Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2022 i Tatler Malaysia

TATLER HONG KONG Double Olympic medallist Siobhán Haughey opens up about the aftermath of her history-making Games, what motivates her to keep chasing new personal bests, and how she handles fame and attention. TATLER INDONESIA Jais Darga Wijaya is a prominent figure in the Indonesian world of arts. She has been an active art dealer since the 1980s, and in 1997 she opened Darga Gallery in Sanur, Bali, with a comparative exhibition of European and Indonesian modernists, followed by another space in Paris. TATLER MALAYSIA This month, we catch up with Eric Cheng of Carsome on some of the milestones reached, including the development of the first Carsome Certified Lab. He also shares on some of the upcoming plans and previous successes of the company. TATLER PHILIPPINES We speak to…

HANNAH BECK Hannah Beck is a British fashion stylist and creative director currently living in London and working internationally. Her work is strongly influenced by her experiences of growing up on the south coast of England, living in Italy and travelling with her family as a child. Her styling has a strong sense of narrative, is often romantic and poetic, and inspired by the past and different cultures. Hannah styled this month’s fashion shoot in Spain taking inspiration from the traditional matadors and flamenco dancers. SIMON LIPMAN The photographer behind this month’s fashion shoot is London-based Simon Lipman. His work is influenced by documentaries, and he often crafts scenes and scenarios from real life. “Having previously shot at the [equestrian art school] Real Escuela for a personal project, I’ve wanted…

Whether Mercury is in retrograde or Venus is rising, one thing is for sure, there’s no ruining the month of June for Ning Baizura. “June is my month. Apart from being the month I was born in, a lot of good things usually happen to me in June,” exclaimed Ning during our photo shoot and interview session. When asked how she got involved with the show produced by Skop Productions, she said that the character in a way came to her. “I’ve been working with Datuk Yusof Haslam for so long, but I never thought I’d be working with his children. “Shamin (Yusof) handed me the script, which was co-written by her and Shamaine Othman, and said ‘I’ve something really suited for you, and I don’t see anyone else being…

And it all boils down to this: the reason why Bitcoin and blockchain technology gained traction was because it was a response to the 2008 financial crisis. The whole point of that technology was to provide an alternative where people could theoretically conduct their transactions more efficiently by removing the interference of a third party. However, that’s not to say that innovation doesn’t come at a cost; as with anything new, there will always be unknowns. Fiat currency took hundreds of years before we got to this point, and even now, our financial systems are still a work-in-progress. With how present world events are swaying the pendulum that is our economy at a wild back-and-forth, it’s no wonder why many perceive crypto as a polarising event. However, as this technology…

For centuries, women’s health has been overlooked and underfunded in scientific research. In fact, the mention of women’s health or bodies still remain taboo in many parts of the world. As a result, there are still question marks surrounding some of the most common conditions faced by women, from menstruation and menopause to fertility and sexual health. Fortunately, things have begun to change with the rise of femtech. The femtech industry aims to develop and leverage technology to tackle existing women’s issues while gathering data to further the research into these areas. In the last decade, the industry—once considered too niche or risky for investors—has boomed, attracting approximately US$5.7 billion in funding worldwide in 2021. These investments have made a world of difference, empowering millions of women to take control…

HOMETOWN GLORY Female athletes are the absolute embodiment of the power and beauty of female strength, so Dior invited nine champions to model the new Dior Vibe line conceived by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Sporting new bowling bags, Dior Star sneakers, biker shorts, polo shirts and jackets, the sports stars include Zhang Hong (right), the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal in speed skating, at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and Taiwanese karateka Wen Tzu-yun (above), who took home a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. ECO FANTASY There’s magic in the air with Stella McCartney’s Disney Fantasia collaboration. The playful, unisex range pays tribute to Mickey Mouse’s character in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment and the Greek mythology of The Pastoral Symphony scenes. Pieces are made from eco-conscious…

NEW BOHEMIAN Designers want you to live your most fabulous and colourful life this season, but above all, they’re encouraging you to be chill. Bohemian elements such as tie-dye, crochet and tassels appear not just on dresses but also tops, skirts and blazers. Keep the free-spirited vibe running with headpieces, printed bags and layered jewellery. BELT IT OUT If a return to the office is forcing you out of your sweatpants, a belt is a necessary accessory this season. Riding on the Y2K trend, we’re seeing a revival of the thin, preppy variety as well as the chain belt on runways and Instagram feeds. How to wear them the best? Over a cutout bodysuit, with jeans or over your bare midriff. BEACH BOYS 3.0 Regardless you’re travelling this summer, embrace…

