THE fashion industry is absolutely awash with capsule collections at the moment. It started with the High Street labels which saw a chance to expand and perhaps even upgrade their existing portfolios by collaborating with high-end fashion designers on high profile projects. Take the likes of Roberto Cavalli and Sonia Rykiel who teamed up with H&M; Christopher Kane and Mary Kratantzou with Topshop; Roland Mouret and Thakoon with Gap. Given the success - and queues - that ensued, it was only a matter of time that department stores wanted in on the pie as places like Target courted the late Alexander McQueen and Rodarte while Debenhams made a beeline for Henry Holland.

In the midst of it all, celebrities entered into the picture - Madonna with H&M, Natalie Portman produced a line of vegan shoes for the now-defunct Te Casan and Jessica Stam has worked with Rag & Bone and most recently Rachel Roy. And in its latest incarnation, capsule collections have even found their way to luxury fashion houses as evidenced by the announcement that Karl Lagerfeld would produce one for Hogan.

It was only a matter of time then, that local labels would jump on the bandwagon. And they have. The latest is Raoul, who approached knitwear expert Tom Scott to produce collections for Autumn/Winter '10 and Spring Summer '11. With prices roughly ranging US$100 to US$150, they will cost a fraction what one would normally pay for something from Tom Scott.

'Prior to this, there were already a few designers who wanted to work with us,' reveals Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin that founded Raoul. 'However, as we we were launching in America last year, for our first capsule collection, we wanted to collaborate with a designer who was already well-known there. This in turn went a long way towards helping us break into the new market.' Indeed, the opportunity to gain exposure is something that alldressedup can attest to first hand, having made waves in 2008 when Francesca Versace (niece of Donatella and the late Gianni Versace) produced a small collection for them straight out of Central Saint Martin's. 'It worked beautifully as it gave the brand an added personality and voice for that season which was well-received by our global stockist and customers here at retail in Singapore,' recalls Alphonsus Chung, vice-president of marketing communications for The Link that runs alldressedup. 'The media attention and publicity garnered internationally and locally certainly helped propel our brand to another level.'

Mr Benjamin adds that another benefit of capsule collections is the ability to produce products that the label might not otherwise be able to do. 'Another reason as to why Tom Scott was chosen was that knitwear was not something that Raoul specialised in so it fit really well into our existing portfolio,' he says. 'Therefore, everything about the collaboration fell nicely into place.'

For Singaporean-born, London-based designer Ashley Isham, collaborating with other designers has similarly allowed him to expand the portfolio of his eponymous label. With the opening of his new boutique in Mandarin Gallery, he has collaborated with some of the hottest young names in the fashion industry - Bionda Castana and Raphael Young for shoes and Notting Hill Design for bags - to produce special pieces just for him.

'I first got the idea when Nicholas Kirkwood produced a special range of shoes for my show in London. They weren't available for sale but I had so many enquiries for them that I realised there might be a possible market here,' says Isham. 'The thing is, I really wanted to offer shoes and bags so that Ashley Isham could become a one stop shop. But I'm not an expert when it comes to producing shoes or bags so it is best to work with the experts.' On top of shoes and bags, Isham tried his hand at jewellery but this time, as a designer for local jewellery label Lee Hwa that has been doing very well since it was launched last December.

'We recognise that our key philosophy of providing cutting-edge, fashion-forward designs is one of the key elements in helping us maintain our leadership position in the jewellery market,' says Elaine Ng, senior brand manager of Aspial-Lee Hwa Jewellery that has also worked with other local designers such as Francis Cheong and Tan Yoong. 'Working with an international designer like Ashley Isham helps us get a well-rounded perspective on how our jewellery can best complement various fashion styles.'

Perhaps more important, the local consumers seem to be getting into the capsule collection craze as well. Local jewellery label Soo Kee has, since 2007, collaborated with designer Wykidd Song on three collections that are currently best sellers in the stores and likewise, over at Uniqlo, there was much anticipation when they first launched the +J collection (designed by Jil Sander) last year. As a result of the growing demand for capsule collaborations in Singapore, retailers have started to pay more attention to them.

Wing Tai, for example, has brought in more designer collaborations from Topshop and Topman since 2009 especially after the meteoric success of Christopher Kane's Topshop collection in Singapore. For Spring/Summer '10 for example, they've brought in the collaborations that designers such as Louise Goldin, Mary Kratantzou, Ashish, and Ann-Sofie Black had produced for Topshop and in May, a collection produced by Mark Fast will be launched in Singapore. 'There is definitely a market for these collaborations as it really sets us apart from the competition and customers are looking forward to the capsule launch,' says its spokesman.

'With each collaboration, the customers get to try different signatures of the designers and also understand the strengths of each designer. As they're priced reasonably, they're more accessible and this serves as a good entry price point for customers to own a designer piece.'

>> Collaborative works of Ashley Isham, Mark Fast and more designers with local fashion labels

This article was first published in The Business Times.