Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Tatler Singapore

TATLER HONG KONG Entrepreneur Danny Yeung stars on the cover of this month’s issue. Yeung is the co-founder and CEO of Prenetics, which manufactures DNA testing kits and this year also pivoted to making Covid-19 tests, thousands of which he has donated for free throughout the pandemic. tatlerhongkong.com TATLER INDONESIA Actor and film producer Nicholas Saputra discusses his career on camera and his activism off-screen: Saputra is an avid environmentalist who backs awareness-raising films with his production company, Tanakhir Films. tatlerindonesia.com TATLER MALAYSIA Asra Jehan uses her accessories brand, Royal Sembilan, to give artisans a platform to showcase their work. She is particularly dedicated to supporting the dying art of tenun, a traditional weaving technique historically found throughout Southeast Asia. tatlermalaysia.com TATLER PHILIPPINES On the cover of Tatler Philippines is…

ONGOING OXWELL & CLAN The recently shuttered Oxwell & Co gastropub returns for a six-week Christmas pop-up, in partnership with private members’ club Straits Clan, bringing its famed roasts (pictured) and celebratory tipples for daily lunch and dinner service at Clan Café. For every meal purchased, Oxwell & Clan will be donating a meal to those in need through The Food Bank Singapore. Till December 26. oxwellandco.com GEORGETTE CHEN: AT HOME IN THE WORLD In the first major museum retrospective of Georgette Chen in over 20 years, the National Gallery Singapore brings together some of the Singapore pioneer artist’s most significant works alongside never-before-seen archival materials which reveal little-known aspects of her life, including her close relationship with the Malay artistic community. Till September 26, 2021. nationalgallery.sg 1 SG CARES…

Your works tell the stories of marginalised communities through an assemblage of everyday objects. What do you want people to know about these communities? My current research explores the politics of appearance, highlighting luminosity, legibility and safety, through the lens of those who exist on the fringes of society. They are visible but only during the weekends, at night, and when you need the job done. They are not widely represented in the media, and when they do, they get misrepresented. They thrive in the dark and away from street light. I am interested in the use of light to manipulate and transform commonplace items into bedazzled objects that appear bright, loud, vibrant, sparkly and beautiful, especially in the dark. While many associate light as an enabler for safety, there…

SWEET NATURE One of the most popular products at Raffles Boutique is kaya, so executive pastry chef Tai Chien Lin decided to incorporate this well-loved jam spread in his festive confectionery. The Raffles Kaya & Pineapple log cake combines French pastry techniques and Asian flavours. The delightful offering comprises soft and fluffy roulade sponge enhanced with the rich and fragrant notes of kaya, and encased within a medley of tangy pineapple compote, luscious kaya Chantilly cream and white chocolate crunchy pearls. The result? A delightful contrast of flavours and textures that is made extra indulgent with coconut butter cream. Tai has also fashioned the cake after actual logs presented vertically—instead of the usual horizontal orientation—making it a feast for both the eyes and palate. LET IT SNOW “As a homegrown…

PICTURE THIS Ever the champion of merging art with fashion, Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson takes inspiration from American artist Ken Price for a Christmas capsule for the festive season. Price, who was most active in the Sixties, painted on ceramic sculptures. His images of palm trees and the Los Angeles cityscape can now be found on Loewe’s Hammock and Puzzle bags, recreated using intricate leather marquetry, as well as on easy shirts and denim looks. WANDERLUST For its first patterned suitcase, Rimowa has launched a camouflage style with a metallic sheen made possible by innovative aluminium anodising techniques and painstakingly finished by hand. The special edition comes in two colourways—green and pink—and in a compact cabin size for when your travel bubble dreams come true, hopefully in time for…

READY, SET… 1 LA PRAIRIE The five-piece Platinum Rare Haute Rejuvenation Ritual is designed to smooth, lift, firm and brighten skin. Each product is infused with platinum for collagen production, and La Prairie’s exclusive Cellular Complex. 2 DRUNK ELEPHANT Cult beauty label Drunk Elephant teamed up with luggage brand Monos to fill a carry-on trunk with 10 bestsellers including the TLC Sukari Babyfacial and B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum. 3 CROWN AFFAIR The Set by New York haircare brand Crown Affair includes a comb—hand-carved in Switzerland, obviously—and a brush handmade in Italy. It also includes a hair oil, towel, scrunchie and three-minute version of an hourglass, as a reminder to take your sweet time while staring at your hair. 4 TATCHA Based on the beauty rituals of Japanese geisha, Tatcha’s skincare…

