The show may have started late almost an hour late, but the fashionable set were too busy to notice. Matthew Williamson, celebrated British designer with a label to his name and designer for Pucci, was in town and mingling with the guests who attended the opening gala of the Singapore Fashion Festival.

Requests for pictures with the "It" designer came fast and furious. Shabnam Melwani-Reis was spotted posing for a shot with Matthew Williamson, together with festival director Tjin Lee.

And he willingly obliged, even though he was working his way through the first course of the evening. The guest list may have read like a list of who's who in Singapore's fashion circles, but the ambience tonight resembled more of your secondary school's 30th anniversary reunion celebrations, what with all the schmoozing going around.

The highlight of the night was of course Matthew's showing of his Spring/Summer Collection. If you're familiar with his body of work, you will not be surprised at his signature ethnic prints and tribal-inspired hemlines that were on display.

Tie-dyed fabric, beading, lots of ruffles on eye-popping colours of sunflower yellow, cherry red, flourescent orange, green and fuchsia pink and a top with a neckline that looked like a Mayan decorative necklace.

There was no surprise here. It was all Matthew Williamson through and through. Even the final look of the evening - a couture-inspired black ruffle dress with a V to the waist and emphasized with African beading at the waist - while it did not disappoint, saw little variance to his London show. But considering it was Matthew Williamson who was gracious enough to visit this tiny island state of ours and put up a full fashion show of his S/S collection at that, it boded a great start to the rest of the Singapore Fashion Festival.

Images from Matthew Williamson's Spring/Summer Collection at Singapore Fashion Festival