‘For us, it’s a long game’: Singapore’s Boutiques fair to launch Bangkok edition in July

SINGAPORE – With its first overseas edition in Bangkok, Thailand, Boutiques – one of the oldest and largest small-label fairs here – is batting for a return to the cosy.  

Boutiques Asia: The Bangkok Edition runs from July 24 to 26 at upscale mall Iconsiam, offering its usual curated mix of fashion, accessories, homeware, lifestyle and food.

Except, in place of the more than 300 vendors it typically hosts at its F1 Pit Building venue, the Thai bazaar will hold just 120 brands. 

As the blockbuster event assumes underdog position on new turf, founder Charlotte Cain is thrilled. 

“I’m super excited because it is like going back to where we were, to a smaller event. I love Boutiques Singapore and what it’s grown into, but I do get sentimental for the old days,” she tells The Straits Times.

Previously called Boutique Fairs, the market began in 2002 as a one-day affair with just 17 brands, including ceramics by Cain. The Dane began studying under master local potter Iskandar Jalil for leisure in 1990, soon after arriving in Singapore.

The jewellery, clothes and home decor brands at her first rodeo were mostly expat-owned, but quickly shifted into an even split between local and expat brands as she sought a then novel union between the two groups. “I wanted it to be a perfect 50-50 blend so we had expats that could be introduced to Singaporean brands and vice versa,” she says.

The market has since mushroomed into a biannual weekend mega fair, famous for championing local brands and frequently accompanied by creative programming. 

As the event grew, so did the brands that boothed with it, and regional expansion became the “natural next step” for both parties, says Cain, 66, who is married with two kids.

It almost feels belated. Boutiques hit critical mass here long ago, with post-pandemic editions notoriously packed to the gills. In November 2024, traffic reached a record 37,000 visitors, dipping slightly to 35,000 at the next Spring-Summer run in 2025. 

“It’s hit a stage where we have to find a way of ensuring that the place doesn’t get too crowded,” adds Cain. “People always think the more people the better, but it’s not always so. 

“Boutiques is really built on conversation and dialogue. The designers are there (to meet customers). I really loved the old days, when it was a little bit more quiet and designers had more time and space to chat. But there are still a lot of connections made between customer and designer in Singapore, and that’s what we hope will also happen in Bangkok.”

Singapore crew

That brand founders man their own booths has been law at Boutiques since the noughties, and the requirement will stay in place even with the change of setting.

A contingent of some 60 Singapore brands, mostly in fashion and keen to test out the Bangkok market, are making the journey. These were chosen from an oversubscribed applicant pool for their “independent designs, good craftsmanship and passion for what they do”, says Cain.

Regional brands from the likes of Japan, Indonesia and Thailand round off the cohort.

Though the leaner Boutiques Asia has done away with most of the trimmings of its Singapore counterpart – namely the busy line-up of craft workshops and talks – it will still host a design-forward exhibition of about 100 sq m, curated by Singapore-based design and manufacturing firm Industry+.

Collectibles by Asian creatives are the focus of the showcase, which sets curios such as avant-garde jewellery inspired by fossils beside vessels handwoven from plastic bags. Singapore art platform GOFY will also host a few Thai artist talks and workshops.

The Thai capital beat out Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta for Boutiques’ maiden voyage abroad, a decision that Cain says was the single hardest part of the planning process.

“It’s got a really strong appreciation for independent design and we felt (the Thai audience) would be a very good match with Singapore designers. There’s good synergy,” she adds.

At the same time, there was an inkling that Boutiques could be a unique proposition for the city. The shopping paradise has its own circuitry of indie brands, massive malls and craft markets, but Cain reckons Boutiques is a little different.

At the fair, every brand is given licence to set up their own miniature “boutique” – hence the event’s name – a personalised area that could take the form of a booth, counter or more traditional shop.

She says: “The space has to be very strongly branded, whereas at a lot of pop-ups and markets, (brands) just get a table and everybody looks the same. But we encourage each brand to stand out as individually and independently as it possibly can.”

Participating local brands share a profile: cult, mature businesses with some overseas attention, but mostly local clientele. Many are Boutiques regulars eager to break into the Thai market.

Artisanal shoe brand Palola co-founder Josh Leong says a fair debut goes a long way in taking pressure off what would otherwise be a solo jaunt.

“By going in with an established organisation like Boutiques, you get the power of community. At the end of the day, we do not have to rely purely on our own abilities to drive traffic for the event. We’ve got the power of 120 brands all driving traffic at the same time for one common cause.”

Leong sold his first pair of Palola shoes at a 2017 edition of Boutiques.

The in-person retail experience is also invaluable to vendors offering custom works, including Palola and bag brand Tow Tow, which uses traditional leatherwork to make bags that are then finished with 3D-printed hardware.

These products have to be seen and touched to be understood, says Tow Tow co-founder Clarissa Kang, who invested a five-figure sum into the expedition, covering logistics, advertising and set-up.

Her eye is on long-term presence. “In Singapore, the market is naturally small. As we grow Tow Tow, we are always grounded by this belief that craftsmanship and being able to make something from zero still remains relevant in the retail landscape of today.

“Operating our business in Singapore is much lower-cost, but being able to share this vision and this craft and this act of doing things with your hands outside of Singapore makes it exciting.”

The long game

How Singapore prices will hold up in the Thai market is a concern, but brands ST spoke to are passing on price reductions, confident in their goods.

Fashion label Graye’s co-founder and creative director Xie Qian Qian says: “I was a little (worried) at first because of the pricing, but when I place myself within the international levels of brand positioning, and what we are offering, I think (we’re) quite okay.

“We are not there to compete with the local brands. We are trying to offer something new, something they might be interested in.”

Boutiques is providing support. With grant funding from Enterprise Singapore, it has organised workshops led by market entry specialists to teach vendors internationalisation strategies and provided freight subsidies to brands.

The organisers are also inviting trade buyers, on top of Thai media and influencers, to encourage business-to-business sales.

Ahead of the event, it flew a clutch of Singapore brands to Bangkok in June for a local media preview. For some, the “recce” has already borne fruit. Graye secured a Thai stockist on the trip.

Cain demurs on the response to ticket sales in Bangkok so far, but says signs are “very positive”.

This is the first step of a marathon. She says: “Bangkok is somewhere that we want to invest our time in. We’re not just going to be a (one-time) pop-up – bang and then gone.

“For us, it’s a long game.”