Youth Centers

Fir

st it was a new policy of tolerance toward gays. Then bans were relaxed on the screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the sale of chewing gum and Cosmopolitans. If that isn't enough to convince you that buttoned-up Singapore is finally loosening its collar, then maybe its retail revolution will. Several painfully hip malls—packed with young-designer goods—have opened of late, bringing new life to the Lion City's shopping scene.

First port of call is the Heeren Shops, packed with the city's jeunesse dorée. The 118 stores here retail everything from beachwear to collectible toys. On levels four and five there's a separate section known as the Annex—its 58 hole-in-the-wall shops are Heeren's funkiest, and there's a tattoo parlor and graffiti-filled café besides.

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Across the street at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, you'll find 21 shops offering everything from animé comics to beauty products made of tofu. There's more sartorial funk at Far East Plaza's Level One (one of the few places where graffiti are tolerated in squeaky-clean Singapore—but only on designated walls, of course). But the newest kid on the youth block is Upstairs on Bugis Street. What was once an inconspicuous entrance to a football club now leads to some 40 boutiques touting club wear, vintage fashion and more.

If you can't get to Singapore, here's where to find hip shopping in other Asia-Pacific cities:

JAKARTA: Style mavens swear by two stores in the Indonesian capital—Nvious, tel: (62-21) 719 9288, for funky street clothes, and Populo, tel: (62-21) 720 8625, for clubbing gear.

KUALA LUMPUR: Teens make for the Mid Valley Megamall, tel: (60-3) 2938 3333. Asia's largest cineplex and gym are among the lures.

MANILA: The award-winning Greenbelt, tel: (63-2) 817 5015, features New Age stores, funky boutiques and buzzy cafés.

SYDNEY: It's the Summer of Love all over again at Glebe Market, tel: (61-2) 4237 7499. Browse through hippy clothes, crafts and other Aquarian delights. Saturdays only.