Tell us about your latest line. I wanted to modernise the Middle Eastern evil eye, which typically comes in turquoise, so I decided to design it with pink and blue sapphires, as well as emeralds, surrounded by my signature baguette-cut diamonds, which act as eyelashes. What’s been your biggest achievement to date? When I was asked by Harrods to have my own standalone boutique, which opened in October. Who would you love to see wearing your pieces? A mother, daughter and grandmother. What’s your favourite gemstone? Diamonds. If you weren’t a jeweller, what would you be? A chef. I love cooking and eating fusion food. What music do you listen to? Charles Aznavour and Leonard Cohen, to calm my soul. How have you been spending this year? I’ve been locked…

With relaxed demeanours and an easy rapport between them, Danny Yong and Alvin Lim lob jokes at each other like long-time pals. In reality, the two men have barely had time to get acquainted—their cover shoot with Tatler Singapore on a Saturday morning was only their second face-to-face meeting. But what unites these two industry giants is a burning drive to make a positive impact on the community and to inspire people from all walks of life to take action and make a difference. Hedge fund manager Yong is the founder and chairman of philanthropic organisation The Majurity Trust (TMT) and founder of Yong Hon Kong Foundation, while Lim is the chief financial officer and executive director of Musim Mas Holdings, one of the world’s largest privately-owned integrated palm oil…

After 42 years as chairman of the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS), Koh Choon Hui remains deeply convicted that it is his “privilege” to be able to help children, youth and their families in need. He says, “Children by their very nature are vulnerable and are highly dependent on others to satisfy their basic needs.” Koh, who is also the chairman of Singapore Pools, started volunteering at SCS in 1975 to help build up the organisation’s reserves. He became chairman in 1978 and has since continually evolved its services and programmes to meet the changing needs of children over the decades. Today, Koh acknowledges that while the typical Singaporean family generally can provide for their children, there are still those who face difficulties meeting their daily needs. In 2019, SCS reached…

Formerly in the shipping business, Nizar Mohamed Shariff was living it up in the lap of luxury with multiple cars and gifting luxury items to his family on a whim. But at the age of 43, Nizar’s conscience began catching up with him. “I don’t like the feeling of making money off the sweat, tears and pain of others. I just couldn’t stand the lies and the trickery involved,” he says, describing the unethical and sometimes unscrupulous business practices that are par for the course in the shipping industry. Compelled by his misgivings, he set out to do good instead. Free Food for All (FFFA) was set up in 2014 to provide free halal meals to those in need, regardless of race and religion. As the movement gained traction, FFFA…

The tragic events of 2020 have been a sore validation for Christina Dean, whose mission in founding Redress in 2007 was to promote sustainability without hindering business. “I believe that industry must take place, but we have a responsibility to ensure we do not hurt public health,” she says. “Fashion has a tremendous role to play—it’s beautiful, it’s functional and it’s our second skin. But I think it’s wrong that our clothing causes so much suffering, ill-health and pain to millions of people around the world.” Dean was a journalist and a dentist before her passion for adventure led her to move to Hong Kong in 2005. Her research on apparel manufacturing led her to realise the need for more environmental education for aspiring designers. To that end, with Redress,…

Myla Villanueva is the founder of five start-up companies and a pioneering woman in technology. But she’s best known for her work in securing the integrity of the Philippines’ voting process as national chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting. Villanueva’s efforts to conduct non-partisan voter education and to reform poll watching across the country have developed over the last decade since the introduction of automated elections. “There needed to be a new poll watchers’ education protocol and, conversely, a primer on how to vote and shade those circles on a ballot,” she said in 2019. She mobilises an enormous number of volunteers for this initiative to ensure clean elections and has been widely praised for her management skills, which have echoed in both her technology business and…

In 2017, Myanmar Now journalist Ko Swe Win criticised a powerful Buddhist monk for inciting hate and endorsing assassination when he publicly praised the killer of a Muslim human rights activist. This was one example of his brave journalism the board of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation cited in naming him a 2019 recipient of the prestigious honour for emergent leadership. Having grown up in a poor family in the political turmoil of Yangon, even getting arrested in 1998 for protesting in a student demonstration, Swe Win has focused his coverage on social justice issues. His criticism of the monk, Ashin Wirathu, caused him to be sued and briefly jailed, with a trial that was viewed by critics as a form of harassment for requiring the editor to travel 1,255…

