Billie Eilish in Haji Lane, Singapore
Not all who attended Billie Eilish’s sold-out concert in Singapore could catch a glimpse of the American pop-star due to poor seating arrangements.
As set out in our previous article, many who attended the concert had gripes about the seating arrangement and the ticketing system. Some were seated so far that they could not even see Billie clearly without the assistance of the zoom function on their mobile devices.
However, on 21 August 2022, the day after the concert, some lucky folks at Haji Lane had no such complaints as they were able to see and interact with Billie Eilish up close.
Impromptu Visits to Thrift and Vintage Shops in Haji Lane and Arab Street
During her visit to Kampong Glam, Billie dropped by several thrift and vintage shops. For the majority of these visits, Billie was able to shop without being recognised.
Hafiz Arif, who owns a few thrift and vintage shops in Haji Lane, told Wake Up Singapore that Billie first shopped at Flame Vintage at 67 Haji Lane. There, Billie was attended to by a part-timer that did not recognise her. Hafiz attributes this to how Billie wore a hat and a huge face mask.
Hafiz shared that security was tight around Billie as 2 burly men followed her everywhere she went.
She then purchased more items at Reworked Vintage Colosseum, also known as RV Colosseum, located at level 2 of 43 Arab Street, Singapore.
After shopping at RV Colosseum, she made her way down to the F-Five Thrift Shop on the first floor of the same unit.
“Bro, Billie Eilish is here”
When Billie was at F-Five Thift shop, Hafiz was a few stores down the road checking out fishing rods. There, he received a text from his business partner who told him that Billie Eilish was at his shop.
Hafiz’s first instinct was to think that his business partner was pulling his leg. Nevertheless, curiousity got the better of him and he dropped the rods and ran back to his shop.
When Hafiz and his business partner saw Billie, they were so awe-struck that they couldn’t even “speak in proper sentences”.
Hafiz said that, initially, no one seemed to recognise Billie due to her clever disguise. However, her “piercing blue eyes” were unmistakable.
While she was shopping, Billie jammed along to Mr Brightside by the Killers. Reflecting on their interactions with Billie, Hafiz said that she was kind and humble.
No Photos!
Hafiz recalled a little awkward encounter with Billie’s entourage.
Earlier, Billie’s team had informed him that there was not to be any photography or videography of Billie in the store, and the team at F-Five Thrift store respected that. Hafiz also observed that security around Billie was very tight.
However, when Hafiz took out his phone to check for payment, he said that the security “almost tackled him” and said “No photos!”.
Although the staff of F-Five did not take any photos or videos of Billie’s visit, a member of the public who recognised Billie did take a video of her.
https://www.tiktok.com/@mrs_c3p0/video/7134651952855551234?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7092076109218727426
The video, which has since been uploaded on Tik Tok, has been viewed almost 120,000 times.
Billie’s Maroon Corduroy Pants
When Billie was at F-Five Thrift Shop, she laid her eyes on a pair of maroon corduroy pants. However, before she could purchase the pants that she liked, she was spotted by one too many members of the public.
Billie said “Maybe next time” before leaving the pants, according to Hafiz.
In the hopes that Billie will return, the staff of F-Five Thrift Shop have hung the maroon pants on their wall.
In an Instagram post featuring the said pants, the store said:
Thank you for coming hope to see u back soon ❤️?❤️?
PS: We will keep the maroon courdroy for you just in case ??
Thrift Shopping in Singapore
This correspondent was first introduced to the concept of thrift shopping back in 2012 through the lyrics of Macklemore’s hit single, “Thrift Shop”.
Since then, Thrift shopping has become very common, especially amongst young Singaporeans who are increasingly conscious about shopping in a sustainable manner.
Hafiz, who owns both thrift and vintage shops in Kampong Glam, notes that the concepts of thrift and vintage shopping are often conflated. To simplify things, he has dedicated the first floor of his unit to thirft shopping (F-Five Thrift Shop) and the second floor of his unit to vintage clothes (RV Colosseum).
To keep things affordable, all items on the first floor (probably except for Billie’s pants) are priced between $5 to $25. There is also a free-pile to promote up-cycling.
The free pile is a combination of donated items from our customers as well as stuff that we have from our inventory
Anybody can take as much from the free pile regardless of purchase
The idea behind it is to not waste any material and also to promote up-cycling. We want to promote creative minds to create something from literally nothing and also with the free pile available, people can leave the store and not be empty handed.
Hafiz explains that thift shopping is a good and sustainable alternative to fast fashion.
Many TikTokers also praised their “Sustainable Queen”, Billie Eilish, for choosing to patronise a thrift shop.
Since you have made it to the end of the article, follow Wake Up Singapore on Telegram!
