The Eco Conscious Style Influencer

Multi-hyphenate Mae Tan shares her journey from fashion consumer to being more environmentally thoughtful, and how she hopes to inspire others to do the same.

- Sean Tham

Oft cited for her keen fashion sense, Mae Tan is known for many things: She’s the creative consultant for hip local clothing boutique Surrender, a fashion influencer with 107K followers on Instagram (@marxmae), and a TV personality who starred in Netflix series Singapore Social (2019).

A few years ago, the 25-year-old also embarked on an eco-conscious journey. Her most recent project: teaming up with online luxury reselling platform Vestiaire Collective to help launch its Wardrobe Reality Check Challenge in April this year. Mae was one of five inspiring women who are passionate about sustainable fashion (including actress and social entrepreneur Lily Cole, models Arizona Muse and Cara G McIlroy, and co-founder of Future Earth Steph Shep) and tasked to re-evaluate their own wardrobes to purge items and sell on the platform.

This comes hot off the heels of her many projects to spread the word, including a plastic-awareness event she hosted with Paul Foster in conjunction with Plastikophobia (an immersive art installation made from 18,000 plastic cups) at the Sustainable Singapore Gallery in Marina Barrage in 2019.

Through her journey from a fashion consumer to an eco-conscious individual, she shares the reason for this 180-degree turn and her thoughts on sustainable fashion.

A passion for sustainability