RONNIE CHAN Hang Lung Group tycoon Ronnie Chan hit headlines around the world in 2014 when he gave US$350 million through his family’s Morningside Foundation to Harvard University, which at the time was the largest donation ever received by the institution. But that wasn’t even Chan’s total giving for the year: he also donated US$20 million to the University of Southern California. And Chan gives time as well as money: he is chairman of the non-profit educational institution the Asia Society Hong Kong Center and chairman emeritus of the Asia Society’s global board, as well as chairman of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society, which aims to improve the quality and quantity of philanthropy in Asia. LI KA-SHING Billionaire Li Ka-shing was given the nickname Superman because of his…

American actress and singer Ashley Park has been a star on Broadway for years, appearing in productions such as Mamma Mia!, The King and I and Mean Girls, the latter of which earned her a Tony award nomination for best supporting actress in 2018. This year she has made her mark on the screen, appearing as Lily Collins’ quick witted and fearless best friend, Mindy, a nanny with a hidden singing talent, in Netflix’s hit Emily in Paris. What was the audition process like for your character Mindy? In June 2019, I received an email from my agent to audition in New York. A few weeks later, I was rehearsing for a play in Massachusetts and my agent called to tell me that [series creator] Darren Star wanted to call…

Scene: late night, chef Alessandro Frau’s award-winning Italian restaurant Acqua in Phuket. Postprandial drinks in hand, three men chat over drinks. “I’m feeling restless,” grumbles young videographer Charlie Stevens. “Me too,” sighs property developer Peter Hamilton. “But this will not do!” says I. “What we need is a road trip ... but where?” “Somewhere down here in the south,” suggests Hamilton visibly perking up. “Birds always fly south about now. Birds are smart. And we can do it in my e-car.” “Yes! A leisurely eco-friendly drive through the countryside seeing and doing interesting things. You organise it Nigel and we shall record it for posterity,” Stevens chimes in with sudden enthusiasm. I should have kept quiet, but goodness knows we needed a break from the urban sprawl and the new…

Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2002 Inexplicably one of the most undervalued prestige cuvées in an era that fetishises single sites, the Clos des Goisses has a winning blend of generosity and poise that makes it a true wine lover’s champagne. The vintage’s blazing acidity will keep this baby singing for decades to come. Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 2004 Long held back by its hokey “Champagne Charlie” moniker, Charles Heidsieck has undergone a major restoration of credibility thanks in large part to the Blanc des Millénaires. They are only released ten years after the vintage and epitomise the house’s rich, smoky, sexy style. Azelia Barolo Bricco Voghera Riserva 2014 The Scavinos of Azelia have long lived in the shadow of their cousins at Paolo Scavino, with whom they share the…

Of all his encounters with famous celebrities and royals who have stayed at the Raffles Hotel Singapore, Leslie Danker’s meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 will forever be etched in his memory. “I have always admired the Queen of England,” he shares via email. “I remember greeting her with a bow and saying that her first visit to Singapore in 1972 was the year I joined the Raffles Hotel, to which she replied, ‘That is great!’—three words that will always be special to me.” That year, Danker joined the hotel as a maintenance supervisor, and over the next five decades, worked in various departments including F&B operations and guest relations. In 2004, he was appointed the hotel’s resident historian, a position he has held since. His encounter with the…

There’s no better reason or season to give back, especially for those who wish to make a meaningful difference. Begin your journey into philanthropy with the Onefor10 initiative by Community Chest, which is designed to match individuals with causes close to your heart. Through the initiative, your generosity and giving spirit can reach about 80 social service agencies that care for the underprivileged or vulnerable in our society. Your contributions will help empower children with special needs and youth-at-risk, care for vulnerable seniors, build stronger and more resilient families among the low-income groups, integrate adults with disabilities into society, and support people with mental health conditions. When you partner Community Chest, you tap on nearly 40 years of experience from the fundraising and engagement arm of the National Council of…

How did you first realise you wanted to work in fashion? I’ve always pursued beauty. For a few years I was a fashion blogger and at some point I started to make my own clothes and everyone began asking me where I got them from. The rest, as they say, is history. What were some of your first concerns when you started the brand? I’d worried about how to introduce the brand to Europe and the US, but then we were picked up by Net-a-Porter during our first season on the market, giving us a global audience. We are also doing our best to be more sustainable with each season. In the very beginning we only produced a limited quantity to reduce our carbon footprint and avoid overproduction, but now…

