Singapore Grand Prix: The Lion City Never Sleeps for Three Days

Every year in October, Singapore takes on a different tempo. The arrival of Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix brings an exciting anticipation in the city, as the streets around Marina Bay prepare for the race. From the afternoon build-up to the final celebrations after dark, race weekend becomes a social calendar in itself, attracting international stars, music acts, fashion brands and visitors from around the world. Here are some of the highlights shaping Singapore’s race-weekend experience.

Inside the Grand Prix

Victory Travels in Louis Vuitton

Images courtesy of Louis Vuitton.

At the other end of the weekend sits the trophy itself. Now in the second year of its ten-year partnership with Formula 1, Louis Vuitton has crafted a bespoke Trophy Trunk for the Singapore Grand Prix – made exclusively by hand at the House’s Asnières-sur-Seine atelier, the same workshop that produced the first automotive trunks under Georges Vuitton in 1897. 

This year’s trunk carries Singapore’s signature red and white alongside a black and white Damier nod to the finish line while introducing a new house signature – the victory patch that is engraved with each winner’s initials as a running record of the race’s history. The trunk is on public preview at Louis Vuitton’s Island Maison at Marina Bay Sands until 29 September, the first time a Formula 1 Trophy Trunk has been shown to the public in Singapore, before it is presented on the podium at the night race.

Motorsport Meets Fashion

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in the adidas x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Vanda Bloom collection. Image courtesy of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1

Fashion’s association with Formula runs deeper this year and spans both ends of the spectrum. On the street side, Adidas Motorsport brings its pop-ups to Funan, in partnership with Audi Revolut and Raffles City, alongside Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team with show cars, racing simulators and exclusive merchandise collection. Funan gets an added draw on 7 October, when Audi Revolut F1 Team drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto appear live, open to shoppers who purchase Adidas products, including at least one Adidas + Audi Revolut F1 Team item.

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PUMA joins in with Own Your Speed, its largest motorsport activation in Southeast Asia to date, running from 5 to 11 October. At its Speed Station pop-up at 313@Somerset, open from 6 to 11 October, the Scuderia Ferrari HP and McLaren Mastercard collections sit alongside a racing simulator, and on 7 October, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris are scheduled for fan meet-and-greets.

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Tommy Hilfiger joins the mix at Paragon with its Cadillac F1 pop-up, running from 1 to 11 October where Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu are expected to make appearance alongside interactive pit-stop stations. On the luxury end, Ray-Ban brings its Beyond the Track experience to CQ @ Clarke Quay, built around the Scuderia Ferrari collection while Breitling sets up a watch focused activation at Raffles City.

Fringe Activities

Orchard Paddock 2026

Image courtesy of Orchard Paddock.

The Grand Prix atmosphere continues on to Orchard Road with Orchard Paddock 2026, taking over Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza from 8 to 10 October. The programme combines late-night dining with local performance and open-air movies. It is a more relaxed counterpoint to the intensity of the circuit, and a way to catch the energy of the weekend without a race ticket at all.

For more information and bookings, click here.

Inside the Formula 1 Exhibition

Image courtesy of F1 Exhibition.

Away from the barricades, the Formula 1 Exhibition makes its Asian debut at Gardens by the Bay, next to Satay by the Bay, and runs until 18 October. Across seven themed rooms, it traces more than 75 years of the sport’s history, from championship-winning cars such as the 2011 Red Bull RB7 to race suits, helmets and over 100 interviews, and it includes a tribute to Singapore’s own place on the calendar. Racing simulators let visitors take on a lap of the Marina Bay circuit, offered as an add-on to general admission. Flexi tickets aren’t valid from 8 to 12 October, so a visit that weekend needs a dated session ticket.

For more information and bookings, click here.

Views from the Sky

Race Weekend Above the Skyline

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For a different view of the race, the answer lies in the skyline. From 9 to 11 October, NOVA screens the action from 282 metres above ground, from 6pm to 10.30pm each night, with first practice and sprint qualifying on Friday, the sprint race and qualifying on Saturday, and race day on Sunday. Once the screenings end, the rooftop shifts from grandstand to dancefloor.

What follows is a world tour in three nights, echoing the way Formula 1 itself circles the globe. On 9 October, Yeti Out, the pan-Asian collective founded by twin brothers Arthur and Tom Bray, takes over HighHouse from 11pm to 3am with a back-to-back set. Saturday, 10 October will see Coast To Toast at Ho Chi Minh City’s Lại La Modern Cocktail Club from 10pm to 2am, whose sound blends the traditional đàn tranh with electronic beats. On 11 October, Chivas Regal presents Australian twin sisters NERVO with Samrove and Mr J, closing out the weekend from 10.30pm to 3am, with NERVO on the decks from midnight.

At NOVA, Lap 62 runs from 10.30pm to 3am each night, with Kong and KNRCK on Friday, Lenerd and Harv on Saturday, and Jerms and KNRCK on Sunday.