Yve Chan is a Hong Kong based-designer, gemologist, craftsman and entrepreneur. He opened his independent jewellery platform Dawn Jewellery in 2014. One of the brand’s recent collections is a set of 20 cranes, formed in 18-karat gold, set with jadeites and each topped with an Argyle pink diamond. These gems are particularly rare—and increasingly so. Here, Chan explains more. Most pink diamonds come from one mine Before the 1980s, production of pink diamonds was sporadic and limited to regions in India, Brazil, Africa and Indonesia. The commencement of the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia in 1983 was a watershed event in the global diamond industry as it became the source of over 90 per cent of pink diamonds globally. The mine closed in November 2020, so the value and…

TIME FLIES The Fontaine aux Oiseaux needs to be seen in action. When animated, the automaton by Van Cleef & Arpels comes to life: the chalcedony and rock crystal water ripples, a water lily blooms, and a dragonfly made of sapphires, diamonds and mother-of-pearl rises. The birds, studded with precious stones, also move and sing. To round it off, a feather shows the time through a 12-hour retrograde display at its base. Van Cleef & Arpels Fontaine aux Oiseaux automaton GREEN LIGHT Piaget’s watches are red-carpet favourites, and it’s clear why when you look at the Limelight Gala collection. This Precious model features a mix of brilliant cut diamonds and tsavorites and the “shape within a shape”—a recurring theme at Piaget—of a malachite dial surrounding a circle of pavé diamonds.…

SMOKY PERSONA The BR 05 Chrono Edición Limitada is dedicated to the world of cigars, and aimed for the sophisticated gent and urban epicurean. The elegant chronograph echoes the spirit of the previous Edición Limitada; its finish is inspired by the world of Havana cigars. If this watch were a cigar, it would be the famous Robusto Maduro. Housing the self-winding BR-CAL301 movement, the watch is limited to 250 pieces, with the option of a brown rubber strap or 4N rose gold and steel. Bell & Ross BR 05 Chrono Edición Limitada GOOD KNIGHTS The eighth edition of Roger Dubuis’ Knights of the Round Table timepiece comes in a limited edition of just eight pieces—the founder’s lucky number. As collectors have come to expect, the new Monotourbillon/X is a remarkable…

You’ve just launched limited-edition Radiomir Eilean watches which come with Panerai Genesis NFTs. Tell us about your move into Web3. The NFT concept is testament to Panerai’s Laboratorio di idee approach, [part of] our positioning to be a pioneer, to be much more daring than other watchmakers. It’s important that we surprise our customers. The digital world allows us to amplify our messages. Web3 is an additional tool for us to spread the message of the beauty of Panerai. The new Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel is the latest example of the brand’s commitment to sustainability. Tell us what makes eSteel special. We’re [introducing] the new generation of steel with the Submersible QuarantaQuattro. In the next three years, the commitment of Panerai is that our whole steel programme will be switched…

For the uninitiated, angel investing as well as equity crowdfunding is when individuals or an entity offers promising startups (that aren’t public listed) funding in exchange for a piece of the business—usually in the form of equity or royalties. While venture capitalists need to see solid plans and paperwork before agreeing to fund a business, there’s a bit more freedom with angel investors who buy in on ideas. This is a great way to increase capital for startups, and can definitely benefit investors too. Nowadays, investing is made more accessible, through crowdfunding platforms, for example. However, it can be difficult to ascertain where to invest, with a plethora of options available, on top of concerns on returns. Angel investors typically reach out to developing companies via referrals and agree to…

While Asians in general may be leading investments in cryptocurrency, globally twice as many men invest as women. And the numbers of women spending the currency or working in the industry are even smaller; several reports from the last couple of years put those statistics in single figures—a not dissimilar position to the finance industry when Vivian Khoo joined Goldman Sachs in 2000. After spending nearly two decades working for the most prestigious name in investment banking, she moved to a very different type of organisation as chief operating officer in March 2019: Bitmex, the Seychelles-registered, Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2014, quickly went supernova, and has since found itself mired in bucketfuls of regulatory trouble in the US. After that rather dramatic introduction to the crypto…

The value of Bitcoin is as subjective as fiat money. Present-day currency however had over centuries to stabilise and determine itself as reserve currency. The volatility of cryptocurrency is due to it being in its early stages. Realistically speaking, it would take a long while before it becomes a means of exchange. And like fiat currency, cryptocurrency is affected by supply and demand, government regulations, investor and user sentiments, and media portrayal. With over 18.9 million Bitcoins mined out of the original 21 million, Bitcoin is now more expensive and exhaustive to mine. Okay, but if you really do want to own Bitcoin, you can hold a Satoshi’s worth of BTC, which is apparently equivalent to US$0.0003.…