WHITE NOISE Dark and dramatic, a mix of smoky quartz, amethyst and diamonds dominates the fine jewellery pieces produced by Vara of London. Launched by Mayuri Vara, who splits her time between London and Hong Kong, the jeweller’s Serpentina Linea line makes use of thin slivers of gold, which coil around the wearer in the form of a snake that’s paved with rows of diamonds. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION Say goodbye to losing your AirPods: Misho has unveiled a series of earrings that will hold them in place. Available at Lane Crawford, they come in three styles: two sports-inspired sets called the Minimal/Active Tall and Minimal/ Active Tiny Pods, and one everyday staple called the Pebble Pod, which wraps around the headphone to secure it. A TOUCH OF JADE The top…

The year was 1988. I attended a dinner party in North London and it was here that I met my future wife, Adriana. When I decided to propose, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to present her with an exceptional emerald. Adriana is Colombian and, for hundreds of years, her homeland has yielded many of the world’s finest emeralds. In fact, it is estimated that the country accounts for a staggering 50 to 60 per cent of the world’s emerald market. I first visited Colombia a year after we met. I was immediately struck by its undeniable beauty. It has a dramatic Caribbean coastline, cobbled colonial communities and snow-capped peaks that offer some of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen. The Colombian people are wonderfully…

STORIES OF A PANDEMIC AWARDS This initiative was introduced to recognise and celebrate published work by writers, photographers and artists who document the pandemic in Singapore. “This is an anxious, uncertain time for all of us, but when you read about how others are coping or learn something you did not know about the crisis, it deepens our understanding of what is happening,” says Han Fook Kwang, chairman of the Stories of a Pandemic Awards judging panel. This ongoing award highlights stories, photographs and commentaries that record the events of Covid-19 in a compelling way and cover issues that matter to Singaporeans. Han adds, “We should encourage as many people as possible to write their stories or post their photos or drawings and share them with others. When they do…

If there is anyone more suited to talk about the business of doing one’s business, it is Jack Sim. “We go to the toilet six to eight times a day and spend three years of our lives inside the toilet; it’s a natural human process and we should not avoid talking about it,” says the founder of the World Toilet Organization (WTO), determined to break the taboo around the topic of toileting with humour and a light-hearted approach. Since 2001, the global non-profit has been working to bring awareness to the sanitation crisis worldwide by lobbying governments, public and private sector stakeholders, and the international community to prioritise sanitation in the development agenda. Around one billion people still face the indignity of defecating in the open today, and diarrhoeal diseases—a…

Where governments, private enterprises and civil society may fall short in resolving complex social challenges, the Asia Philanthropy Circle aims to step in and step up efforts to catalyse change. Led by Laurence Lien—a member of Asia’s Most Influential: Impact list’s Hall of Fame—the platform brings together Asian philanthropists to accelerate private action for the public good by addressing systemic challenges through a collaborative approach to strategic philanthropy. Take climate change, for instance. “There’s not enough philanthropy in the region that’s going towards addressing climate change. We can already see what happens when humankind has to confront an existentialist threat like the pandemic—the impact of climate change could be even worse,” cautions Lien, also the chairman of the Lien Foundation, which focuses its philanthropic work on improving the lives of…

PichaEats was started by a group of university students who, while volunteering in a refugee learning centre, noticed many of their young pupils dropped out in order to contribute to their families’ financial needs. So the students—Lee Swee Lin, Kim Lim and Suzanne Ling—decided to create a food business that would employ those children’s parents while the kids could continue to learn. The trio discovered that many of the refugees, well-educated degree holders from countries like Syria, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq and Pakistan, had considerable cooking skills, so they encouraged them to prepare regional dishes at their homes that could be sold and marketed through PichaEats. Since 2016, the business, originally named the Picha Project after the child of its first “chef”, has helped more than 25 families achieve a…

Everyone hates plastic bags. But sisters Isabel and Melati Wijsen decided to do something about them in 2013, when they were just 10 and 12 years old, respectively. All it took was a history lesson on the significance of impactful leaders to inspire the sisters in their Bali schoolroom to ask, “What can we do?” The Wijsens created Bye Bye Plastic Bags, a campaign that has drawn enormous attention, thanks in part to the founders’ young ages. Among its projects, the NGO has launched an educational booklet about the harms of plastics to the environment, collected rubbish from rivers and formed partnerships with collectives that produce alternatives to plastic bags. Bye Bye Plastic Bags has also inspired young people around the world to form their own teams promoting its mission,…