For more information and bookings, click here.

Race Week at SushiSamba

Images courtesy of SushiSamba

For a view from the business district, SushiSamba leans into the race season from 1 to 11 October with a limited run of race-themed cocktails. Lights Out combines bourbon, honey and passionfruit, Lift & Coast pairs rum with ginger beer and blue curacao and Pole Position takes a bitter-sweet turn with Campari, amaretto and prosecco. Outside of cocktails, a Red Bull based mocktail and race-themed make roll is also available.

The main event runs on 10 and 11 October, when the restaurant’s iconic Copacabana Brunch returns as Race to Samba from 12pm to 3pm. Live DJ, saxophonist sets and samba performances accompany robata, sushi and ceviche stations with dishes spanning Australian tomahawk steak, spatchcock chicken and shrimp tempura. An F1 strawberry tart and Checkered Flag cake to end off the meal.

For more information and bookings, click here.

The Night Line-up

Three Nights at MARQUEE

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As the Grand Prix takes over Singapore during the evening, MARQUEE Singapore keeps the celebrations going each night with a different international headliner. Diplo takes the stage on 9 October, followed by Anyma on 10 October and Martin Garrix on 11 October.

For more information and bookings, click here.

Music on the Circuit

On the circuit itself, the concert programme splits across three stages, and which one a ticket unlocks matters. Every valid race-day ticket includes the Padang Stage in Zone 4, where JJ Lin and Cortis open on 9 October, Zara Larsson and The Killers take over on 10 October, and James Arthur and Lana Del Rey close the weekend on 11 October.

Zone 1 tickets add the Wharf Stage, headlined by Janet Jackson on her first Singapore performance in fifteen years, alongside Split Enz and Goo Goo Dolls, plus the Barge Stage’s DJ line-up of Mark Ronson, DJ Snake and Major Lazer Soundsystem. Together, they turn the circuit into as much a music festival as a race weekend, reason enough, for some, to buy a ticket regardless of who is on the grid.

For more information and bookings, click here.

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The post Singapore Grand Prix: The Lion City Never Sleeps for Three Days appeared first on LUXUO.

from LUXUO

The New Global Face of Luxury is Increasingly Asian

The latest global brand ambassador appointments include Koji Mukai for Burberry, Song Hye-kyo for Bottega Veneta and PP Krit for Gucci. Images courtesy of Burberry, Bottega Veneta and Gucci.

Luxury’s newest ambassadors are increasingly coming from Asia — and September 2026 made that difficult to overlook. Within weeks, Song Hye-kyo joined Bottega Veneta as Global Ambassador, Phuwin Tangsakyuen became a LOEWE Brand Ambassador and Koji Mukai joined Burberry. Soobin of TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) became Dolce & Gabbana’s new Global Ambassador for fashion and beauty, while Gucci welcomed Thailand’s PP Krit and Chinese actress Tian Xi Wei. Prada appointed Namtan Tipnaree, and Bvlgari added aespa’s Ningning to its roster.

The announcements follow a year in which Jung Kook became a Global Brand Ambassador for Hublot before joining Graff, Yang Zi became Pomellato’s Global Brand Ambassador, Shin Min-a joined OMEGA and Go Youn Jung became an ambassador for Tiffany & Co.

Read more: Luxury’s New Global Faces: The Latest Maison Ambassadors

Beyond the individual appointments, the collective momentum signals a broader shift in how luxury maisons chooses and defines global influence. The luxury world is no longer looking to Asia simply for consumers. It is increasingly looking to Asia for the personalities through which it presents itself to the world.

Follow the Attention

The shift is supported by more than celebrity headlines. Data from influencer-marketing platform Lefty shows how dramatically the geography of fashion influence is changing. During the Autumn/Winter 2026 fashion season, Asian personalities were among the strongest generators of digital visibility, with Thai and Korean talent proving especially powerful in converting fashion-week appearances into online attention.

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The underlying business logic is straightforward: luxury follows attention, and attention has become increasingly globalised. The ambassador once functioned primarily as a recognisable face attached to advertising. Today, the right personality brings an entire cultural network — followers, fan communities, social amplification, fashion-week visibility and sustained conversation that can continue long after a campaign image has disappeared.

The shift is becoming increasingly important as luxury consumers expect more than status and recognition from the brands they choose. McKinsey’s 2026 research of more than 2,000 luxury clients in China and the United States found that emotional connection has overtaken traditional markers such as heritage, craftsmanship and exclusivity as a leading driver of brand desirability. Consumers increasingly want brands that reflect identity and aspiration rather than merely communicate status.

In this evolved environment, an ambassador capable of creating genuine emotional engagement becomes far more valuable than conventional fame alone.

