“I appreciate creativity and design, but most people consume fashion in terms of trends or what is available to them,” says Pek, 34, who is also the chief executive officer of her family business, Shingda Group, an infrastructure engineering firm with a team of over 400 employees. “I don’t think we should limit ourselves to this framework.”

A regular in the pages of Singapore’s society magazines, Pek, who has three children, including a one-month-old, shows up for this interview impeccably dressed in a limited-edition sculpted magenta jacket with embroidered orchids that Singapore label Sean Sheila has created exclusively for SocietyA.

“Asian designers have a statement of their own – most of them want to weave a piece of their history or culture into their designs,” she says. “For example, Korean designers pay tribute to traditional clothing like the hanbok and use silk and vibrant colours; Thais are known for their intricate work; Malaysians use traditional weaving techniques; Indonesians are good with embroidery, weaving and textiles; and Singaporeans have more contemporary, functional designs.”

That is why, when one steps into the stand-alone boutique she opened in 2017 in swish mall Ngee Ann City, what immediately makes an impact is that each rack is organised according to the designer and looks distinct from the others. “I made it a point to not curate by style but by designer. Each brand looks different so there is a bit more voice given to the designer,” she says.

When she launched the boutique, it offered 11 brands and was an e-commerce website. Today, SocietyA – A is for Asia – carries over 40 brands. “I used to think I didn’t need a physical store but I was wrong. For our kind of business, physical and online are both very relevant – it is how much you want to connect with your customer,” she says.

To secure the newest, buzziest brands for her boutique, Pek travels to fashion weeks around Asia to meet up-and-coming designers. This has seen her strike up close relationships with various designers.

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“I’m always curious to find out what makes a designer want to start a label. I feel that if a designer does not have that strong story, then the designs can’t appeal to customers,” she says.

This year, to mark SocietyA’s fifth anniversary, Pek has enlisted five labels, including Sean Sheila, PH5 and LIE, to create exclusive capsule collections for the boutique. She also has frequent “designer spotlight” pop-up displays. In August, Singaporean brands such as Reckless Ericka and Tria featured.

Pek is also launching online trunk shows for new collections and a WeChat account to cater to Chinese customers.

She acknowledges there is a long way to go before the world views Asian fashion through the same lens as American or European fashion.

“The perception that customers sometimes have is ‘Why are the items so expensive?’ But my response is that you won’t get a similar item at this price at a Western label,” says Pek.

“Asia may be known as the manufacturer of the world, but we can always move upstream. The good thing about Asian designers is that they know they can’t price themselves as a Western brand even though the quality, DNA and storytelling is equally strong. They don’t mark up as much – think of it as designer quality at high street prices.”