As Bill Gates once said, “I’ve never met anyone who knows how to have as much fun with condoms (in public, anyway) as Mechai Viravaidya.” Viravaidya is known throughout Thailand and beyond as “Mr Condom”, having organised the nation’s successful HIV and Aids prevention programme, in addition to his numerous ventures in non-governmental organisations dedicated to eradicating poverty and improving access to education for rural schoolchildren. In 1974, in response to challenges brought on by a rapidly growing population, he established the PDA to initiate family planning services that contributed to a dramatic reduction of population growth, from more than 3.3 per cent in 1974, with an average of seven children per family, to 0.6 per cent in 2005. His ability to gain acceptance for contraceptives comes from his sense…

CAMBODIA Suwanna Gauntlett Gauntlett, founder and CEO of the Wildlife Alliance, fights for the protection of the rainforest and wildlife. Melita Hunter Hunter, co-founder of the Song Saa Foundation, protects the habitat and marine life of the Koh Rong Archipelago. CHINA Chang Sun Chang, founder of Black Soil Group, promotes a modern agriculture business with improved productivity by consolidating land and scaling up operations. Charles Chen Yidan Chen, one of the co-founders of Tencent, whose Yidan Prize Foundation established the world’s largest education prize, provides educational innovators and pioneers with recognition and support. Guo Jianmei Guo, a lawyer, author and human rights activist, provides thousands of disadvantaged women in China with free legal aid and counselling. She was also awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2019 for her pioneering work…

“I think we were a bit predestined to end up working together,” the interior designer Gert Voorjans laughs, while talking about how his decades-long partnership with fashion designer Dries Van Noten began. The creative duo met in Antwerp, where they both live, in the Nineties, a few years after the breakthrough of a group of designers, including Van Noten, who emerged from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and became known in fashion circles as the Antwerp Six. Their distinctive vision for fashion, which flourished in the mid-Eighties, established Belgium’s largest city as a notable destination for fashion design. “I feel like a certain punch, sexiness and twist need to be present in my interiors”—GERT VOORJANS Dries Van Noten’s Paris flagship evokes the eccentricity of the legendary antiques dealer and…

Popular culture might depict the Christmas table as one with a large bird taking centre stage. Yet, for many around the world, having poultry for the holiday feast is as inconceivable as turning up at a ball in house clothes: it’s just not done. “The Christmas meal—be it the dinner on the eve or lunch on the day itself—is something people would save up weeks or months for, all in order to buy the best, premium ingredients,” recounts chef de cuisine Mirko Febbrile of one Michelin-starred restaurant Braci. “Seasonal seafood is the order of the day, but never poultry, or what we eat for daily sustenance, for it is not something special for the holiday table.” Indeed, seasonal seafood features heavily in festive menus from the coastal regions of Spain,…

For most wine enthusiasts, becoming a collector wasn’t something they set out to do; it just sort of happened. Looking back, I wish that ten years ago, when I started to think about collecting, I had someone to take me under their wing and help me think strategically. To be fair, there was no dearth of willing wings, but I was loath to let on that I didn’t really know what I was doing. The truth is that most of us are just winging it, seduced by the latest sale or trendy region and rarely doing much in the way of long-term thinking. Of course, there are people whose approach is purely rational and profit-driven, but I have very little wisdom to impart to them. Instead I’ve assembled a guide…

JON TONKS Jon Tonks is a British photographer whose work explores how people’s lives are shaped by history and geography. His photos have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic Traveller and more. For Tatler, Tonks photographed gallerist Ben Brown and his mother, artist and art patron Rosamond Brown (p.190). KATE JONES Kate Jones is the founder of creative agency At Liberty Studio, which has produced campaigns and projects for the likes of Net-a-Porter and Ritz-Carlton. For Tatler, Jones designed the set of this month’s festive fashion shoot (p.88). NICOLETTE WONG Based in New York, writer Nicolette Wong specialises in watches, jewellery and beauty. She is currently pursuing her MBA at New York University and hopes to translate her journalistic experience and thoughts on various issues into…

