Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Esquire Singapore

Deputy Editor We all have questions. I mean, as sentient beings, we got to be curious about where we came from, where we are and where we are going, right? Our existence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Philosophy seems like an apt field to play in: are we living in a simulation? Is life deterministic or do we have free will? Do vegetables feel pain when you bite into them? The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy posits that the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life is the number 42. The solution was derived by a supercomputer named Deep Thought and while we might defer to the all-knowingness of a supercomputer, no one knows what the Ultimate Question of Life really is. So we segue into that old chestnut of…

Milk isn’t as kind to my stomach as it once were. These days, I’d opt for soy as a substitute but oat milk though? Never crossed my mind. Then Oatside came along, and Lordy, if all oat milk tastes like this, you just made me a convert. Aside from the jokes (“Where’re the teats on the oat to get milk from?”), the formulation of Oatside isn’t anything to laugh at. The experimentations started at home—stranded by the pandemic, founder and CEO of Oatside Benedict Lim worked on finding a plant-based milk that’s kind to the planet and also—dare I say it—delicious. Cutting out the artificial flavouring and preservatives, manufacturing of Oatside requires 90 percent less land and water and produces 70 percent less emissions when compared with cow’s milk. Also,…

It was NSYNC, Michael Jackson (understandably), and more accurately the 2004 movie You Got Served that got Alif Aircho interested in hip hop 17 years ago. Going on to represent Singapore in the World Hip Hop Dance Championship three years in a row in Las Vegas, the down-to-earth 28-year-old says he equally enjoys team showcase competitions and solo battles. Aircho shares his fervour for all street dance and may one day consider his hand at traditional genres as he gets older, but for now, he candidly answers about the big names and the possibilities ahead. ESQUIRE: How did you get scouted by Hybe (formerly Big Hit Entertainment)? ALIF AIRCHO: It was during the debut of TXT (Tomorrow X Together). People ask about my connections but I really think they found…

Being a nihilist must be like being a Manchester United supporter in the 1990s. What Eric Cantona did for the Red Devils back then, Covid is doing for nihilism right now. Everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon. In these apocalyptic times, the search for meaning, for purpose, for clarity extends beyond Old Trafford. The whole world is at it. The interminable pandemic has turned us into a bizarre mix of an over-eager Clark Kent and a lame Confucius, notepad in hand, asking endless questions of our current existence. What are we to learn from Covid-19? What are our life goals now? Will our species fix itself? Will VAR ever be used properly? Why is Singapore’s media obsessed with divorced celebrities in Taiwan? The search for Big Answers to the Big Questions…

It might only be less than 50 years since German company Hugo Boss launched its main line Boss, yet it has managed to hone in on a look. Boss has been associated with its offering of ready-to-wear tailoring—the mark of a well-dressed man during the corporate boom of the late ’80s to ’90s—and the sort of traditional masculine lifestyle supplemented by its sportier Boss Green and Boss Orange offshoots. The Boss man included the likes of actors Chris Hemsworth and Scott Eastwood, and Singaporean Olympian Joseph Schooling. The brand’s licensed range of products—from fragrances to eyewear—has been fronted by a similar masculine ideal in the form of Orlando Bloom, Henry Cavill and Jamie Dornan, just to name a few. And, of course, they were all pictured in varying forms of…

It isn’t every day you write a restaurant review without mentioning what you ate. It also isn’t every day you eat without a single shred of light. Which, to answer a highly unoriginal question, refers to a level of darkness equivalent to having your eyes closed. Yes, we’re talking a pitch black that—unless you sadly suffer from nyctophobia—makes for a genuinely enthralling affair. The unique concept has been around since 2014, with the mission of supporting the visually impaired community. Now reopened at Club Street, the restaurant has not only retained all of its original waitstaff but also elevated the accompanying bar. Yes, the one that’s not in the dark. Occupying the first floor, the space that first welcomes you looks no different from other bars in the area; classy,…

To ensure consistency, upkeep is certainly necessary. Think polished metals, blooming plants and even healthy skin. For the latter, ageing is the main enemy, but prevention can delay the onset of maturity. Hence, trust Rationale’s epigenetics-based products to provide external support for the skin. Founder and director of research Richard Parker started the company in 1992 and looked into the science of epigenetics. This study explores the ability to switch genes on and off. Research shows only around 25 percent of ageing is predetermined by your genes, and the rest is influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors. As a cosmetic chemist and medical dermatology, Parker identifies that even though all human skin is unique, it requires nutrition from antioxidants and sunscreen protection to defend against harsh external stressors. Using this…

Drinking water has never been trickier. Convenience stores are everywhere and the number of bubble tea kiosks and coffee booths seems to be constantly increasing; every new speciality drink venture is another reason to not choose water. Despite being spoilt for choice, our thirst for anything but the zero-calorie liquid is becoming harder and harder to quench. It is natural that we favour things with more colour and personality—just observe whom you gravitate to on social media, or the choices you consider when a host offers you something to drink with water a safe but second-best option. Sugary drinks are safe crowd-pleasers, but becoming too familiar or comfortable with the addictive sugars and artificial ingredients in them is dangerous and detrimental to health. Unless we make the sodas by ourselves.…

Photographer assisted by Melvin Leong. Hair and make-up by Kat Zhang using Kevin Murphy and MAC Cosmetics. Model: Lucas J/Misc. Management. Special thanks to Gibran Baydoun and the Corduroy Palace team…

