Staff Reporters
Jan 29, 2013

Karl Lagerfeld to help launch Sofitel's So brand in Singapore

SINGAPORE - The Sofitel So, the ‘designer hotel’ label under the Sofitel Luxury Hotels Group, is opening its second hotel in Asia, this time in Singapore, by the middle of the year.

An artist's impression of Sofitel So Singapore
An artist's impression of Sofitel So Singapore

The hotel, which comes after the Sofitel So Mauritius and the Sofitel So Bangkok, has seen head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel Karl Lagerfeld designing the emblem.

The emblem will symbolise the hotel’s new and original style, unique to Sofitel So Singapore. Earlier, Kenzo Takada provided design direction for the hotel in Mauritius, while Christian Lacroix added his touch the Bangkok hotel that opened last year.

“His creativity and talent will confer on our emblem the ultimate touch of refinement and enhance our concept,” Robert Gaymer-Jones, CEO of Sofitel Luxury, commented on the partnership.

Based in Paris, Lagerfeld is also a fashion designer, photographer, illustrator and film director.

The site of the hotel was formerly a telecommunications and postal builiding. The five-star hotel property retains its neo-classical facade and some of the existing building structures, while a newer five-storey wing is currently being constructed at the back. It will feature 134 guestrooms, including 23 suites.

Other hotels under the label are currently underway in Mumbai and Sydney.

“Having Karl Lagerfeld as the 'signature designer' for the distinctive Sofitel So Singapore was an obvious choice to us, allowing us to pay homage to the country’s symbolic heritage building with an iconic design collaboration,” said Bobby Hiranandani, managing director of Royal Group Holdings.

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