Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Tatler Singapore

TATLER HONG KONG The founder of CL3 Architects, William Lim, and his wife, interior designer Lavina, star on the cover of Tatler Hong Kong. The renowned collectors discuss their decision to donate 90 major works from their private collection to Hong Kong’s upcoming contemporary art museum M+. tatlerhongkong.com TATLER INDONESIA Model and actress Nadine Chandrawinata discusses how her gardening hobby, shared with her husband, actor Dimas Anggara, taught them lessons in life. tatlerindonesia.com TATLER MALAYSIA Tatler Malaysia speaks to Vin Li Yap and Zer Ken Yap, the founders of Plush, a property management company for Airbnb listings, about their latest venture Kapas Living. Disappointed by the quality of high thread count bedsheets in the market, the brother-and-sister duo decided to launch their own line of quality cotton bedsheets and linens…

WAN QING FESTIVAL OF SPRING 2021 Mark the Lunar New Year with family at the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, where visitors can participate in festive drum workshops and go on a heritage trail around Balestier. The little ones can learn about the Chinese zodiac through craft activities at the centre too. Till February 21. sysnmh.org.sg THE BODY AS A DREAM: A SINGAPORE ART STORY Discover the works of nine Singaporean artists including Cheong Soo Pieng and Gen.T honouree Ruben Pang as they showcase ways where the human body serves as a visual marker of identity through time. Till March 27, at Art Agenda, S.E.A. (05-04 Tan Boon Liat Building). Call 9777 1730 to book a private viewing. artagendasea.org ONGOING DAHLIA DREAMS 2021 Full blooms symbolise positivity and what…

FUNNY BONES “I am a process-driven creative. My rehearsals and writing need to start six months before the show, whereas I’m in awe of how Sharul takes a more organic and spontaneous approach to comedy” — RISHI BUDHRANI RISHI BUDHRANI AND SHARUL CHANNA You can say that the audience loves watching Rishi Budhrani and Sharul Channa take the stage together, given that The Rishi and Sharul Show played to full house audiences during its run in 2015 at the Goodman Arts Centre Black Box. But it was only five years later before Singapore’s only married comedy couple performed together again for The Rishi and Sharul Show 2 at the Capitol Theatre last year. The hiatus was deliberate as the couple felt that it was important to also focus on their…

New York-based, China-born designer Caroline Hu launched her eponymous label in 2018 and quickly became famous for her romantic dresses in sophisticated fabrics, which earned her the inaugural Business of Fashion China Prize and an LVMH Prize nomination in just two years. She was also recently selected as one of 10 Asian Designers to Watch by Fashion Asia Hong Kong. Popular demand has led Hu to expand her range for the first time this season—her designs are now stocked by retailers like Moda Operandi. How did you first come to realise you wanted to work in fashion? I studied oil painting and art from an early age. My family has always been very passionate about the arts, so naturally I wanted to find my own creative outlet as I grew…

AMAN Aman’s constellation of properties take inspiration from their unique locales; think Amangiri in Utah’s otherworldly desert aesthetic, Aman in Kyoto’s modern approach to zen, or Amandari’s ethereal earthiness that blends seamlessly into the lush Balinese jungles of Ubud. Similarly, beauty and wellness products by Aman draw on nature and ancient wisdom to soothe, heal and transport you to another time and place. Aman offers self-care at home in three parts: Aman Skincare, a full range of oils, serums, face mists and masks; a trio of candles, each inspired by an Aman destination; and SVA, a collection of supplements that combine traditional, holistic healing with contemporary science. We particularly love the Purifying Quartz Scrub, which combines quartz and kombu; and the Nourishing Jade Mask, a protein- and collagen-rich treatment that…

Tell us about your latest collection. I started work on La Selva at the beginning of 2020. When Los Angeles first shut down, I felt deprived of nature and spent my days daydreaming about the jungle, which is how flora and fauna came to inspire this collection. What’s your favourite flower? The lady’s slipper orchid. I grew up in Massachusetts, where they don’t grow too often, so my mom and I would hunt for them on walks behind our house. When I was little, finding one felt like pure magic. How has Covid-19 impacted you? I throw myself into my work when I’m stressed, so I’ve actually been quite productive. What would you be if you weren’t a jeweller? I’d have an animal rescue farm and still hope to have…

