World's first ever Hermes apartment in S'pore (4 Oct 2011)

Business Times (4 Oct 2011)

World's first ever Hermes apartment in S'pore

By MINDY TAN

(SINGAPORE) Singapore will soon be home to the world's first ever Hermes apartment, now that a collaboration between the French luxury house and SC Global Developments has been sealed.

High-end apartment: A 5-bedroom apartment at the Signature Tower will be outfitted by Hermes designers
SC Global, a leading luxury residential property developer announced today that a 6,232 sq ft five-bedroom apartment at the Signature Tower at The Marq, will be outfitted by Hermes designers, and will incorporate a combination of furniture, fabrics, rugs, carpets, wallpaper and made-to-measure upholstered items.

'This collaboration will put Singapore on the world map. I think it's a very rare opportunity, and I'm very proud this is happening,' says Simon Cheong, chairman and chief executive of SC Global.

'First, Hermes had to choose which country and within the country, which project. They chose Singapore, and I think this speaks volumes.




'They see something in here which is really promising . . . and I think it's because Singapore and our high-end residences have arrived, as far as maturity is concerned. We're very settled. It's not something that comes and goes. It's not hype.'

The apartment, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012, was borne of a discussion that started seven years ago.

'(This is) a discussion with Hermes that went as far back as seven years,' says Mr Cheong. 'The original discussion was not for The Marq; it was revolving around the Boulevard Residence (BLVD) super-penthouse . . . All this accelerated over the last 12 months because we're all ready.'

'We have a great working relationship with Hermes for almost 10 years and this relationship eventually matured into a collaboration that births the world's first apartment fully decorated by Hermes,' he adds.

In 2011, Hermes invited designers Enzo Mari, Antonio Citterio and the RDAI studio to chart a new page in its history in the domain of furniture; its debut at Milan's furniture fair 2011 was one of the most anticipated openings from the iconic luxury brand.

'These collections are an opportunity to demonstrate a contemporary expression of Hermes, faithful to its craftsman spirit and imbued with values of functionality and comfort,' says Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermes.

The flagship apartment for The Marq which is at Patterson Hill will be held by SC Global for private engagements.

'Because it's the first one in the world, I think I would attach a lot of sentimental value to that,' says Mr Cheong. 'To be the first in the world in many things is not easy . . . That's why we're going to use it more for corporate events.'

The Marq, which comprises 66 units in two 24-storey towers, set a new record this year, with an apartment within The Premier Tower transacting at just under $6,400 psf, or around $19 million in total.

The previous record was set in 2007, when a unit at The Orchard Residences was sold at about $5,600 psf, or $28.3 million in total.

Apartment sizes at The Marq range from 3,000 sq ft for a four-bedroom apartment in the Premier Tower, to 6,195 sq ft for a five-bedroom apartment in The Signature Tower.