Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i Tatler Hong Kong

I am especially pleased to write this month’s Editor’s Letter. Hong Kong in September always emanates a particular intensity—the last four months of the year are when the city feels most alive, ambitious and connected. At Tatler, we share that spirit: this issue celebrates it with our signature showcase, Asia’s Most Stylish (AMS). On our cover, actor Fala Chen embodies an authoritative elegance that further reflects sartorial excellence. But her journey from Hong Kong to the global stage is a reminder of her broad range of talents. Style has always been at the heart of Tatler; today, it also plays a fundamental role in the creator economy. The individuals who define taste are the same ones shaping culture and enterprise. Style, we’ve discovered, is rarely a solitary pursuit. The most…

These three female leaders are making power moves in their respective industries. Tatler dives into why Kuok Hui Kwong, Victoria Penman and Jeny Yeung are forces to be reckoned with. A HOSPITALITY DYNASTY’S NEXT CHAPTER Kuok Hui Kwong’s promotion to CEO of Shangri-La Asia on August 1 consolidates her role as both chairman and executive director, marking a decisive moment for one of Asia’s most prestigious hotel chains. The 47-year-old oversees a portfolio of 105 hotels reportedly valued at US$2.2 billion, but her ascension represents far more than nepotistic succession within Malaysia’s wealthiest family. The sixth of tycoon Robert Kuok’s eight children, Kuok was appointed Shangri-La’s executive director in 2016 and assumed the chairmanship the following year. Her stewardship proved particularly crucial during the pandemic, with its impact on hospitality.…

In Hong Kong’s bustling entertainment scene, few couples shine as brightly as film legend Simon Yam and supermodel Qiqi Yam. Before the duo tied the knot in 1997, Qiqi was colloquially known as “Hong Kong’s original supermodel”. Her journey in the modelling world began with a twist of fate: during a summer holiday in Vienna, the then 17-year-old was scouted on the street. “They told me I had Asian features but western proportions and asked if I was interested in becoming a model,” she recalls. Alongside campaigns with fellow supermodels such as Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford, she has walked the runways of Balmain and Thierry Mugler, and starred in a series of campaigns for the Japanese skincare brand SK-II in the mid-1990s. “Growing up, I would watch models on…

At Chuang’s Consortium, the Hong Kong property and hospitality empire, style runs in the family. Executive directors Candy and Edwin Chuang—the latter of whom is also its deputy managing director—have mastered something many siblings, not to mention friends or business partners, struggle with: honest fashion feedback without the drama. Their sartorial education began at home. Their mother, Karen, collected couture like other people collect books, and her wardrobe became an early masterclass. Their father Alan’s devotion to Ming dynasty ceramics offered another lesson entirely—that “beauty lives in both tradition and reinvention”, Candy says, adding that, between them, their parents showed “how a single extraordinary piece could whisper volumes, proving that true style isn’t about excess but about the quiet confidence to let your essence shine”. The lesson was clear: “Fashion,…

Meet the RM 30-01 Le Mans Classic, Richard Mille’s tribute to the endurance race, which marked its 12th edition this year. Limited to 150 pieces, this watch is as much of a mechanical marvel as the race cars it celebrates. Its titanium bezel frames a striking Green Quartz TPT caseband, with green and orange highlights evoking the legendary Sarthe motorsports circuit in France. The skeletonised dial mimics a racetrack’s twists, while the 24-hour counter’s highlighted green 16th hour nods to the green flag at race start time. Racing isn’t just in the design—internally, precision engineering ensures a 55-hour power reserve and clutch engagement indicator. Pure timekeeping adrenaline on your wrist. Below sea level but on cloud nine…

Graff has spent 65 years mastering yellow diamonds, so when it creates something like the Tilda’s Bow necklace, you pay attention. Two strands of yellow and white pavé diamonds weave around the neck before forming a deliberate knot—think sophisticated sailor’s rope, but significantly more expensive. The real drama comes from the twin pear-shaped drops: a 7.19-carat Fancy Yellow and its 5.79-carat partner, both substantial enough to make their presence known. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a house that treats yellow diamonds like their personal speciality. Delicious baguettes for your sparkling cravings…

The bassline is low, the sun is still high and the room hums with the peculiar alchemy of caffeine and that breathless pause before the beat drops. At a Social Club Series “coffee rave”, part of Hong Kong’s growing soft-clubbing scene, alcohol is nowhere in sight. Instead, perhaps a piccolo latte; on other days, it might be a slice of pizza, a cup of tea or a scoop of gelato. Nobody orders a round of shots—and nobody seems to miss them. It’s part of a wider shift sweeping Asia-Pacific. According to Canada- and India-based market intelligence firm Precedence Research, the region’s non-alcoholic drinks sector is already worth more than US$480 billion and is projected to double by 2034. California-headquartered Grand View Research forecasts that ready-to-drink mocktails in Asia-Pacific will grow…