Alongside the many established names at last year’s Met Gala, themed “Part One: In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”, was Conner Ives, whose graduation work made its way into the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute exhibition for 2021. The American-born, London-based designer was invited by Anna Wintour to dress model Natalia Bryant and attend fashion’s biggest night out—but this was not his first Met experience. In 2017, top model Adwoa Aboah wore a custom-made Conner Ives dress to the ball. “It felt really surreal to be able to be there by the time I was 21,” Ives recalls, “and then attend four years later myself with one of the dresses I am most proud of.” After Rihanna saw that first dress, she employed him for her brand Fenty. By…

Olivia Rodrigo, the 19-year-old Filipina American pop star who rewrote the heartbreak narrative with her 2020 album Sour, is the first celebrity ambassador for Glossier. This partnership is a new avenue for the cult millennial beauty brand—previously it relied on user reviews and It girl recommendations for word-of-mouth marketing. Rodrigo wore a full face of Glossier to both the American Music Awards in November 2021 and this year’s Grammys, opting for her signature look: a winged eyeliner and berry lip combination. She elevated the make-up at the latter event with a sparkly lid, which complemented the three Grammys she won rather nicely. Her collaboration with the brand kicked off with a curated set of her three favourite products: Boy Brow eyebrow gel, Pro Tip liquid liner and Ultra Lip shine…

A common misconception about cultivated diamonds is that they are fake or similar to cubic zirconia. However, this is not the case. Cultivated diamonds are atomically the same as natural—this means that their chemical make-up is identical. The only difference between the two is their origin. The price difference between natural and cultivated diamonds is the primary reason that people choose cultivated. Lab-grown diamonds are atomically the same as their natural counterparts, and cost 50 to 75 per cent less than natural diamonds between one and three carats. For example, a natural one-carat brilliant round diamond in F to G colour, VS clarity, typically retails for US$8,000 to US$10,000, while a cultivated stone with the same specs retails for US$3,000 to US$5,000. If you want to get the most out…

What made you launch BezelHold? I’ve lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years and have collected watches from a young age. I would store my watches in locked drawers and in secure safes, but as I began to travel more frequently, my storage routine involved wrapping my collection in plastic and placing my watches in impromptu velvet pouches. It was during these moments when I first felt that these precious pieces deserved more respect and care. This is where the idea for BezelHold was conceived. Presenting a brand online to the Asian market can be daunting at first, as a majority of consumers prefer the sensory experience of touch and feel before making a purchase. Our collection is on display and available at MisterChrono Hong Kong; this partnership allows…

Let’s talk about the record-breaking thinness of the 1.8mm-thick Octo Finissimo Ultra. It has opened a totally new field in terms of mechanical watchmaking. [The case] is thinner than a €2 coin, with 170 components within that space. The components all have to be laid on the same plane, and it requires very skilled master watchmakers to achieve this. It’s revolutionary, but also very accurate. Since we invented Finissimo eight years ago, we had developed seven different movements, but they were all based on the same philosophy. The major breakthrough has been about erasing all these memories, and the approach was to flip to a blank page and think, how do we make this watch not just a bit thinner, but a lot thinner? This hasn't been a technical challenge…

As an homage to the explorers of the sky, Rolex presents the new-generation of the Oyster Perpetual Air-King. Symbolic of the special relationship between Rolex and flying, during the golden age of aviation in the 1930s, the Air-King pays tribute to the pilots of the era and the Oyster’s role in their epic story. In fact, at the time when long-distance flights were being introduced to the world, several pilots during the time set records while wearing an Oyster. Meanwhile, others like Owen Cathcart-Jones and Ken Waller, who flew from London to Melbourne and back in record time with a twin-engine De Havilland Comet, used a Rolex watch as an on-board chronometer.. So in celebration of these historic feats, the name ‘Air-King’ has been featured on the dial since its…

I once mused on the idea of setting up an Eldest Daughters’ Convention. Its purpose was to gather all first-born women to not only talk about that unique position where you are your parents’ first experiment in child-rearing but also to discuss the many expectations heaped on your shoulders if you are a girl. One of the key breakout sessions, I thought, would be one on ‘How to Deal with Dad.’ I am an eldest daughter as well as an eldest child. It may seem sexist to only organise a special conference for my brethren (well, sistren!), but I do think that eldest daughters have a unique status in the family—especially when it comes to our relationship with our fathers. A lot of Asian fathers wish for a son as…