Annie Darling Watches & Jewellery Director of Tatler Asia Suspended from a melodramatic arch that’s designed to resemble the entrance to Harry Winston’s Fifth Avenue flagship boutique in New York, this unique pocket watch has four independent tourbillons crammed into it. A rectangular case made from white gold houses the open-worked movement that’s surrounded by sparkling blue aventurine and baguette-cut diamonds. A push button releases the timepiece from its case, allowing you to wear it as a pocket watch with a white gold chain.…

In the past decades, sustainability and biophilia have been gaining momentum across industries as awareness of man’s destruction of earth becomes more documented. The Covid-19 pandemic has tipped the scales for this agenda to evolve from trend to necessity. But even before sustainability garnered a greater sense of urgency, Wong Chiu Man and Maria Warner Wong of Wow Architects have been propagating this in their work. There is Vivanta by Taj, the hotel in Bangalore, India that has an accessible green rooftop that slopes continuously from the ground to the top of the building; the 2012 Archifest Zero Waste Pavilion that was made from upcycled materials which were later repurposed; and the St Regis Maldives resort that is ecological from building to operations. They are currently working on the Mandai…

Gio Ponti worked almost until the day he died in 1979 at the age of 87 at his home in Milan—and it shows in his enormous and varied output. As an architect and designer, Ponti sculpted everything from spoons to skyscrapers, worked with more than 120 brands and constructed buildings in 13 countries. As the founder and editor of Domus design magazine, he produced 560 issues, beginning in 1928, contributing at least one article to each. He also lectured at universities in more than 20 countries and produced paintings and pottery in his slivers of spare time. Ponti has been gone for more than 40 years, but his work continues to fascinate and inspire. In 2019, both the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and the Maxxi museum in Rome…

Writing concisely about Chinese wine is much like trying to write about China itself—a task for the foolhardy. This wouldn’t have been the case a mere decade ago, when producers worth mentioning might have been counted on two hands (and perhaps a foot). The 2009 book The Vineyards of Greater China by Houghton Lee featured a mere 14 producers. However, every passing year makes the topic less appropriate for an article than a tome. Today, about 450 wineries span the Chinese landscape in 12 regions, from lush plateau to blazing desert. This is not to say that the story of Chinese wine has been an unbridled success, as profitability has remained elusive for many wineries. Production has actually dropped in China every year since 2015, when it hit a peak…

Raise your hand if you’ve bought something for your home in the last year. From standing desks and office chairs to better crockery and cutlery, we’ve all invested time and money in sprucing up our abodes. Given the extended confinement as a result of the pandemic, this comes as no surprise. The four walls of my apartment, the nearby Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Bukit Pasoh neighbourhood where Tatler House is located have pretty much been my universe in 2020 (and will likely continue to be in the coming year). Our homes are our sanctuaries—a place we can be our authentic selves. Over the past year, many of us have deepened our relationship with our personal spaces. They are a reflection of our taste and style but more importantly, our…

As an ambassador for Project Aware, a non-profit organisation promoting change in the areas of shark conservation and marine litter, Kathlyn Tan makes regular dive trips to collect marine debris. But she recalls vividly one particular dive in the waters of Tioman Island in October 2019 when she was desperately trying to avoid getting entangled with a long rope in front of her. “It’s been my most memorable dive, but it was also the most frightened I’ve ever been,” said the certified Padi divemaster and freediver, who also co-founded Coastal Natives, a community of like-minded ocean lovers and conservationists. When she isn’t exploring the depths of the oceans, Tan works closely with her father Stanley Tan and husband Thomas Riber Knudsen on furthering the social impact goals of her family’s…

SQUARE OFF Summery straw gives way to winter weaves to form fashion’s favourite latticework styles. WILD THING Unleash your animal instincts and wrap yourself in the animal print of your heart’s desire, be it giraffe, zebra or calf. GET INKED Dipped-and-dyed, these pastel-soaked pieces strike the perfect balance between cool and chic. TRAIL BLAZERS The hiking sandal can be evergreen when worn with a stylish suit (and maybe plush socks) for the resourceful city slicker. BLUE CLUES Few things stand the test of time like indigo, so go ahead and pile it on. LOVE STORY It may not always be wise to wear your heart on your sleeve, but we have no objection to wearing it on your shoulder—especially if it’s Louis Vuitton’s latest monogram bag, in stores just in…