ALEXANDER YEUNG Hong Kong-based photographer Alexander Yeung specialises in fashion, art and commercial photography. Notable projects include the 2022 Chow Tai Fook campaign and Centrestage campaign for 2023-24, while his work has appeared in magazines including Harper’s Bazaar and Wonderland. Yeung, who “aims to create visually compelling narratives that capture the essence of my subjects”, photographed Lisa and Licca Inn for Tatler’s Asia’s Most Stylish this year. (p.70) DANIEL ASATER Beirut-born, Dubai-based photographer Daniel Asater discovered his passion for fashion and photography when he did his master’s in art direction in Paris—a time which also enabled him to visit the offices of luxury brands such as L’Oréal Paris. For Tatler this month, he captured art collector Snow Feinan Li in her Abu Dhabi penthouse. (p.150) GREGORY CHONG Hong Kong-based photographer…

From 2018 to 2023, Hong Kong recorded an average of 260 workplace fatalities annually, according to government figures. Construction remains the sector with the highest risk for employees, with more fatalities and accidents than any other industry—a pattern seen worldwide, with the International Labour Organization listing it alongside utilities, mining and quarrying as among the most hazardous fields. “Traditionally, safety in the workplace required humans for monitoring,” says Gary Ng, CEO of ViAct, a Hong Kong-based AI start-up developing technology to improve workplace safety. “These construction companies realised relying on humans alone to monitor [workplace safety] can’t cover everything and takes a lot of time and staff.” Seeing that gap prompted Ng and his friend Hugo Cheuk, who met at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and who both have engineering…

Style isn’t only about what you wear—it’s also how you carry yourself and treat others as you move through the world. We’re shining a light on the meaningful relationships in life that empower us to be our truest—and most stylish —selves. Whether it be romantic partners, siblings, creative collaborators or parents and kids, our AMS 2025 honourees are proof that it isn’t flashy name brands but our chosen communities that make us who we are…

Before Feiping Chang became the glamorous influencer we know today, her sights were set on climbing the corporate ladder. The Taipei native worked in investment banking in New York, moved on to a fashion investment fund in Hong Kong and later worked in business development for luxury brands including Gucci. After a serendipitous turn of events, Chang signed as an influencer with Digital Brand Architects in 2014, before going freelance. Now focused primarily on Instagram, the former blogger shares her passions for fashion and lifestyle as well as her elegant personal style with more than 80,000 followers. Chang was among Hong Kong’s earliest crop of fashion influencers—a position she is thankful to occupy. “I feel very grateful for being a part of that first wave and being able to organically…

Shanghai’s North Bund had been drenched by a heavy downpour but, just moments before the Hermès fashion show began, the sky cleared. The show was staged in a specially built pavilion that referenced traditional Chinese architecture, painted in the signature Hermès orange. As models walked the runway, screen panels opened to reveal the iconic Huangpu River view; it was a powerful image, marking a moment destined to become a milestone for the maison. Rather than being a resort or cruise collection, this second chapter of the autumn-winter 2025 women’s collection—the first was unveiled in Paris in March—emphasises the continuity of the original’s theme. What’s more, all the runway pieces made their worldwide debut at the Shanghai show. Though iconic leather creations like the Birkin, Kelly and Constance remain synonymous with…

LIKE FISH TO WATER The Fifty Fathoms Tech 45 mm is a diver’s dream dressed up for summer. We love that the watch boasts serious underwater tech with a pop of personality. The new strap system lets you swap bands in seconds—black, white or a daring orange—to match your mood (or your wetsuit). The matt black dial absorbs light like a deep ocean trench, while luminous markers ensure readability below sea level. Crafted from lightweight Grade 23 titanium and built to brave the waters down to 300 metres, it’s a trusty companion for adventures below and above the waves. FLY AWAY Expanding on this year’s Watches and Wonders launch, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Miramar brings a fresh, summery shade to the collection. Dressed head-to-toe in a…