Everyone who knows of Ronny Chieng likely is aware of these trivia about him: He’s a stand-up comic of Malaysian-Chinese descent; he spent his foundational years studying in Singapore; he both pursued law and cut his comedic teeth in Australia; he’s famously senior correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Oh, and as satirically pointed out in Netflix’s short Ronny Chieng Takes Chinatown, he was ‘Mr Five Lines’ in Crazy Rich Asians. It’s funny, because in a 2019 panel interview about landing the role, Chieng jested about telling his agent his new business model was the caveat that he would only do “200-million-dollar movies with [an] all-Asian cast”. Fast forward to 2021, Chieng appeared as underground fight club ringmaster Jon Jon in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten…

Heidi Guilford rode shotgun in her boyfriend’s white Dodge Charger. Her stepsister and a couple of friends sat in the back, with the windows rolled down for the smokers. It was a cool night in June 2020—sweatshirt weather-an unremarkable Sunday on an island off the coast of Maine. They could have been in any small town, just about any place. A loud engine, blaring music, laughing shouts from the front seat to the back. And all around them: Quiet. Heidi knew every inch of these roads. They all did. They’d grown up on this island, Vinalhaven, 24km out to sea by ferry, a rock in the ocean that the glaciers hadn’t quite smoothed over. Eleven kilometres by eight, population 1,200, give or take, and triple that when the summer people…

In 2021, we bid adieu to Audemars Piguet’s classic Royal Oak, also known as the Jumbo. In 2022, we welcome it back. What’s changed? Just about everything that matters. To be clear, the specific model set to be discontinued is the one collectors the world over have prepared to jump through fire hoops for, known as Ref. 15202ST. But all is not lost, as this year brings a new Royal Oak Jumbo which looks and works the same—although it doesn’t tick like the old one. Meet the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Ref. 16202. Paying tribute to 50 years of Royal Oak design innovation, this reference welcomes a new self-winding movement, Calibre 7121, which was conceived, designed and produced internally by Audemars Piguet. Marking the first time since 1972—the Royal…

As much of a celebrated designer Christian Dior was, unfortunately he didn’t get the opportunity to realise a menswear collection before his death. It was former artistic director Marc Bohan who took over creative reins in 1960—succeeding Yves Saint Laurent—that launched Dior Monsieur in the ’70s. Bohan’s time at Dior was perhaps not highlighted as often, despite him spending a longer time at the couture house than Christian Dior himself, probably due to the more famous names that preceded as well as succeeded him in the role. Nevertheless, his designs have often been the basis of some of the designs by Dior’s artistic directors across both men and women’s along the way. Dior Men’s Kim Jones, for instance, reworked a motif that Bohan designed back in 1974, for the summer…

I love it when a plan comes together… and that’s as far as the reference would go, because it’s not my plan to begin with. But we can all appreciate when good planning and strong concepts are executed well in any medium, and here it’s Atlas’s new drinks menu. Currently ranked seventh among Asia’s 50 Best Bars and 16th worldwide, the grandiose bar is easily among the prominent names on the local scene. Itself is lobby to a prominent building in Singapore. And it is Parkview Square’s very roaring ’20s aesthetic that leads the charge, with the full lineup playing off a total of seven Art Deco architectural wonders around the world. The first chapter opens with this landmark of residence, featuring non-alcoholic tipples like Vanda Mist (SGD12); this concoction…

Penhaligon’s Portraits is a long-running series of an aristocratic family drama gone wild. There’s intrigue, romance, forbidden romance and… murder? (Wait, there is no suspicious death… at least not yet.) As the narrative progresses, so does the stable of characters; each of them an animal and the scent contained within, a complement to its personality. The bottle is slightly heavier and is topped with a polished animal head, inspired by the character it represents; the package is designed, as ever, by Kristjana Williams. So far there’s Lord George who has a mistress, Clara, outside of his marriage with Lady Blanche that plots to get back at him. Their daughter, Duchess Rose, is wedded to Duke Nelson and they are not happy about their marital arrangement. Oh yeah, there’s also Radcliff,…

Benny Franklin once said, “Three [men] can keep a secret if two of them are dead.” Such an edgelord thing to say. But we believe in sharing. By disclosing the intimate self, we can understand how specific preferences and quirks shaped an individual. Hold off the impressions gathered through publicised projects and compositions–as these notable names unveil the meanings behind some unexpected traits. All titles are available at Books Kinokuniya. Murakami T: The T-shirts I Love Haruki Murakami and Philip Gabriel Besides music and running, there’s another hobby that the Japanese author subscribes: T-shirt collecting. Gathering images alongside selected short essays and interviews translated from Popeye magazine, this compilation spotlights over 100 T-shirts–some from thrift shops, some unworn, and some from marathons. You’ll also find out how the “Tony Takitani”…

Fashion must be tied and grounded to the realities of life. Because what is fashion if not a reflection of what’s happening in the world at the moment, albeit done through a six-month-long prediction of the future? But at the same time, it offers escapism-that not everything is all doom and gloom. Fashion designers have been visibly pushing for positive attributes to come through in their designs in the past two years. The spring/summer 2022 collections prove to be the culmination of all that effort in empowering us to regain some zest for life once again. If the previous season saw designers largely creating to cater to a more home-centric society, spring/summer 2022 considers our lifestyle changes and incorporates them into more outdoor-specific styles. And we’re not talking about fashion…

Bugged by a burning question? You’re not alone. Seeking answers to the whys and what ifs can clarify doubts which hinder acquiring valuable knowledge. Uh, curiosity killed the cat, you say. Yes but there’s a positive rejoinder to this saying: “But satisfaction brought it back!” There are benefits to having an inquisitive mind. Many dismiss being curious as nosy but it is a trait that’s essential as we question our place in the world: Why’s the sky blue? How big is the universe? Can God make a hot dog so large that He can’t finish it? Never lose this curiosity; it drives creativity, which lends itself to having the desire to improve. When you tumble into adulthood, curiosity matures. Now it can simply be asking someone to describe their day.…