Kong Hyo Jin made her acting debut in the horror film Memento Mori (1999). She went on to win the best actress award at the Korean Film Festival in 2008 for the rom-com Crush and Blush (2008) and starred in the television series When the Camellia Blooms (2019) and Crazy Romance (2019). More than an actress, she has collaborated with K-pop singers and has even written a buzz-worthy book about protecting the environment called Notebook. More recently, Kong has been photographed wearing high jewellery pieces by Piaget. The Graceful Flight ring alone is set with 150 brilliant-cut diamonds that weigh a total of 5.90 carats, in addition to one standout diamond that weighs 2.22 carats. BURIED TREASURE The latest exhibition from L’École, School of Jewelry Arts, The Art of Gold,…

39 Offered as a limited edition of 39 timepieces, the Chapter Two has a dial that has been redesigned to give this latest Virtuoso VIII a completely new appearance TITANIUM The flying tourbillon bridge is made of titanium to reduce the weight of the cage and prevent any magnetic charge, which can reduce the watch’s accuracy 178,000 This watch can be yours for a cool US$178,000, which is about SG$236,000. That will also get you about 162 iPhone 12 Pros or 200 nights at the Plaza Hotel in New York 10 The watch’s movement draws its energy from a single barrel that ensures more than ten hours of power reserve, all while maintaining the balance wheel’s oscillations at 18,000 vph, which stabilises the mechanism’s motion The second Virtuoso VIII tourbillon…

WINNER TAKES ALL Measuring in at just 2 mm thick, the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept is a standout wristwatch, so it came as little surprise to industry leaders that the brand took home the prize for the best watch of the year, also known as the “Aiguille d’Or”, at the 2020 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Congratulations, Piaget! ON THE BLOCK Vacheron Constantin donated a Les Cabinotiers watch to the Christie’s Bid for the Louvre online sale, which took place between December 1 and 15. This one-of-a-kind timepiece, which is yet to be designed, will come with a miniature or “grisaille” enamel dial that will depict a masterpiece chosen by its buyer during a private visit to the Louvre Museum in Paris. The buyer, who spent about…

On the 64th floor of Two IFC tower in Central, with its sweeping views of Victoria Harbour, Alex Jiaravanont sits in an office that is spare but enormous, wearing a tightly tailored suit over a loosely buttoned shirt. The 46-year-old executive and former architect is a third-generation member of the Bangkok-based dynasty behind one of Asia’s largest conglomerates, CP Group, and has played an important role at the company as an advisor to several investment funds from its Hong Kong offices since 2015. But he keeps a lower profile than expected for someone whose family has topped lists of Thailand’s richest for decades. “I’m actually a very private person and so getting written up was not, I mean ... I don’t do it very often,” Jiaravanont says. “But a lot…

DARREN GABRIEL LEOW A fashion and commercial photographer based in Singapore, Darren Gabriel Leow frequently contributes to Tatler Singapore and other lifestyle publications, as well as shoots campaigns for various homegrown and international brands. This month, he photographed architects Wong Chiu Man and Maria Warner Wong in their home for the cover feature (p.124) LYLA CHENG Taiwanese stylist Lyla Cheng is a graduate of the London College of Fashion who aims to explore ideas about gender, human rights and the environment through clothes and images. For this issue, Cheng styled the fashion shoot in Taipei (p.78) LUO JINGMEI After completing her Master of Architecture degree at the National University of Singapore, Luo Jingmei joined Ipli Architects, before a love of the written word inspired her foray into the publishing world.…

CHOO AND I Emerging French designer Marine Serre has been making headlines for a few seasons thanks to her apocalypse-inspired shows featuring spliced-and-diced streetwear splattered with her signature crescent-moon prints. This season, Serre caught the public’s attention with her new collaboration with Jimmy Choo—her first partnership with another brand. The results include sock boots, boxing boots and Mary Jane heels, all wrapped in her famous lunar print. ROCK ON Pierpaolo Piccioli’s iconic Rockstud motif, which he designed for Valentino’s accessories, turns ten this year. The subtle infusion of a punk aesthetic into a brand known for its romantic, feminine creations was an immediate hit and has become one of Valentino’s most recognisable staples. In celebration, Piccioli has launched Valentino Garavani Rockstud X, which will see several designers reimagine the signature…