From Asian Ambassador to Global Ambassador

There is another important distinction in the appointments themselves: the increasing use of the word global. Soobin is not representing Dolce & Gabbana only in South Korea. The maison explicitly appointed him Global Ambassador in September, describing the relationship as one built around creativity, authenticity and individual expression.

Soobin of TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) for the Dolce & Gabbana’s latest beauty campaign and aespa’s Ningning for Gucci. Images courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci.

Jung Kook’s Hublot appointment is similarly international. When the Swiss watchmaker named him Global Brand Ambassador in February, it framed the partnership around two worlds — music and watchmaking — capable of crossing cultural boundaries.

Even more telling is how frequently individual personalities now operate across luxury categories. Jung Kook’s relationship with Hublot is complemented by Graff in high jewellery. Ningning represents Gucci while also entering Bvlgari’s jewellery universe. These are no longer stars being deployed only to translate European luxury for domestic Asian consumers.

They increasingly represent luxury itself. That marks a significant evolution in an industry whose international imagery was historically dominated by Hollywood actors, European models and a relatively narrow group of Western musicians.

Hollywood has not disappeared. It simply no longer possesses a monopoly on global aspiration.

Asia Is Not One Cultural Market

Reducing the change to the rise of K-pop would also miss a more interesting development. South Korea remains enormously influential, from Jung Kook and Soobin to Song Hye-kyo, Shin Min-a and Go Youn Jung. But the 2026 appointments demonstrate that luxury’s Asian ambassador strategy is becoming increasingly diverse.

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China offers Yang Zi, Tian Xi Wei and Ningning, personalities whose influence spans television, music and fashion.

Thailand has become particularly significant. PP Krit, Phuwin Tangsakyuen and Namtan Tipnaree reflect an entertainment industry whose actors command highly organised international communities extending well beyond Southeast Asia.

Namtan Tipnaree and Phuwin Tangsakyuen join Prada and LOEWE respectively as their brand ambassador. Images courtesy of Prada and LOEWE.

Japan operates differently again. Burberry’s appointment of Koji Mukai sits alongside the international reach of athletes such as Shohei Ohtani, whose longstanding relationship with Seiko expanded into a global ambassadorship in April 2026. Grand Seiko separately established a global partnership with him through its Grand Moments Project.

The significance lies precisely in that variety. There is no single “Asian luxury consumer”, just as there is no single form of Asian celebrity. Music, cinema, television, sport and digital fandom create different routes towards international relevance.

Why Fandom Matters to Luxury Today

For maisons, those communities offer something traditional advertising struggles to manufacture: participation. A devoted fan does not simply encounter an ambassador campaign. They discuss it, translate it, circulate images from it, follow the celebrity to fashion shows and often learn the history of the maison through that relationship.

Luxury once depended heavily on distance. Its greatest houses cultivated mystique precisely by remaining difficult to access. Modern fandom works almost in reverse. It thrives on frequency, intimacy and the feeling of knowing a personality. Unexpectedly, those opposing forces can complement each other.

The ambassador can remain continuously visible while the object remains scarce. Millions may watch Jung Kook wear a Graff jewel or Hublot watch without making either product commonplace. The celebrity democratises attention, not necessarily ownership. That distinction helps explain why global fandom has become so valuable to luxury.

When Every Maison Has an Ambassador

There is nevertheless a danger in the sheer volume of appointments. Celebrity partnerships become less meaningful when audiences struggle to remember which person represents which house. An ambassador connected simultaneously to too many unrelated brands can also weaken the sense that any individual partnership represents genuine affinity.

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Luxury cannot build an icon through visibility alone. The strongest relationships develop when there is a believable correspondence between personality and maison — whether through style, values, creative discipline or a relationship cultivated over several years.

Soobin’s appointment, for example, follows an existing relationship with Dolce&Gabbana rather than appearing as an isolated contract. Ohtani’s move into a global role with Seiko follows a decade-long association with the watchmaker. Such continuity is key because recognition is not the same as cultural permanence.

From Celebrity to Cultural Icon

Hollywood remains relevant. So do established European actors, athletes and musicians. In the past, there is the assumption that global aspiration must originate from a small number of traditional cultural capitals. This principle may no longer applies today.

Luxury is moving towards a more multipolar landscape. Seoul, Bangkok, Shanghai, Tokyo and other Asian centres are producing personalities capable of generating attention, loyalty and cultural relevance far beyond their domestic markets. For maisons, the opportunity is therefore larger than appointing another recognisable face. The strongest partnerships can introduce heritage brands to new audiences while allowing those brands to participate meaningfully in contemporary culture.

That is ultimately what separates visibility from lasting influence. The most successful ambassadors do more than generate attention around a campaign; over time, they can become closely associated with the values, aesthetics and identity of the maison itself. The rise of Asian ambassadors signals not the end of an old luxury order, but the expansion of it — towards a landscape where icons can emerge from anywhere and resonate everywhere.

For more on the latest in luxury fashion and style reads, click here.

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