SHEIN opens galaxy-themed pop-up in Bugis, launches search for brand ambassadors

Online fast-fashion marketplace, SHEIN has opened a pop-up store at Bugis Junction in Singapore as it begins its open call for brand ambassadors and offers a physical space for consumers to experience the brand.

From 13 to 19 September, the SHEIN Galaxy Pop-Up will offer 10,000 pieces across beauty, home and living, women, men and kids fashion, according to a statement by the brand. The silver and galaxy-themed pop-up aims to represent how its consumers are fashion astronauts, ready to conquer the style galaxy, the brand said. 

Don't miss: SHEIN invests US$85mn to empower communities globally

The pop-up includes a futuristic photobooth and its first open call for brand ambassadors. Prospective brand ambassadors will share the event on their social media platforms with #beSHEINmodels and show the post to a staff member to receive a complimentary gift. 

Customers who visit the SHEIN Galaxy Pop-Up will also stand a chance to win prizes through a Spin the Wheel game when they complete a survey or download the SHEIN app. UOB card customers will also enjoy SG$8 when they spend SG$40.

“At our pop-up, we’ve redefined the concept of shopping. It’s beyond discovering fashion, and embarking on an immersive and holistic experience that transcends the ordinary,” said SHEIN Singapore on its Instagram page.

Items from the SHEIN X designers have also been featured in the store through its capsule collection launched in collaboration with educational institution Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). The collection aims to reflect the essence of Singapore’s cultural identity through a Gen Z perspective in celebration of Singapore’s 58th birthday.

For the collaboration, groups of students from NAFA’s Fashion Business and Management course worked on outfits along with SHEIN mentors and NAFA Fashion Studies lecturers.

This is not the first time the brand held a pop-up as it recently held one at The Centrepoint in April this year and 111 Somerset in December last year.

SHEIN has also pledged to invest US$85 million in the next five years to empower communities across the globe. This is part of the company’s initiatives to support its “equitable empowerment” pillar, it said in a statement. 

The “equitable empowerment” pillar, SHEIN stated, seeks to improve the lives of communities that are important to SHEIN and to create opportunities for people in these communities to reach their full potential. 

While SHEIN's investment aims to empower designers, the brand has also been in the news as of late for ripping off designers and selling those designs for much cheaper.

Just earlier this year in July, a group of designers sued SHEIN for a reported value of US$66 billion for allegedly stealing independent artists’ work. The designers, namely Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez and Jay Baron stated in their lawsuit, seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, that the fast fashion brand’s design algorithm would not work if it did not make exact copies of designs made by independent designers, which could potentially damage the designers’ careers.

This is especially so because SHEIN’s AI capabilities allow it to “misappropriate the pieces with the greatest commercial potential,” the lawsuit stated. The lawsuit alleges that Shein’s practices violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The law was enacted in 1970 and was first used against the American Mafia.

Seeking a jury trial, the designers stated in the lawsuit that SHEIN’s “misconduct is committed not by a single entity, but by a de-facto association of entities.” Therefore, they believe that RICO is relevant to this case because it was created to “address the misconduct of culpable individual cogs in a larger enterprise.”

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