Cloud 39 at the Henderson in Hong Kong’s Central business district has been transformed into an underwater wonderland. Walls shimmer with projected coral reefs and crystalline installations evoke the ocean’s depths. It’s here, surrounded by Tiffany & Co’s spectacular Blue Book 2025 collection, that I meet Victoria Wirth Reynolds. The house’s chief gemmologist appears utterly at ease in this aquatic palace, as though she’s found her natural habitat among the seahorse brooches and starfish rings that seem to float in illuminated display cases. After 38 years with the legendary jewellery house—rising from a 22-year-old newcomer to the first woman to hold her prestigious title—Reynolds moves through the exhibition with the quiet confidence of someone who has spent decades understanding the language of precious stones. Her passion for gemstones is infectious,…

From Hide the Pain Harold to Ethel the Oiia Cat, memes are today’s shorthand—instantly recognisable and globally understood. Few people have done more to shape that landscape more than Ray Chan, co-founder and CEO of 9gag, the platform that turned niche internet jokes into a shared language for millions. Launched in 2008 by Chan and four co-founders—Chris Chan, Derek Chan, Marco Fung and Brian Yu—9gag enabled users to create and share memes. By 2012, its site was drawing 70 million monthly visitors and it had raised US$2.8 million from investors, including US firms Freestyle Capital and True Ventures. Today, it reaches more than 200 million users across its website and social channels. The site was the solution to what, at the time, was a big question. “How could we make…

Classical musicians rarely make headlines. But three months ago, witnessed by 20 million online viewers from around the world, pianist Aristo Sham emerged as a media favourite. In Texas in early June, he became the first Hongkonger to win the Van Cliburn International Competition, a classical music contest widely considered as one of the most prestigious and toughest; this year’s edition took place over a gruelling three weeks, with each candidate playing a total of six programmes that added up to about four and a half hours of playing each. Sham’s victory in such a renowned international competition has certainly made his home town proud—and the musician, who now spends most of his time in New York, has been blown away by the reaction. “I never imagined such enthusiastic support…

Step through the front door of a duplex in Verano and you’re greeted by the South China Sea. This isn’t your typical Hong Kong flat, where everything opens onto one sprawling space. Instead, a corridor sweeps you forward with panoramic ocean views, the living room beckoning to your left, the dining area to your right. It’s a home designed for discovery, where boundless spaces flow into intimate nooks. Even by Repulse Bay’s standards, Verano stands apart. The property comprises five two-storey duplexes, each with a saleable area* of 3,957 sq ft, and a penthouse duplex with a saleable area* of 4,022 sq ft and 1,199 sq ft of flat roof. The duplex residences in the 13-storey building don’t just offer sweeping views; their star-shaped layout creates an unexpected play of…

The seeds of rebellion were sown early for Alex Po and Derek Cheng. Growing up in Hong Kong, Po found creative freedom within constraint, customising his school uniform to subtly defy the rules. “We all wore the same thing, but I started tailoring my trousers and playing with oversized sweaters—I loved pushing boundaries within rules,” he recalls. For Cheng, it was attending boarding school in the UK that unlocked a new way of thinking. “The freedom in the education system really opened my eyes,” he says. These formative experiences laid the groundwork for what would become Ponder.er—a gender-fluid label that challenges the status quo of menswear in subtle yet striking ways. Take the duo’s embrace of smocking—a sewing and embroidery technique historically associated with kidswear—in reimagined menswear. “We’re not conventionally…

The year was 1925. Adele Casagrande Fendi received a gift from her husband, Edoardo. It featured an image of a squirrel, chosen as a symbol of her industrious nature and always-on-the-go attitude. A year later, the couple opened a handbag and fur boutique on Rome’s Via del Plebiscito, planting the roots of a family business that would grow into one of Italy’s most respected fashion houses; said squirrel went on to become the maison’s original logo. Fendi, now synonymous with Roman elegance and technical ingenuity, celebrates its centenary this year. One hundred years since Fendi stitched her first Selleria bag—crafted in a naturally soft-grained Cuoio Romano leather using techniques taught by Roman saddlers—the house continues to be shaped by its commitment to exceptional craftsmanship. Fendi’s reputation has always rested on…

Reflecting on your return to Jaeger-LeCoultre, can you share a moment from your earlier time there that profoundly shaped your leadership philosophy? I believe strongly in the concept that founded Jaeger 192 years ago—the manufacture principle of bringing different skills and tasks under one roof. This creates proximity and close relationships between people working together. That proximity extends to our partners and clients, and it [gives us] the pleasure to invent, to dream and to create products. This is the first element I consider essential to our management style. The second element is loyalty—something perhaps old-fashioned. We come from a valley where people, when they join a company, stay for a long time. In our manufacture, staff rotation is just 3 per cent. Even 13 years after my return, 70…

