Mr Lee Yi Shyan at the opening of the Designers Show

SPEECH BY MR LEE YI SHYAN, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TRADE & INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING OF THE DESIGNERS SHOW, 2 NOVEMBER 2006, 9.30AM AT THE SINGAPORE EXPO

Mr Benny Pua

Chairman of the Singapore Fashion Week 2006 Steering Committee and

President of the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFf)

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning

It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning for The Designers Show. To all our overseas friends, may I extend a warm welcome to you. I hope your stay with us will be fruitful and memorable.

The Designers Show

The Designers Show is one of the main highlights of Singapore Fashion Week 2006. It serves as an excellent platform for established designers from Singapore and the region to showcase their latest collections and reach out to international buyers. Buyers can also take this opportunity to discover original designers and brands from Asia, and to introduce them in their own markets.

Historically, many young and talented designers have successfully ventured into the regional and international fashion arena after staging their collections in this show. I hope that this show would continue to serve as a launch pad for our local designers to penetrate the international market.

Today, a good showing of 17 Singapore designers will be sharing the stage with their international peers to showcase their inspiring collections. I look forward to viewing their creations later in the show.

The importance of the textile and apparel industry in Singapore

The textile and apparel industry in Singapore is an integral component of Singapore’s economy. Currently, over 720 establishments employ a total of more than 10,000 workers, making up 3% of Singapore’s manufacturing jobs. In 2004, the textile and apparel manufacturers generated $1 billion in sales and $273 million in value-add.

The industry’s strength in design has also enhanced Singapore reputation as a leading fashion hub and attracted trendy and well-heeled visitors here to do their fashion shopping. These tourists spent close to S$1 billion on fashion apparel and accessories from local retail outlets in 2004. This accounted for the largest share, or 32%, of total shopping expenditure by overseas visitors.

New opportunities in the global market

Success has been hard-earned for our industry players. The removal of textile import quotas in 2005 freed up the $400billion global garment market and created intense competition for all exporting countries. With the liberalization of the global textile trade, buyers can source from practically anywhere in the world. In particular, South Asia and South East Asia have emerged as important sourcing bases for buyers from the two largest markets in the world -- the US and the EU. As one of the key business centers in Asia, Singapore is well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity to further expand our textile and apparel industry. This can be achieved if we make a concerted effort to :

i. Enhance the industry capability;

ii. Raise the industry profile; and

iii. Launch Singapore brands to further penetrate overseas market.

Enhancing Industry Capability

In the face of stiff global competition, our industry players in Singapore will have to continue to enhance their capability to create unique and innovative designs and brands. To keep buyers interested, local companies and designers will need to offer better quality and designs than their competitors. As fashion cycles become shorter, they will also need to keep pace with the demand for faster turnaround.

To this end, I am heartened to note that the Textile and Fashion Federation or TaFf has taken a leading role in helping SME textile manufacturers improve productivity and enhance their competitive edge. Supported by SPRING and IE’s Local Enterprise and Association Development or LEAD Programme, TaFf is setting up a Productivity and Design Development Centre that will bring in industrial engineers and designers from the US and Europe to help local players improve operational efficiency, develop better designs, and adopt new technology such as “virtual fitting” software that will make it quicker to obtain buyers’ acceptance.

Raising our textile and apparel industry profile

While you continue to upgrade your capabilities, it is also critical for the industry to stage high-profile B2B events to show the world what Singapore has to offer, and raise our profile as a leading fashion hub. One such platform is the Singapore Fashion Week, a key initiative by TaFf, also supported under the LEAD Programme.

The Singapore Fashion Week features a series of international exhibitions and fashion shows. This annual event caters to the complete modus operandi in the textile and apparel industry. From manufacturing technology to high-end fashion design, the event presents a multi-dimensional and comprehensive showcase of both the local and international textile and apparel industry. This year, we have attracted some 110 companies, featuring more than 130 brands, to participate in the Singapore Fashion Week.

Internationalizing for Growth

In addition to developing and profiling the industry’s capabilities, it is equally important for our designers and companies to venture out and launch their brands overseas.

Last year, TaFf launched the Access USA programme to fast-track three local designers into the US market by helping them gain market knowledge, make contacts and overcome the nuts and bolts of going overseas -- drastically cutting short the learning curve. In just one year, Allure, Daniel Yam and Womb are already selling in the US. I’ve been told that Daniel Yam has even sold to Saudi Arabia through their US showroom.

Riding on this success, I am glad to note that TaFf will be embarking on similar programmes to help yet more Singapore labels penetrate the competitive European and Taiwanese markets. With the strong leadership of TAFf, I am confident that Singapore fashion labels and our industry players will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.

On this note, I wish to commend TaFf for taking the lead to help the industry grow and compete. I also congratulate TAFf for successfully organizing the Singapore Fashion Week and wish all exhibitors and visitors a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Thank you.