The F&B industry has been greatly affected by the pandemic, with nightlife businesses among the worst hit. Cocktail bars such as Jigger & Pony, which Gan Guoyi started with her husband Indra Kantono in 2012, have had to close for several months as part of Singapore’s fight against Covid-19. Many have pivoted their businesses and turned to offering delivery or takeaway services. The team at Jigger & Pony introduced new offerings such as pouches and bottles of its signature cocktails for customers to buy online and consume at home. And it proved a success. For 12 weeks since the start of the circuit breaker period in April, Jigger & Pony, which was recently placed ninth on the World’s 50 Best Bars 2020 list, delivered over 16,000 cocktails to customers. Gan…

In the blink of an eye, we have now arrived at the most wonderful time of the year—Christmas. To bring joy to your loved ones (and yourself), we have created Tatler Curates: Christmas Edition, an online platform that offers hand-picked presents for the discerning ranging from specially created hampers only for Tatler Curates to adventure experiences for the travel starved. Our Christmas shop has over 250 gift ideas, but we also have an initiative to mark the season of giving. We ask for your support for the Tatler Christmas Charity Auction, which features new and pre-loved pieces generously donated by our Tatler tastemakers. The auction is powered by Hotlotz, and all proceeds raised goes to our official partner, Community Chest. KANEBO Japanese beauty brand Kanebo offers two gift hampers curated…

In kindergarten, Tomo Koizumi would bring a backpack filled with origami paper to class, determined to become a teacher of the ancient art of Japanese paper folding. But he soon realised that it wasn’t so much the paper he loved as simply the act of collecting a full spectrum of colours. Nearly three decades later, Koizumi, 32, still loves hoarding hues, but now uses polyester fabrics that come in 170 colours to build majestic, sartorial sculptures that look like bouquets of blooming hydrangeas for stage performers around the world. Lady Gaga, Japanese girl group Perfume and Hong Kong pop star Miriam Yeung are just a few who have flaunted his frothy creations on stage. “In Japan, there aren’t really occasions to wear big dresses, so I became a costume designer…

When were you first introduced to jewellery? I was about six or seven years old and had strung together a bracelet made of plastic pearls and gold beads. I didn’t know what a clasp was, so tied it onto my mother’s wrist. She took it to the jewellers and had it replicated with small Akoya pearls and gold beads with a proper clasp. Tell us about your new capsule collection. Nature has always been a powerful source of inspiration for my jewellery. I’ve designed ten pieces that are set with stunning diamonds. Each gemstone is so precious, I decided to design unique settings for each piece to ensure I did the stones justice. Do you have a favourite piece? It would have to be the rose-cut Cocoon ring, which features…

Pierre Hardy is the consummate creator. Considering he is the creative director for Hermès jewellery and shoes for 30 years as well as the man behind the maison’s new beauty products, this might not come as too much of a surprise. He approaches his work with simultaneous ease and intensity. “I draw every day,” he says of his creative process. “Any time, any place.” He scoffs at the idea of having to be in the exact same spot in the studio, at the exact same time, and only sketching under absolutely perfect conditions. “I can draw on any sheet of paper, any lost envelope—anything … ” Hardy also insists that he is not the kind of designer who has to travel or be alone all the time in order to…

What should we know about Geneva Watch Days 2020, which happened in August? We’re really excited about this new concept, which is a departure from traditional watch fairs like Baselworld and Watches & Wonders. It’s a digital fair, meaning 50 per cent of activity is conducted via Zoom and other online platforms. It was also open to the public, unlike previous watch fairs. What makes Geneva Watch Days special? The fact that this fair is open to the public means any collector visiting Switzerland could see our novelties at the same time as retailers and professional watch experts. Tell us about the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton. This is Bulgari’s sixth world record in six years and it demonstrates the very best of complex watchmaking. It’s the flattest tourbillon chronograph…

A HealthServe volunteer once encountered a migrant worker who could not bring himself to eat. Not because the food was bad but he was suffering from guilt about working in Singapore in relative security while his family in Bangladesh had lost their jobs and were starving during the pandemic. “The pain for him was so deep and it is a reflection of the experiences of many migrant workers,” says Goh Wei Leong, co-founder and adviser of HealthServe, a non-profit that provides medical care, counselling and other support services to the migrant worker community. The worker was counselled and eventually resumed eating regularly, but for the general practitioner, this incident reinforced the importance of HealthServe’s ethos. After humanitarian trips to countries including Mongolia and India changed his outlook on life, Goh…