Having first graced the cover of Tatler Malaysia back in 2019 and being inducted into the Gen.T list, Eric Cheng, together with his co-founder Jiun Ee Teoh have scaled Carsome to greater heights. Having started out their journey locally in 2015, with a seed funding of US$350,000, Carsome expanded into Singapore the following year, and by 2017 already had a presence in Indonesia and Thailand as well. And the business model developed alongside, as it grew to become a trusted source to buy and sell used cars—starting off with a relatively low figure of 1,000 cars annually to 40,000 prior to the pandemic, and having celebrated the company’s 100,000th seller back in 2020 to now having introduced the first-ever Carsome Certified Lab, which is capable of turning over 2,000 cars…

At the 17th World Car Awards in New York in April, Hyundai stole the show. The South Korean carmaker’s Ioniq 5 won in three categories: World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle of the Year and World Car Design of the Year. The recognition was not only a win for Asian carmakers, but also signalled endorsement of an industry rapidly evolving to phase out internal combustion engines (ICEs). “Our game-changing electric vehicle (EV) has made a strong impact on increasingly eco-conscious and demanding consumers around the world, and its success supports the acceleration of electrification of the automotive industry,” said president and CEO Jaehoon Chang in a statement. With 2.45 million sales in 2020, Asia-Pacific is becoming a significant driving force in the adoption of electric vehicles, largely thanks…

Read a little bit about Calvin Lo, and you’ll find the same descriptions keep coming up. This, you’ll hear, is the world’s most reclusive billionaire, the richest person you’ve never heard of, someone who dodges the limelight almost obsessively. And while that most certainly used to be true, in recent years he’s been coming out of his shell a bit—largely because Covid has completely changed his attitude to philanthropy. Hong Kong-based Lo made his money in insurance, but not as an insurer, and not by insuring people in the traditional sense, where the idea is to offset potential future costs. Instead, his company, RE Lee, the world’s largest life insurance broker, has been in the vanguard of the explosion over the past two decades of so-called jumbo life insurance, an…

Unless you are living off the grid, you will at least have heard the acronym “NFT”; the phenomenon has been taking over our social media feeds and daily lives for the last 12 months or so. You may have come across terms such as Blockchain, Ethereum and Bored Apes, but have no real idea of what they are or why people care. But this craze has changed (and will continue to change) the way in which we produce and consume culture. If you’re as clueless as we once were, we’ve compiled a Dummy’s Guide to NFTs to help you, with some crypto term definitions thrown in for good measure. Read on to find out what level of crypto cred you’ve attained. LEVEL 0: CRYPTO? NO. What is an NFT? NFT…

Satoshi Nakamoto’s White Paper 1 Proposes that Bitcoin can be utilised as an electronic cash system where you can do online transactions without the mediation of a third party. This is called a peer-to-peer network. 2 This network runs on blockchain technology. The blockchain is an ‘immutable’ public ledger where everyone can track their transaction histories, which cannot be deleted or altered. Technically, if you get hacked, you can trace where your Bitcoin’s been. An electronic paper-trail, if you will. 3 Going back to point one: because there is no centralised organisation regulating your funds, it is now decentralised, and as long as you have the internet, you can do transactions wherever and whenever. 4 When you do a transaction, you are given a public key and a private key.…

After being diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and going through months of chemotherapy, what was it that got you to start researching about feminine hygiene products? Malisse Tan (MT): It all started when I was looking for an organic cotton alternative for pads and tampons. The material was safer for skin and kinder to our planet as it contained no chemicals, fertilisers or pesticides to produce. Organic cotton farming also uses less water, preserves soil quality, and limits soil erosion, which in turn protects local habitats and the farmers who grow it. At the time, I was also comparing alternative products to the generic brands we grew up with. While I was doing my research, I realised that most brands didn’t disclose what they’re made of. As period products…

With the pandemic highlighting the importance of science and technology in solving many of the world’s problems, there has been an increased focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. However, while the number of women in these traditionally male-dominated fields is growing, and their achievements often celebrated and lauded, cultural and societal factors still exist to discourage girls and women to aspire for careers in STEM. Wanting to arm the next generation of girls in STEM education and empowering them with the tools they need to succeed, luxury beauty brand Clé de Peau Beauté has partnered with Unicef, now for a third year, with the aim to improve their access and remove barriers that they may face. With every product sold of its best-selling The Serum, Clé de…

