of the timing and our Eatigo app reservation.
Many thanks to GY for sending something interesting for my birthday every year without fail. Many thanks to Jessie for joining me in this workshop too! I am grateful for our friendship.
The whole textile and apparel sector in Asia is in its transformation phase. With changing consumer tastes and technological disruption, this sector needs to constantly upgrade itself to meet the unpredictable demand in the market.
Singapore being the leader in technology has moved away from low cost manufacturing and towards more innovative businesses in design and retail by focusing on new technologies and research and development.
I attended the Apparel Disrupt, an exclusive event by DBS BusinessClass held at National Gallery Singapore which brings together fashion retailers and business owners to encourage digital innovation in the apparel industry. I was most fascinated by how these new innovation became a trend to the apparels industry.
5 Trends Disrupting the Textiles & Apparels Industry
1. AR / 3D Technology
Designers can now make adjustments in real time with 3D Technology. It is a leap in this apparels industry and coming out with a garment that fits well can be more efficient and effective.
Always wanted to find out how an outfit looks on you without having to try on the physical item? Now you can. ARPLANET, a local firm has came up with this virtual fitting mirror using augmented reality technology that can superimpose the outfit of your choice to the image in the mirror. That's me trying on a very elaborated costume. This is a super clever concept which I've once thought of too and now it has became a reality.
One can also scan images and watch it comes to live for virtual fitting. That's how cool augmented reality technology can be.
CLO, founded in 2009 create cutting edge 3D garment visualisation technology that helps designers to create and visualise their designs before the actual production, reducing lead time from weeks to minutes.
2. Advanced Robotics
With the introduction of advanced robotics, the clothes making process now become cheaper and faster.
Tianyuan Garments Company partnering with textile equipment manufacturer SoftWear automation to develop a fully automated T-shirt production line for Adidas. This system is able to product one T-shirt in every 22 seconds.
3. Mass Customisation
Mass customisation allows customers to dictate exactly how their clothes look and each piece is unique thus wearing them can stand out from the crowd.
Rapid-turn apparel design and manufacturing company, SUUCHI INC, uses high-tech machinery and automation to create custom garments quickly and cost-efficiently. They sells to businesses like young designers launching their fashion labels and retailers who want to make private-label clothing.
4. Smart Clothing
Wearable tech has gone beyond fitness trackers and smartwatches to the rest of our wardrobe. Smart clothing uses conductive threads and embedded sensors that can monitor our body temperature and even answers phone calls.
I'm trying on the Anti-Paparazzi Scarf by ISHU. It looks like any normal scarf but take a look at my next photo and you will understand why it's called the Anti-Paparazzi Scarf.
Made from a special kind of fabric that can reflects light from a camera, when you put on the scarf, any photos taken with flash will be almost impossible to capture the face. Celebrity fans for this include Paris Hilton, Cameron Diaz and Joe Jonas. The collection even includes hoodies, jackets and phone covers. Since Halloween is coming, they commented that this is a great piece to wear for photo taking.
Singapore-based TWARE develops wearable technology that calms anxiety through immediate, invisible, comforting touch. AiraWear is part of TWARE and is a smart massage jacket that is designed to relieve back pain anytime and anywhere you want.
5. Digital Supply Chains
With digital tools implemented to the inventory management systems, Companies can get accurate and real-time picture of their inventory, thus better manage their production process.
PAKT is a 24/7 clothing storage service in Hong Kong that looks after your specialty or seasonal garments so that your garments will be kept properly and won't take up the spaces in your home's wardrobe. Using the Digital Wardrobe service, customers can manage and retrieve their clothes with just one click.
EASYSHIP makes shipping around the world easy with their all-in-one platform to provide shipping logistics and fulfillment services for all.
Fashion Showcase by Ying The Label
We were ushered in to the event hall and the program begin with a fashion showcase by Ying The Label.
Here's a video of the complete fashion showcase.
Welcome remarks by Joyce Tee, Group Head of DBS SME banking. The outfit that she's wearing is customized solely for her by Ying. It's a watercolor painting coming to life on fabric.
Phuay Li Ying, the founder of Ying The Label sharing her personal journey in the apparel business. She shared her whole experiences on how she change her business model for business sustainability and scalability and how to keep a balance in her life. She actually has a full-time job on top of doing this which is her passion.
From Left to Right: Doreen Tan, Chief Executive, TAFF.TC, Rayne Reed, Head of Private Labels at Zalora, Mark Lee, President, Textile & Fashion Federation, Barbara Yu Larsson, Founder & CEO of PAKT, Neel Bhatt, Head of API Growth at Easyship.
Panel Discussion - Weaving A New Perspective by the esteemed panel, represented by various parts of the apparel industry. They discussed about the challenges in the industry and share insights on the textile and apparel sector in Asia.
Another fashion showcase by La Salle College of The Arts.
Taking some more photos at the exhibits before leaving.
Thank you DBS Business Class for this networking event. I am truly impressed by how the apparel business do to keep up with the trend.
Gotten six tickets to the National Gallery Singapore Opening Celebrations and despite the heavy downpour, my friends still came out and accompany me to explore this place. Thank you JKK for reserving the tickets though in the end he couldn't make it. Thanks to Jessie that none of the tickets gone to waste. Thank you friends for coming down.
The National Gallery Singapore is a new visual arts institution which currently has the largest public collection of modern art in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The Gallery occupies the space in two national monuments - the former Supreme Court and City Hall.
Love the architecture and design here. A balance between heritage and modernity.
The link bridge that connects the former Supreme Court and City Hall.
We first explore the former Supreme Court Holding Cells. This is the place where defendants were held in between the time they were brought to the Supreme Court to when their trial begun.
Each cell only has a long concrete bench and a squatting toilet. The toilet flushes were located outside the cells to prevent the accused from harming themselves with the flush chains.
Took an OOTD at the former Supreme Court Foyer.
With the flooring of the foyer restored, this original eight-sided foundation stone was left intact. Underneath the stone lies a time capsule that is to be opened in year 3000 and contains Straits Settlements currency and newspapers.
UOB Southeast Asia Gallery
Below are some of the exhibits here at the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery (Level 5).
I only took photos of those exhibits that I find interesting.
Jessie brought us to level 2 to see this piece of foam art. So she was very excited and told us that just now it wasn't this shape. Hehe.
UOB Southeast Asia Gallery
Below are some of the photos taken at the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery (Level 3).
Art in a former court room. Trying to block somebody behind in this photo.
Photos with friends!
Looks like somebody's trapped inside. A bit eerie here.
Chief Justice's Chamber
Located at Level 3
Chief Justice's Office
Located at Level 3
It was not possible for us to complete exploring the whole National Gallery Singapore. We spent most of our time exploring the Supreme Court Wing and totally missed out on the City Hall Wing.
A nice group photo before we departed our ways. Enjoyed this outing with friends!
