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these artists are present

All in their 20s, the six artists spotlighted here – all of whom are Singaporean or call Singapore home – are who we think you should be keeping your eye on and collecting now. What are the realities they face and what do they really hope for as artists? Keng Yang Shuen finds out.

harder, better, faster, stronger

This month, corporate Raffles Place will get an unlikely and ultra-groovy new inhabitant: the 6,114sqft Rasa, which touts itself as a “community space for arts, music and culture”, and is the brainchild of local techno and nightlife legend Kavan Spruyt. Keng Yang Shuen finds out from the man and some of the co-conspirators he has roped in – marketing and music head Cindy Tan, creative designer Efy Ramdan, and Chris Shearmon of Wild Pearl, which will help to curate some of the programming – on why this new venture is much more than a club and nothing like what Singapore has had before.

MORE OBJECTS OF DESIRE

For the latest edition of its long-running partnership with Design Miami, Fendi has selected the fast-rising London-based designer Lewis Kemmenoe to put his spin on its signature Peekaboo bag as well as create an accompanying line of furniture.

golden girl

Art has long been in Dior's DNA (fun fact: in 1928-way before becoming a couturier - Christian Dior opened and ran his own gallery that specialised in avant-garde artists of the time). The annual Dior Lady Art project has helped to keep this torch going since its launch in 2016, with renowned international artists invited to put their spin on the maison's most famous bag, the Lady Dior. The latest edition that hit boutiques here recently features collaborations with 11 names. Among them is superstar Canadian painter Anna Weyant, whose Dutch masters-inspired and moody yet humorous portraits of pretty young women were discovered on Instagram in 2019, then sold out in her very first show. Since then, they've fetched as much as more than US$1 million (about S$1.36 million) at auctions and, in 2022, she became the youngest artist to be signed by the Gagosian. Here, a succinct interview with the 29-year-old on herself and what she has designed for Dior.

pushing the needle

The year 2024 marked the 100th anniversary of Lesage, the seminal embroidery house that's a go-to among fashion's greatest couturiers and the maker of Chanel's ultra-exquisite tweeds. As the atelier enters its 101st year, Noelle Loh - following a visit to the Lesage, 100 Years Of Fashion And Decoration exhibition, on at Chanel's Le19M complex in Paris till Jan 26 - breaks down how it continues to revolutionise the hand-done art of weaving and beading.

magic pixie dream girl

With her soulful sound and heartfelt, brutally honest lyrics, the 16-year-old Singapore singer-songwriter known as Mila Bea could very well be our next-gen indie rock goddess and every Gen Zer's best friend. Keng Yang Shuen shines a spotlight on her and her craft.

rainbow brights and starlight

To take its makeup into the future, the house of Chanel has embarked on an unlikely journey with a trio of edgy, independent-minded women it calls the Cometes Collective as its heroines. Its task: to continue brand founder Gabrielle Chanel's mission of dreaming up colours that bring out one's elegance and allure. Nearly a year after the release of the initiative's debut collection, Noelle Loh meets Ammy Drammeh, Valentina Li and Cecile Paravina in London to find out how they're expanding Chanel's beauty universe.

the shape of water

Within Hermes's impressive library of fragrances (71 to date) is a collection called Hermessence. As the name suggests, this rarefied range is designed to capture the French maison's spirit in olfactory form. Debuted in 2004, it features perfumes with unusual ingredient pairings, many of them involving flowers. Take how Violette Volynka blends the warm and animalic scent of Hermes's Volynka leather with the soft, sweet notes of violets, or how Oud Alezan - the latest launched last year - is a headily delightful contrast of oud and rose. The bottle design of Hermessence scents is equally unexpected and elegant: a longish, square-based vial inspired by lanterns, with a saddle-stitched, leather-wrapped cap. Now, to give the line an even more artistic form, the brand has enlisted Dutch artist Rop van Mierlo - known for his soft and whimsical watercolour-like paintings of nature, and a regular collaborator to reimagine some of them in his signature style.

re-entering wonderland

One of the 2000s' most audacious, colourful and iconic fashion-meets-art collaborations returns this month bigger and better. Noelle Loh reports on the 2025 re-edition of Louis Vuitton x Murakami.

gong Melon creating ed le arand becoming nghion's favoure new artist

In the past year or so, the Shanghai-born, Singapore-based creative behind the platform Who Eats Art has been chalking up commissions from some of the biggest names in fashion and lifestyle: Beyond The Vines, The Paper Bunny, the independent salon 35A. And these are just the ones here. Her work might be best described as an intriguing blend of installation, Sculpture, interactive art and photography. Her materials: familiar foods and ingredients that, under her vision, become strangely abstract and very, very cool. Ahead of her collaboration with us on the following pages, she tells Noelle Loh about who really eats art.

asmine koh on making dining a real mood

Every one of this 34-year-old's F&B projects has been off the beaten track and on the small side. There's the now-defunct (and sorely missed) natural wine bar Nothing Fancy, which was located in a back alley on Hamilton Road; the aptly named natural wine distributor and occasional party organiser The Smallest Wine Fair; and -her latest the hole-in-the-wall Hideout Coffee Bar a 269-sqft space tucked away in yet another alley, this time on Geylang Road. Every one, however, has been big on vibes, drawing throngs of young, cool and creative types. Here, she tells Keng Yang Shuen all about the beauty of marching to her own beat in the highly competitive world of F&B.

