sad state of design + retail in singapore

excerpt from article from the straits times, friday, june 3, 2005
by joyce teo

[... In his view (Mr Tang Wee Sung, who heads listed retail chain C.K. Tang), Singaporeans are generally not design conscious. Price is their overriding concern. "You'll be surprised. Even those who can afford it are not willing to spend," he said.

This absence of a sense for the aesthetics can be partly attributed to the lack of media support and fashion role models in Government, he said.

For example, newspapers do not put fashion stories on Page 1, he said.

And like Mr Tang, retailers insist they canno take the lead. Said the executive director of Wing Tai Retail, Helen Khoo:"If there's a market, retailers will be adventurous. Retailers cannot dictate."

... Still, Mr Tang appears to feel that Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping street, can do with less.

Instead of developing every square inch of space, leave some fallow as a green lung for shoppers to take a break and enjoy the area's buzz, he said.

He also suggested the setting up of bohemian areas, where retail start-ups can form their base.

"Being bohemian is a dirty word here. Anything that looks bohemian is likely to be torn down, redeveloped and sanitised to death," he said.

"We're not a theme park," he added.]

and i couldn't agree more... like i've always commented... this place is way toooo sanitised and rigid in almost every way possible, from the politics and education to the arts, culture, and social mentality and mannerisms...

i'm not one of those who always feel that the grass is always greener on the other side, and do not appreciate our country's advancement, peace and cleanliness. on the contrary, i'm proud of all these good positive stuff.. but there's only so much i can take of superficial empty goodness... the backward social culture and mentality is lagging so far behind that it simply cannot catch up with our country's way advanced economic status...