Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Tatler Singapore

TATLER HONG KONG Tatler Dining’s 2023 Sustainability Champion and Roganic’s head chef Ashley Salmon spoke to Tatler about celebrating local produce, responsible sourcing, and the restaurant group’s “constant evolution trying to be better”. TATLER INDONESIA Imelda Joseph has dedicated her life to helping disadvantaged children in Indonesia, offering both support and affection as well as more practical protection in her role as the head of Jalan Hati Suci orphanage, also known as Rumah Hati Suci. She shared her experience and hopes for the country’s underprivileged youngsters. TATLER MALAYSIA The new minister of youth and sports, Hannah Yeoh, shared with Tatler her hopes for the country’s sports development, and her plans to develop sports that don’t usually get the limelight in Malaysia. TATLER PHILIPPINES Diyosa, a four-minute multidisciplinary ballet film made…

ARIANNA PIANCA Swiss Italian stylist Arianna Pianca started her career in Milan, before refining her skills in London and New York. Since 2018, Pianca has lived in Zürich, where she works with many different clients, consults for smaller local brands and collaborates with large international houses. For Tatler, she styled this month’s fashion shoot in Zurich. LUO JINGMEI Luo Jingmei is a freelance writer and editor who loves exploring inspiring spaces. After completing her Master of Architecture degree at the National University of Singapore, Luo was mentored at Ipli Architects, before a love of the written word inspired her foray into the publishing world. In this issue, she spoke to architect Ko Shiou Hee on what keeps him excited about creating inventive architecture. LAURETTA SUTER Swiss-born photographer Lauretta Suter currently…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a moment. According to experts, AI could bring about a major shift in the history of life on Earth, as it pushes the boundaries of innovation—from automating repetitive tasks traditionally taken on by humans to powering important inventions in sectors such as healthcare. But with the rise of advanced systems such as ChatGPT, a natural language processing tool that can give a detailed response by following instructions in a text‑based prompt, questions are rising around the safety and regulation of AI. This is an area entrepreneur Chia Yee Hui has a keen interest in. “I’m building an AI software, so I’m part of the problem,” she quips. Chia runs an AI web platform called Thoth, which automates the translation of complex text transcripts such as…

GIVE US A SWIRL A year after taking the helm as artistic director, Camille Miceli is making moves at Emilio Pucci, the historic Italian brand known for its vibrant prints. In her debut show in Florence, the house’s hometown, on May 4, the designer was set to explore the house’s roots, paying tribute to the founder through every-day-is-a-holiday silhouettes in vibrant colours as well as Pucci’s iconic swirling prints and intertwined fish motifs. Here is your first look at the summer collection, Initials EP, available immediately after the show. GOLDEN BOY Daniel Lee’s Burberry debut made a splash at London Fashion Week autumn-winter 2023 with a refreshing yet history-codifying chapter for the British house, including a new-look logo. Following the show, the brand launched a new series of campaign images…

Monsieur Christian Dior was known for his deep love and appreciation for fragrances. He believed that a fragrance is an essential part of a woman’s wardrobe and that it completes her overall look and style. In 1947, the French fashion designer launched his first fragrance, the now‑iconic Miss Dior, named after his sister Catherine Dior. The fragrance was an instant hit and remains a favourite today. No stranger to the allure of fragrances, the House of Dior has since woven a rich legacy of olfactory artistry throughout its history. Drawing inspiration from this storied tradition, La Collection Privée Christian Dior was conceived as a way to impart the late Monsieur Dior’s ardent affection for perfumes. One will find within the collection 23 scents, both new and classic, in the form…

EDITOR’S PICK With the release of the RM 07-04 and its compact, tonneau-shaped dial, Richard Mille has stepped up to the plate as the trend of sports-themed watches continues this year. It is one of the watchmaker’s lightest timepieces, weighing 36g including the Velcro strap. The CRMA8 is a new skeletonised automatic winding movement manufactured in-house and encased within the Swiss brand’s 30.5mm x 44.95mm case. While the watchmaker intended this beauty for women, at Tatler, we feel it works for anyone who likes the look of a small dial—love is love! TREND GOING ALL IN Jacob & Co never fails to entertain. This time, the watchmaker has recreated a roulette game around a black onyx dial. The 44mm case is made of 18-karat rose gold and features red, black…