hannah swee on making food look aesthetic

She's the founder, chef and unofficial creative director behind Ugli Sabi, the cult home-based food business born during the Covid-19 pandemic that's as known for its eye-catching vintage-tinged graphic design and photography as it is for the heavenly grub captured in them. This is the first time she's being featured in the media, so what better way to whet your appetite than by pairing the article with a visual spread styled by this accidental culinary artist that showcases some of her favourite ingredients alongside the most playful fashion accessories?

narellekheng on why F&B joints are the ultimate Social spaces NESS DEVELOPMENT SUNDAY MARKET

Seven years ago, when she was on the rise as a musician, and fashion and lifestyle personality, she and some friends started the quirky, now-defunct rooftop dive bar 21 Moonstone primarily to - in her own words - \"hang out\", with anyone welcome to join in. These days, F&B is her main gig. Her latest baby? The five-month-old Middle Child Wine Bar on Middle Road that's far less grungy, but runs on the same philosophy of how a bar or restaurant should also be a safe and thoroughly fun space to connect with art and new people. Here, she tells Noelle Loh about how she's navigating the scene and using food to redefine the phrase \"see and be seen\".

sophie and anna du toit on the art of the serve

A dinner at the home of these Gen Z sisters is the stuff of cool girl Instagram dumps with mood lighting and eclectic table settings that feature anything from vintage cutlery to random objects picked up on their travels. Perhaps it's to do with their artistic backgrounds: The 22-year-old Sophie is a university student majoring in global studies and a mini social media sensation for her effortless style and slice-of-life content (her Tik Tok account @soapyduuutwahhh, for example, has clocked some 1.8 million Likes), while Anna, 23, is an artist and an assistant curator at home-grown art platform GOFY, which focuses on Southeast Asian art. No, you can't join in the party (the elaborate meals they host are private affairs), but you could hold one like it. Keng Yang Shuen gets them to spill some tips on tablescaping and more.

sarah and sonia tan tan on the chicest new supper club series in town

It's called Salt Salon, and it's run by this pair of fashion- and art-loving sisters who have taught themselves everything they know about food and making it delight the eye as much as the taste buds. Just don't call it a private home-dining experience. Keng Yang Shuen reports.

guardians of the sea

For decades, Mission Blue Hope Spot Champion Rili Djohani has been committed to protecting the vibrant marine world around her Balinese home. Now, she's getting even more support from the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative to help locals restore the coral reefs in the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area that they depend on while conserving the area's iconic underwater landscapes.

The Party Edit

Club-appropriate hits from the Resort 2025 collections

She Calls The Shots

Since The 2000s, Rihanna Has Been Making Dance Floors Work, Work, Work With Her Infectious Electronic And R&b-inflected Pop Hits. For Another Side To Her "Queen Of The Night" Persona, There's Her Role As The Latest Face Of Dior's J'adore Perfume And Its Accompanying Campaign Film. Shot By Her Long-time Friend Steven Klein, It Features The Barbadian Baddie Striding Through The Gilded Halls Of The Palace Of Versailles Dripping In Gold. Here, She Shares More About How The Famously Feminine Fragrance Embodies Celebration.

GOOD VIBES

EVERY YEAR, CHANEL PICKS A PLACE ON THE WORLD MAP NOT ONLY TO INSPIRE, BUT ALSO TO SHOWCASE ITS ANNUAL CRUISE COLLECTION (IT’S A TRADITION THAT’S ROOTED IN THE MAISON’S EARLY YEARS WHEN COCO CHANEL PRESENTED A LINE OUTSIDE OF THE USUAL FASHION CALENDAR TO INCITE WANDERLUST FOR TOASTIER, MORE PICTURE-PERFECT CLIMES DURING THE WINTER MONTHS). THE LATEST DESTINATION: VIBRANT MARSEILLE – THE FRENCH CITY THAT RECEIVES THE MOST SUNSHINE; HOME TO AN ECLECTIC REPERTOIRE OF CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND LANDMARKS; AND A MAGNET FOR EMERGING CREATIVES WITH ITS MIX OF GRIT AND GLAMOUR, LAND AND SEA, AND YOUTHFUL BOHEMIAN ENERGY. THE RESULTS? A COLLECTION THAT MAKES US WANT TO LET LOOSE AND DANCE. NOELLE LOH REPORTS FROM THE PHOCAEAN CITY.