Artificial intelligence is a fundamental technology with many different applications, from helping driverless cars navigate the road to translating a conversation between people speaking two languages in real-time. Entrepreneur Mark Koh didn’t initially set out to build his startup Supahands to be an AI company, but he recognised a growing opportunity in the market. According to him, the biggest hurdle blocking companies from building and deploying AI is a process called labelling. Supahands has been using its sizeable freelance workforce to label data for clients and enables them to train their machine learning models. Koh shares his thoughts on the opportunities that AI presents, and what motivates him as he leads his company. The idea for Supahands came as I thought about how could I break down projects and tasks…

DAZZLING ROSE Being an ardent supporter of filmmaking and the cinematic experience, Chopard showcases its flair for high jewellery through its Red Carpet Collection. In honour of Cannes’ 75th anniversary, 75 high jewellery creations inspired by cinema were revealed. Leading the glitterati parade is a stunning diamond rose brooch that recalls the one worn by Charlie Chaplin in his movie, City Lights, marking the first sound film ever made in cinematic history. The rose features moveable petals set with white diamonds and a stem of black diamonds in a “chromatic tribute to the dense, photogenic black and white images of Chaplin’s films.” Diamond rose brooch from the Red Carpet Collection by Chopard BLOOMING LOVELY Inspired by the Japanese sakura season, Mikimoto’s Cherry Blossom Collection has more additions this spring. Pretty…

Few things in life can weather the inexorable test of time; a treasured story, passed down reverently through the ages, is one of them. A treasured story filled with dazzling passion, brilliant creativity and bold risks? Even more so. That is where we find ourselves today, 185 years down the path of history, with legendary American jeweller Tiffany & Co. If you’re an ardent fan of the brand like yours truly, you would have heard the echo of its glorious past from friends, family and associates: founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany, the store in its first iteration operated as a respectable stationery and fancy goods emporium in New York City. Its remarkable reputation grew swiftly over the next four decades under Tiffany’s vision and stewardship, acquiring a name…

What would you like to highlight from the collection? I am currently wearing the Rendez Vous Shooting Star and it's a great feeling to see the star shooting across the dial. We had to ask our watchmakers to work counterintuitively, by forgetting about precision so they could create this surprising, random element of the piece. They had to innovate by finding a way of accumulating energy but releasing it sporadically to create the shooting of the star across the dial. This is a new technology and patent for us. You’ve said that the new Atmos clock was special to you. Tell us why. I am very proud of the Atmos Tellurium. We designed every component of this Hybris Mechanica movement from scratch. The new design retains the core identity of…

BLAST OFF Devotees of Ulysse Nardin’s Freak wristwatch are familiar with its tradition-breaking lack of hands, dial and crown. The newest incarnation, Freak S, which resembles a space rocket with twin reactors, breaks more ground. It features a double oscillator, a vertical differential and an automatic winding which is twice as efficient as a traditional winding system. The timepiece is a limited edition of 75, with just 40 going into production in 2022. Ulysse Nardin Freak S FLOATS THE BOAT their partnership with the all-new Panerai Submersible S Brabus Blue Shadow Edition. The 200-piece limited-edition watch merges the worlds of premium horology and elite day boating, drawing inspiration from the signature design cues of the Brabus Shadow series of boats. The 47mm case features the signature Panerai cushion shape and…

Whenever I have reason to tell off my younger daughter Shasha, for being too mouthy, or sloppy, she always comes back to me with the words, ‘apple’ and ‘tree’. It is a code for that adage “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Everything she is, comes from me. Everything, in short, is my fault. I may be the apple to my father’s tree, but I like to think of our life journeys as two trains running on railroad tracks so close to each other that passing carriages scrape against each other. Of course, Dad’s track is thirty-two years longer than mine. He picked up his chief engineer and steward, Mum, in 1956 and then four more passengers with her in the next eight years. Later, another three were…

You would be forgiven for thinking that, between menu-planning and navigating supply chain issues, staff shortages and ever-changing pandemic regulations, the world’s chefs and restaurateurs would be too busy to wrap their heads around DAOs, cryptocurrency and the metaverse. But a motley crew of celebrity chefs and food-obsessed crypto dudes are leveraging the power of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to create new ways of experiencing the joys of dining out. For the uninitiated, NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets that are “minted”, or published, on blockchain networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana, and ascribed a unique identity. It’s this manufactured scarcity that allows creators of NFTs to use the technology for access tokens, event tickets or even a loyalty programme. In the food world, for example, “a speakeasy could offer an exclusive…