EDITOR’S PICK Milanese jeweller Pomellato has named American actress Joey King as its new brand ambassador. The Emmy-nominated star of The Act and The Kissing Booth joins a community of women, including Korean singer and actress Krystal Jung, who embody the courage and tenacity of the Pomellato woman. On her collaboration with the brand, King says: “I am so happy to be the new face of Pomellato, a brand that is known for supporting women, equality, and eco-consciousness. With handcrafted jewels by Italian artisans, they are not only exquisite, but steeped with meaning.” TREND Brace yourself: brooches are making a comeback CIRCLE OF LIFE Rumour has it that Beyoncé spotted the Messika jewellery label on a display cabinet at the Le Royal Monceau hotel in Paris. Since then, the Cuff…

A university professor once told me: “Design is intelligence made visible”. (I later realised it was a quote from author Alina Wheeler.) And that idea stuck with me. I like the notion of an abstract and potentially subjective concept like intelligence taking physical form, that design is marked by intent and insight. In this issue, we explore the world of design through multiple lenses, and celebrate creativity, innovation and craftsmanship in all their physical and figurative forms. From fashion to architecture, jewellery to dining, we delve into the creative minds of individuals who have made an impact in their respective fields. On the cover is Andrew Gn, the Paris-based Singaporean designer who has cemented his legacy in the fashion industry over the past three decades. Gn shares with us his…

Ministry of Design founder Colin Seah shares how his firm seeks to constantly redefine convention in its design approach, while also utilising new technologies When it comes to a new project, whether in Singapore or overseas, the Ministry of Design (MOD) seeks “to question, disturb and redefine a salient issue, sometimes conceptually, other times more aesthetically or experientially driven”, says founder Colin Seah, who is also design director of the integrated architectural, interior design and branding firm. “It’s both a process and a reaction. As a reaction against convention, we feel that design must evolve alongside culture and society. So whenever we feel a certain convention is no longer relevant, we seek to question its validity,” Seah explains. “As a process, it starts with a question that challenges convention. For…

VIHARI PODDAR FOUNDER OF VIHARI JEWELS “Veera has completely changed the dynamic in my house. Her arrival taught my eldest daughter that she’s not the only princess in the house, taught my son that he’s not the baby of the house, gave my husband an ‘ox’ friend since he’s born in the Year of the Ox, too, and made me the juggling queen. Most importantly, being outnumbered with three kids has made me a lot more relaxed about little things that don’t go my way. It has made me more patient and accepting towards things that are beyond my control. It has taught me to choose my battles.” RACHEL WEE OPERATIONS MANAGER AT JEAN YIP GROUP “I like being hands-on as a mum and doing everything myself, but going back…

SHOPHOUSE CHIC MONDRIAN SINGAPORE Straddling Neil Road and Duxton, Mondrian Singapore’s mission is simple: to immerse visitors in the city’s most vibrant pocket, and to give locals a lively place to play. Case in point: the Jungle Ballroom tropical bar, accessible by a secret tunnel and which features a sunken lava stone bar, and Italian restaurant Bottega di Carna, a collaboration with legendary Italian butcher, Dario Cecchini. There are 304 rooms and suites, including a small number of street-facing shophouse suites. Robbyn Carter, the CEO of Los Angeles-based Studio Carter which is behind Modrian Singapore’s design, lived in the country for 12 years and tapped into her fond memories of the city’s unique urban landscape, putting a modern, and at times abstract spin on the classic Singaporean shophouse. And while…

In 2020, in the early stages of the pandemic, 27-year-old Guangzhou-based Yueqi Qi travelled to Milan as one of the only two Chinese designers who were invited to be part of the inaugural edition of Gucci Vault, an experimental online space created by the brand’s then-creative director Alessandro Michele which showcases one-off pieces created by emerging independent designers using Gucci materials and restored archived pieces from the house. Each designer was also asked to submit a short film alongside their work. When the Kering brand reached out to Qi, her brand was less than a year old and she had no experience of film-making, but she managed to put together a poetic film about a character based on herself returning to her grandmother’s hometown of Kaiping in Guangdong—a visual feast…

With more than three decades in the fragrance industry, perfumer Mark Buxton’s résumé reads like a who’s who of the beauty industry. Beyond his eponymous fragrance brand, he has worked with the likes of Givenchy, Versace and Commes des Garçons, as well as boutique brands like Folie à Plusieurs and Hong Kong-based Oddity, for whom he created its second fragrance, Dead Air, last year. The “nose”—a term affectionately given to fragrance experts who convey emotions through their creations—tells us about his work. How did you become a perfumer? I became a perfumer by accident. I was born in England and grew up in Germany. I wanted to study fashion design but I couldn’t get into that university course, so I studied geology. At the time, I went on a TV…