THE VIPS

SOME OF THE 17 PEOPLE SPOTLIGHTED ACROSS THE NEXT 26 PAGES HAVE BEEN IN THE NIGHTLIFE BUSINESS WAY BEFORE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC DECADES EVEN. OTHERS LESS, BUT HAVE BEEN FOR MUCH OF THEIR LIVES DEEP INTO MUSIC, VIBING IT OUT ON DANCE FLOORS AND MAKING SURE EVERYONE AROUND HAS A HELLUVA GOOD TIME. THEIR ENDEAVOURS RANGE FROM A MODEST NEIGHBOURHOOD BAR TO CONGLOMERATE-BACKED, MULTI-CONCEPT SPACES AND A MULTIFARIOUS NETWORK OF POP-UP PARTIES, ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN MAKING AN EXTRA-LOUD SPLASH IN THE PAST YEAR. WHAT ELSE THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON: THEY'RE RETHINKING AND RESHAPING PARTY CULTURE FOR THE FUTURE - OR, TO PARAPHRASE CHARLI XCX, THEY'RE BUMPIN' IT. KENG YANG SHUEN AND NOELLE LOH PUT THE CAMERA FLASH ON.

THE NIGHTS

ROUGHLY TWO YEARS ON SINCE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, FOLKS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE ARE STILL TAKING IT UPON THEMSELVES TO THROW THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT PARTIES WITH MORE EXPERIMENTAL SOUNDS, AND MORE INTENTIONAL AND INCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES THAT INJECT A ROUSING UNDERGROUND ENERGY TO SINGAPORE NIGHTLIFE. KENG YANG SHUEN TURNS THE SPOTLIGHT ON FOUR OF THE NEWEST ORGANISERS ON THE SCENE AND TELLS YOU WHY YOU SHOULD HIT THEIR PARTIES.

THE SOUNDS

THEY'RE ALL UNDER 30, MOSTLY SELF-TAUGHT AND EMERGED PROFESSIONALLY ONLY AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. MOST DON'T EVEN HAVE A REGULAR GIG (YOU'D HAVE TO CHECK THEIR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS TO FIND OUT WHEN NEXT THEY'LL BE PERFORMING), BUT DON'T YOU DARE CALL THEM BEDROOM DJS. KENG YANG SHUEN SPOTLIGHTS SEVEN EMERGING SINGAPORE-BASED MUSIC SELECTORS AND MIX MASTERS WHO'VE BEEN TEARING UP DANCE FLOORS IN THE PAST YEAR AND SHOULD BE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY.

A Not So Common Scent

For the first time, the singular house of Hermes has launched a chypre perfume fragrance type known for its complexity and dualistic nature a that comes in a first-of-its-kind bottle, no less. Keng Yang Shuen finds out more about Barenia, Hermes's latest scent that hit stores recently, from the brand's in-house perfumer Christine Nagel.

Strange Love

The six names in this story create wildly different works that tend to blur the boundaries among disparate disciplines. All have little in common except one thing: a certain wondrousness and sense of curiosity that inspire audiences to look at familiar things anew. Keng Yang Shuen reports.

The artist

Johnny Depp is certainly far from the conventional leading man: the iconically quirky on-screen roles, the rock musician persona (he was a guitarist before becoming an actor), the unexpected neoexpressionist portraits in 2022 (these paintings of cultural heroes ranging from AI Pacino to Elizabeth Taylor sold out in a day), and of course the title of being Dior's long-standing poster boy for its wilderness-inspired flagship men's perfume Sauvage for nine years and counting.

spirited away

Collaborations with the art world have become a trusted way of injecting novelty into fashion.

Showtime

Shaggy, floor-sweeping, candy-coloured faux fur coats. A tuxedo suit with exaggerated proportions that's a nod to Marlene Dietrich. Bondage-inspired evening gowns. One would think that a collaboration fronted by a contemporary label would mean tempering down on the drama, but the Bimba Y Palomo collection, a tie-up between the fun-loving Bimba Y Lola and the red-carpet provocateur Palomo Spain, more than doubles down on it. Here, the latter's creative director Alejandro Gomez Palomo gives an exclusive interview on keeping the dream of dressing up alive.

Glam Rocks

Lying At The Heart Of Celine Beaute, The First Cosmetics Line From The House Of Celine, Is A Decidedly Romantic Notion: That Makeup Should Be A Luxurious Ritual.

mother!

FOR AN EDITION CENTRED AROUND NOSTALGIA, HOW COULD WE NOT HEAR FROM THE ONES WHO'VE SEEN THEIR RESPECTIVE INDUSTRIES CHANGE OVER TIME? SIX RENOWNED AND BELOVED CULTURAL AUTHORITIES IN FASHION, DESIGN AND CULTURE IN SINGAPORE SHARE WHAT THEY'VE LEARNT, WHAT THEY MISS AND WHAT WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING.

the art of reflection

DICTIONARY.COM DEFINES NOSTALGIA AS \"A WISTFUL DESIRE TO RETURN IN THOUGHT OR IN FACT TO A FORMER TIME IN ONE'S LIFE, TO ONE'S HOME OR HOMELAND, OR TO ONE'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS\". KENG YANG SHUEN ZEROES IN ON FIVE SINGAPORE ARTISTS INTERPRETING THIS OFTEN-INTANGIBLE QUALITY AS WELL AS THE NOTION OF TIME AND MEMORY ONLY TO EVOKE POIGNANCY, CURIOSITY AND EVEN PLENTY OF LAUGHS.