SEND NUDES Adding to its signature collection of reds, Kilian Paris has launched four limited-edition lipsticks in varying shades of skin colour, from a barely-there blush tone to a deeper hue that edges on mauve. Housed in the brand’s signature glam-goth engraved black lacquer casing, the lip colours are scented with Kilian’s Love, Don’t Be Shy perfume—because kisses are sweeter when they smell of neroli and vanilla. EVERY ME, EVERY HUE Gucci Beauty continues its steady roll-out of make-up products with Fluide De Beauté Fini Naturel, a lightweight foundation made to suit “everybody regardless of gender or skin type”, according to the house. Available in 40 shades, the collection features babydoll-pink packaging that keeps up with the brand’s kitschy-cool, retro-inspired aesthetic. SMELLS LIKE SPACE Rapper Travis Scott has taken a…

Why have you chosen to pay tribute to Stephen Hawking? GE: He was one of the world’s greatest physicists and despite his illness he completely defied the odds, not letting anything stop him in proving his pioneering theories. He also seemed to have a playful approach to life—something we should all remember when things get too serious. How did this collaboration come about? NE: We were approached by Stephen’s family to work on a watch that commemorates his life and we were thrilled. After all, he’s a British icon and his scientific research is just mind-blowing. GE: Stephen and our father attended the same school, albeit a couple of years apart. And they both attended Cambridge University, so Nick and I feel a great personal connection to this project. Four…

Hyun Bin, who starred as North Korean captain Lee Jung-hyuk in Netflix’s Crash Landing on You (2019), has announced he’s partnering with Swiss watchmaker Omega. The South Korean actor first gained recognition for his role in My Name is Kim Sam-soon (2005) and has since landed numerous roles in film and television. “Hyun Bin shows a great skill for his character performances, always delivered with confidence and quality,” says Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of Omega. “He is a man of impeccable style and we’re looking forward to bringing him together with our most illustrious timepieces.”…

Fashion designer Phillip Lim moved into his SoHo loft in 2007, originally occupying a one-bedroom flat on the fourth storey of a century-old cast-iron building that is evocative of the quintessentially industrial glam of downtown Manhattan. It’s the kind of place one imagines was previously occupied by all sorts of cool artists in the Seventies and Eighties, when SoHo was the dirt-cheap no-man’s land of New York City lore. On its façade, each storey features six majestic, three-metre-tall arched windows, though Lim’s original flat sadly faced a different direction. Four years later, when his neighbour offered to sell his street-facing apartment—“an Eighties finance-bro bachelor pad with metal blinds, the bed at a diagonal and one giant TV”, as Lim puts it—the designer snapped it up and combined the two units…

The story of Taschen reads like an entrepreneurial fairytale: in 1980, 18-year-old Benedikt Taschen opened a store selling comic books in Cologne, Germany. Shortly afterwards, the teenage businessman began publishing his own comics. Then, spotting a gap in the market, he started printing glossy but inexpensive art books. Now, Taschen has stores and offices around the world, employs hundreds of people and collaborates with artists such as Jeff Koons and David Hockney. Taschen still sells budget-friendly titles, but now also produces some of the most expensive tomes in the world. Most famously, it sells “sumo-sized” limited editions, such as Helmut Newton’s Sumo, which was sold in Taschen stores for HK$200,000 (one later sold at auction for more than HK$3 million). The company is now led jointly by Benedikt and Marlene,…

There is much to appreciate about Singapore’s diverse dining landscape. The breadth of authentic fare across a range of Chinese cuisines alone is inspiring, with many notable renditions of traditional dishes—across several dialects, to boot—standing the test of time. These, thankfully, include several must-haves gourmands seek at the annual Chinese New Year feast. But as wildly popular the lush options like Peking duck and pen cai continue to be, we should remember that there is a host of less commercial classics that families look forward to whipping up year after year—proving in the process that the best way to preserve such time-honoured recipes is to cook them at home. FROM FATHER TO SON For chefs like Liu Ching Hai of fine dining Cantonese restaurant Summer Palace, the significance of heirloom…