Singapore - With a store design inspired by the gardens and salons of the famed Versailles palace in France, a budget of almost $2.5 million, and an enviable line-up of labels including Thom Browne and Maison Martin Margiela, the new Salon by Surrender boutique at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) will be a high-end take on the niche concept store.

Since the 1970s, the genesis of luxury retail, multi-label stores like Club 21, The Link and Glamourette have been championing then-little-known brands like Ossie Clark, Thierry Mugler and Prada. Today, the trend of independent, multi-brand stores is going strong, with homegrown players introducing fresh retail concepts and artfully scavenged products to a market saturated with luxury powerhouses. And just as how shopping temples like Colette in Paris, Opening Ceremony in New York and Joyce in Hong Kong are synonymous with of-the-moment buys and museum-worthy visual merchandising, these concept boutiques seek to transform our retail landscape from "cookie-cutter" to "kaleidoscopic".

"We are now entering a new era whereby there is a good mix of luxury and streetwear due to the younger generation of designers in the industry such as Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent and Alexander Wang for Balenciaga," said Earn Chen, owner of the 1,600sq ft Salon by Surrender which will officially open on June 29. "More importantly, these brands are always on the lookout for young new retailers to represent them, and I think that is what we are."

Having wrought a name for himself with his luxe-streetwear emporiums Ambush and Surrender in Far East Plaza in the early-noughties, Mr Chen has built a mini retail chain with a store in Jakarta and now, his first boutique stocking both men's and women's wear in the swanky MBS, no less. And he isn't the only one banking on the multi-label concept to lure capricious shoppers.

While Mr Chen's forte is sourcing premium labels with a cult following (the wares at Salon by Surrender are priced between $100 and $20,000), on the other end of the retail spectrum is i.t, a Hong Kong multi-brand high street store that was unveiled last Wednesday at Wisma Atria. Filling the 10,200 sq ft space are nine new-to-Singapore brands targeting 20- to 35-year-olds, including popular labels Izzue, b+ab, 5cm and Tout a Coup. Almost like a miniature department store, seven shop-in-shop concepts host individual themes for the nine brands: Izzue, a fashion-forward label for men and women, takes on a '70s loft concept accented by wood pallets, for example; while street-casual menswear brand 5cm adopts a somewhat gothic castle-motif backdrop, complete with black wrought iron bars, dark wood tables and candle wall lamps.

But while the two newcomers are backed by retail heavyweights - Salon by Surrender is co-owned by D'League, which is the distributor of luxury watch marque Richard Mille in Asia, and i.t is brought in by the Wing Tai Group, the same folks behind Topshop and G2000 - a slew of other new openings targeting even younger shoppers are very much small-scale, independent projects. The more recent additions include Hook & Union at Orchard Central, a pop-up store by Haji Lane and Bali Lane boutiques, DH.Sunglass and Threadbare & Squirrel; Preview at Orchard Cineleisure, a spin-off from another multi-label shop, The Editor's Market; and Edit Lifestyle, a resort lifestyle store at Phoenix Park.

"These independent stores make the retail landscape more exciting in terms of offering new concepts and smaller, niche brands. Whether they are sustainable or not is another matter," said Ann Kositchotitana, owner of nine-year-old multi-label store Front Row. "To be frank, many will fail due to lack of long-term operating capital, inexperienced retail management, and a very tough retail environment in terms of high rental costs, high labour costs and limited labour pool." In fact, Paul Khor, owner of concept store Actually, has launched and shuttered seven shops in as many years. Mr Khor has brought in indie accessories brands like Freitag - a Swiss bag label that uses recycled materials like truck tarpaulins and seatbelts, and Los Angeles shoe brand Jeffrey Campbell to his various retail spaces. And after spending eight years at its Seah Street location, Actually will relocate temporarily to 313@somerset next month, before moving into a permanent space at the upcoming Orchard Gateway early next year.

"In the last eight years, so many new malls have sprung up and fast fashion brands have massively dominated the market like never before, not to mention the entry of online shops and social media," said Mr Khor.

"But I still believe in conceptual multi-brand stores because there are always people wanting to stay away from the mainstream shopping options and prefer more unique stuff. Yes, there is a space for stores like us, but it remains niche."