Successful, dynamic and loquacious, Christine Amour-Le-var is the very archetype of a woman on a mission intent on using her unique set of skills and gifts for the good of the planet and its people. And that’s exactly what she named the first non-profit organisation she co-founded eight years ago with fellow adventurers and philanthropists Valérie Boffy and Karine Moge: Women on a Mission (WOAM). “We had this desire to organise expeditions as a way to raise awareness and funds for vulnerable women; survivors of war, domestic abuse and human trafficking. Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread and persistent human rights violation in our world today.” WOAM then partners other NGOs, such as UN Women and Aware Singapore, with established structures in place, and run…

Dipa Swaminathan already faced a challenging mission before this year’s upending by Covid-19. Swaminathan, an assistant general counsel for Singtel, created It’s Raining Raincoats in 2015 to raise support and compassion for the enormous population of migrant workers in Singapore. She started the initiative after witnessing incidents of inhumane conditions, such as men wearing rubbish bags to protect themselves from the rain, and seeing results when she raised her voice to complain. “A little compassion towards them goes a long way,” Swaminathan said in a 2018 Ted Talk. “We find bridges to build between our community and theirs.” She has arranged athletic meets with local schoolchildren, secured donations of clothing, and distributed water bottles collected from schools, and unsold pastries from a network of Starbucks stores. She was given a…

Environmental protection has been Wang Canfa’s focus for decades, particularly how to translate China’s ambitious efforts to contain pollution into action. As the director of the Centre for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, he has brought legal cases against businesses that might have previously treated laws and regulations as suggestions, and helped those whose lives have been affected along the way. Wang is also a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law and is widely recognised by environmental activists and government leaders as an expert on the impact of China’s rapid economic growth on its climate and culture. He has helped draft provisions designed to give more clarity to enforcement and penalties for violating China’s “ecological redlines” regulations that are intended to fortify the nation’s goal of…

As the inventor of the technology used in N95 respirator masks, Peter Tsai found himself back in the news this year, and quickly out of a short-lived retirement. Tsai was a professor in the University of Tennessee when he patented the filtration material used in the masks 25 years ago. His research greatly improved the ability to produce more efficient masks using non-woven fabrics, melt-blowing and electrostatic charging technology, but his name was barely known outside his native Taiwan before the pandemic. As need for the masks, which were designed to be disposable, became critical this year, Tsai went back to work in a makeshift laboratory developing ideas (boiling, steaming, baking, you name it) to clean and decontaminate them for multiple wears without compromising their charge. He published an emergency…

When Rosamond Brown moved to Hong Kong in 1964, she didn’t set out to become one the city’s most prominent art patrons. She slipped into the role as if it simply were the thing to do. That she was only 26, and a painter herself, was no matter. “My husband Charles and I used to go to shows, which were mostly held in the New Territories, and purchase works we found interesting,” she recalls, speaking on the phone from London, where she currently spends part of her time. “We felt we ought to do our part in helping artists, all the more because I myself was one. But there was no grand plan behind it. We bought the pieces and hung them on the walls of our house.” “Hong Kong’s…

BERBER LODGE MARRAKESH, MOROCCO There is something to be said for staying in the heart of the medina in Marrakesh—I love Jasper Conran’s L’Hotel—but there is also something special about the languid experience of staying in a shady oasis on the city’s outskirts. The latter is particularly perfect at Swiss designer and architect Romain Michel Meniere’s Berber Lodge. With some help from his long-time friends at the white-hot Studio KO, he has created a destination for chic habitués of the city—a stay there makes you feel as though you are part of the city’s chic expat set. berberlodge.net PLAYA GRANDE BEACH CLUB, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC The owners of this Caribbean confection on one of the Dominican Republic’s most dramatically beautiful beaches definitely had fun in the design process. Less a hotel…

Jacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs NV I remember the days when this creamy, hazelnut-suffused NV from superstar grower Jacques Selosse was no more than a slight self-indulgence and a hip alternative to your nicer big-house NV Brut. Having experienced a 110 per cent price increase since autumn 2010, it’s now more of an occasional treat. Armand Rousseau Clos St Jacques Premier Cru 1993 This wine used to feel like the insider’s grand cru (Clos St Jacques is a premier cru but many argue it deserves grand cru status). These days it’s priced like one, having risen 430 per cent in value since 2010. However, 1993 was a deeply underrated vintage and remains lower in price than other strong vintages from the Nineties. The wine itself remains a lyrical, perfumed…