The recent talk given by Vogue Singapore was probably The Institute’s most glamorous and futuristic event to date, giving us insights on the potential for the fashion industry to merge, science, technology, AI and creativity to drive changes in the industry. Petra Sekhar, Programme Director of the Vogue Foundation, and Natasha Damodaran, Managing Director of Vogue Singapore gave Tanglin students and the wider Tanglin community, a fantastic introduction to the challenging and innovative world of fashion.

The overarching message was how they have used these challenges to good effect when launching and establishing Vogue Singapore to both local and global fashion enthusiasts. Petra Sekhar shared the work of the recent Vogue Talent and Innovation prize winners and talked about the Vogue Singapore Foundation’s mission to elevate ASEAN designers and entrepreneurs through the Vogue platform. As one of the newest titles from the Vogue family, Vogue Singapore has harnessed digital innovation to disrupt the way fashion is presented and perceived across different generations of readers. To date, readers/users have experienced the Metaverse, a gamified cryptocurrency experience, the world’s first Vogue NFT issue and 15 NFT collections, and the first ever AI Vogue magazine cover as part of the Vogue Singapore experience.

Alongside Industry insights, Petra and Natasha also shared some personal thoughts on working in the creative world of fashion. These included their own career paths, learnings and challenges they have faced, and most importantly, what they most enjoy about working in fashion. Overall, the speakers really connected with our audience, and helped them understand what it takes to run a magazine these days. Disruption and innovation are central to this process and ensures the Vogue brand and the people who work for it continue to evolve through continuous learning to remain relevant in fashion, media and publishing today.