To innovate and stay competitive, such stores bank on personalised service and unique "curation", a fashionable handle used among the Vogue-reading coterie to describe a skilfully edited selection of merchandise.

"We've seen an influx of different brands setting up shop here from the US and the UK and ex-indie designers like Alexander Wang and 3.1 Phillip Lim have also opened their own brick-and-mortar stores," explained Angus Chang, general manager of Mandarin Gallery store Inhabit.

"Singaporean shoppers have a lot more options but at the same time there is not a lot of innovation in retail, buys are often too safe and few retailers go the extra mile with service."

This year, the boutique known for bringing in labels like Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rag & Bone long before they became ubiquitous among the region's hipster heiresses, celebrates its 10th year in the business with a series of designer-led events and collaborations. Collectively known as InhabitX, fashion shows, installations, limited-edition pieces and a printed archive have been lined up to fete the anniversary.

And to maintain its cachet as a specialist in culling the newest and chicest, its buyers are constantly on the prowl for "labels that are creating a buzz with fashion insiders but have not yet made waves in the mainstream market", said Mr Chang. This includes Creatures of Comfort, the in-house label of another multi-label store from the US, and SEA, a New York brand favoured by the likes of Chloe Sevigny and Gwyneth Paltrow.

"Our buys are definitely not catered for the mass market. These items are pieces that become inherent in our customer's wardrobes because of its unique style, cut and wearability," added Mr Chang.

"Because we are small, we are also able to maintain a personal relationship with our customers. Shopping used to be such a pleasurable experience because of the friendships one was able to cultivate with the sales staff. We find that the influx of blog shopping and high street disposable fashion has diluted the shopping experience and we hope to revive that here at Inhabit."

After all, compared to global luxury houses that need no introduction, such under-the-radar threads stocked by multi-label stores are seldom coveted by the average consumer when they are first introduced: A fact that could pose a challenge for retailers, especially those charging luxury prices for little-known brands.

"As we are very niche, one of the main challenges when we started out was educating our customers about the labels," admitted Mr Chen, who used to partner with British DJ and record label owner James Lavalle on the first Surrender store. "But over the years, it has definitely gotten easier thanks to increased awareness. Now, our customers trust our name and that we will bring the best selection of items to the store."

Conversely, convincing designers to work with a small-scale boutique in Singapore, rather than a Barneys or Lane Crawford in a major fashion capital, may also be an uphill struggle.

"There is a definite level of difficulty in the procurement of these labels," admitted Mr Chen, who is making his first foray into women's wear and will be carrying Dutch label Viktor & Rolf at his new store. "But we are now entering a new era with a good mix of luxury and streetwear due to the younger generation of designers in the industry such as Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent and Alexander Wang for Balenciaga. More importantly, these brands are always on the look-out for young new retailers to represent them, and I think that is what we are."

But it takes more than a cache of next-big-thing designers and well-trained sales advisers to keep ahead of the curve. In the case of Inhabit, it means nurturing a long-term relationship with the designers they stock, and collaborating on cutting-edge lifestyle products that may even veer beyond the realm of apparel. As for i.t, plans are in place to open in other locations around the island, with a different selection of brands from the Hong Kong group's stable of 20 labels to tailor to each demographic. Front Row has even evolved into a vertically-integrated group, which includes a partnership with a Korean company on developing brands for franchising and wholesaling globally, such as the label Headline Seoul.

"We started out as a pure retailer - we buy from brands and sell to end-consumers. Now, we own, franchise and invest in brands," elaborated Ms Kositchotitana. "Starting out as a multi-label store has been invaluable in that we have learned from the success and mistakes of many leading brands. We have seen such promising brands fail due to lack of financial and creative disciplines. And we have also seen many dark horses turn into retail darlings."

Besides, who wouldn't want to follow in the footsteps of Club 21, the grande dame of retail? From starting out as a multi-label boutique in Tanglin Shopping Centre, to managing over 250 brands in 10 countries over 400 stores, it is the ultimate fashion fairy tale every other retailer wants to emulate. Because what's fashion, if not, in the words of Diana Vreeland, " the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world"?

 

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