In the atrium of Pacific Place some time in 2010, Danny Lau encountered a Montblanc Elizabeth I limited-edition fountain pen that would change the trajectory of his collecting journey forever. “I found it so attractive,” he recalls of that pivotal moment, “and that’s when I started to collect limited editions.” But this transformative encounter represents just one chapter in a story that began decades earlier with a grandfather’s gift and has evolved into one of the most comprehensive Montblanc collections in Asia. “I think the habit of collecting stuff goes all the way back to my childhood,” Lau says, describing how his collecting instincts were ignited by an unusual gift from his grandfather: a complete sequential run of 100 consecutively numbered Hong Kong banknotes printed just after the Second World…

A century has passed since the Jazz Age gifted the world art deco—that intoxicating blend of geometric precision and unbridled glamour that defined the Roaring Twenties. As we mark this milestone, the movement’s influence on contemporary luxury remains as potent as ever, particularly in the realm of fine jewellery, where its bold lines and sophisticated geometry continue to captivate discerning collectors. Few designers understand this enduring appeal better than Jacquie Aiche, whose sculptural pieces bridge the gap between art deco’s revolutionary past and today’s luxury landscape. Known for her fearless approach to materials and her ability to infuse ancient symbolism with contemporary edge, Aiche has built a following among celebrities and tastemakers who gravitate toward her distinctive aesthetic. Here, she shares her thoughts on art deco’s lasting legacy and how…

NEW BEGINNINGS In another episode of fashion’s never-ending game of musical chairs, Jonathan Anderson has been appointed the creative director of Dior—the first time a single designer has overseen the French house’s men’s, women’s and couture offerings since the founder himself. After initial feelings of elation, many Anderson fans acknowledged an underlying concern: how would he also manage his coveted eponymous label? The Irish designer wasted no time in answering: JW Anderson has officially rebranded as a curated lifestyle label. With a new logo to match, the brand will shift its focus towards artisanal goods from homeware to honey, alongside curated fashion collections. Meanwhile, flagship stores in London and Milan will be transformed into cabinets of curiosities due to open this September—run, don’t walk! VERSACE FOREVER For most people, even…

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China’s megaproject aiming to bolster economic links, including trade ties with other countries. These economic links were initially forged with infrastructure projects like railways, ports, highways and airports, mostly built by Chinese companies and largely funded by Chinese state-owned banks. Now, the BRI also includes services like education, tourism, e-commerce, environmental projects and poverty alleviation. Chinese President Xi Jinping coined the term Belt and Road in 2013. During a visit to Kazakhstan in September that year, Xi mooted the concept of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” as a modern version of the ancient Silk Road, which ran from China through Central Asian nations like Kazakhstan and ended in Europe. The ancient Silk Road is estimated to have lasted from 200BC to the 15th…

There have been few trickier times to be an ambassador at a world expo than during Covid. In the case of Expo 2020 Dubai, which was postponed to 2021, Snow Feinan Li, a board member of the China Everbright New Economy Fund—which backs Terminus Group, the official sponsor for Expo 2020 Dubai—was tasked with representing China. What should have been a short-term visit became a long-time residence in the Emirates, when Li was stranded due to Covid travel restrictions. However, she saw the opportunities to be gained from her enforced stay: as well as expanding her businesses from China to the UAE, she also delved into Middle Eastern contemporary art. Li had been collecting art since 2005, and the lockdown presented an unexpected chance for her to connect with and…

To preserve and not pillage, to transform rather than tear down—that’s the modus operandi for these beautiful hotels that have embraced their locations’ pasts while bringing them into the present. Whether it’s a centuries-old Qing dynasty courtyard that’s now a serene wellness space, or a former printing works that now tells the city’s stories to its visitors, these hotels cater to the growing number of travellers seeking experiences that foster a deeper, more meaningful connection to the destinations they visit. LANSON PLACE PARLIAMENT GARDENS, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Hong Kong’s beloved boutique hotel brand Lanson Place made its debut down under with Lanson Place Parliament Gardens. The hotel occupies the beautifully restored 1901 Salvation Army Printing Works, with the original brick façade integrated effortlessly with a new tower. The building’s rich history…

At 25:You’re on the right track. Move forward bravely. At 35:Nothing is definite. Everything can begin anew. At 55:Your life is just beginning. At 65:Have fun! Life is meant to be enjoyed. Advice for anyone who wants to reach for the stars:If you want to reach for the stars, you have to keep your feet on the ground. Take the first step—no matter how small—with courage.…