It began with a 128.54-carat fancy yellow diamond, renowned as the largest and finest yellow diamond in the world at the time. Tiffany & Co’s Jean Schlumberger had just begun work at the company then under the chairmanship of Walter Hoving. One of his first artistic assignments was to create a high design for the famous Tiffany Diamond. Archival sketches show that he initially envisioned three settings for the precious diamond: wrapped in diamond ribbons as the centrepiece, held by diamond-set wings as a clip, and surrounded by diamond daisies on a bracelet. The final design would later be worn by Hollywood’s brightest darling, Aubrey Hepburn, in publicity photographs for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This was the moment that cut it for Schlumberger’s career. Later in 1995, the brand re-set the…

The typical image of the architect as prima donna is not new; in fact, the rise of “starchitects” in the noughties perpetuated it. Yet, for Singaporean architect Ko Shiou Hee, his role as a shaper and manipulator of space cannot be further than this trope. It is what has led him to collaborate several times with other top‑name architects on housing cluster projects, each designing a house with an idiosyncratic design yet considering their neighbours in relation to massing, sightlines and setbacks. When approached by the clients, he could very well have hankered to design all the bungalows on the plot himself, but learning from peers is part of the process of an architect’s growth, says Ko, who co‑founded K2LD Architects in 2000. The firm is based in Singapore and…

SINGAPORE: FINBARR FALLON As an architectural photographer, Finbarr Fallon “consciously adopts a process of ‘slow observation’ to seek out compositions that capture form in unusual ways”. One such example is his ongoing series, Rain. “I love the atmospherics created by tropical rain at different times of day,” he says. “The sheer intensity of it, combined with subtle backlight or electric lights, renders familiar elements and hard edges of the city as softly lit silhouettes.” Fallon took this image (opposite page) from an overhead bridge in the Central Business District during a torrential evening downpour. “The best images often come during fleeting moments like these, where the city transforms into an abstract scene of colours and form.” Shooting in the rain is also “a special embodied experience”. He says, “The white…

1 THE SHADES Few brands nail the elegance of vintage sunglasses as well as Oliver Peoples. Even fewer can make them look as modern as the Martineaux—a striking pair crafted in Italy that invites you to see the world through green‑tinted lenses. 2 THE NECKLACE This exceptional Bulgari sapphire and diamond necklace, which will lead Phillips’ Hong Kong Jewels & Jadeite Sale on May 23, holds an unheated 118.35‑carat cushion‑shaped sapphire that is among the largest sapphires ever offered at auction in the past three decades. 3 THE AUTOMATON Adorned with gems, the planets, the sun and a shooting star perform an intergalactic ballet to tell the time and date in Van Cleef & Arpels’s latest masterpiece of mechanical art, the Planétarium automaton. 4 THE BAG Alexander McQueen’s Jewelled Hobo…

Bhutan may be a small country in the Himalayas, landlocked between India and China, but it is a mighty force when it comes to sustainable development and carbon neutrality. At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, the country reiterated the commitment (it first made at COP15 Copenhagen in 2009) to remain carbon neutral—and it is in fact one of only three countries in the world today that is carbon negative. Tshering Tobgay, the former prime minister of Bhutan, says the country is where it is now, thanks to its enlightened monarchs who have worked tirelessly for its progress. “Bhutan may be one of the poorer countries in the world but our kings refused to mine the earth or cut down our forests for immediate economic growth.…

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE Red is hotter than ever this season, with a spicy palette of shades from coral to brick and oxblood taking over ready-to-wear, bags and even homeware. HEAVY METALS A fresh range of shimmering gold and silver pieces has taken the metallic trend from a year-end statement to a year-round favourite. These are our picks for adding an accent to your daily look. GET YOUR KICKS From the second drop of Miu Miu’s New Balance collab to Berluti’s Playtime sneaker, pick a pair with a retro aesthetic this season to keep things sophisticated yet sporty. WELL PADDED From Dior’s latest star, the Lady 95.22, to the new, mini-sized Chanel 22, quiet luxury has left its mark in the handbag department, with quilted bags tussling for the limelight.…