MENDEL PHUA, 21, NATIONAL SERVICEMAN
HIS FIRST LUXURY PURCHASE: "My first designer item was a Balenciaga Le City bag (opposite page, top). I got it off Vestiaire Collective when I was 17 or 18 and I think I paid around $400 for it. I was really into collecting bags at the time, and the Le City really had me in a chokehold for some reason. I had got really deep into reading about the history of Balenciaga, and this bag (arguably one of its most iconic designs) found its way onto my radar quickly." ANOTHER PRECIOUS LUXURY POSSESSION: "I've never really felt the urge to get a watch, but while trying on different models at Cartier, I decided to try smaller styles instead of the larger watches that men go for traditionally, as I have a really slim wrist. I also prefer something subtle. The Santos de Cartier in small (opposite page, bottom) felt right the moment I put it on and it became my first luxury timepiece."
WHAT DETERMINES HIS FASHION PURCHASES: "I think I have a firmer sense of self than before, so I'd want everything I buy now to be a reflection of that. I'm sick of looking back at outfits from five years ago and wanting to shoot myself in the eye, and I think both the Balenciaga Le City and the Santos de Cartier watch will hold me in good stead for a long time." DOES AUTHENTICITY MATTER? "Dupe culture has become crazy it feels like almost 90 per cent of everything is a dupe of another thing, so just wear what you want, I say. Personally, I wouldn't buy inauthentic items, but the value of any possession is ultimately determined by its owner."
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GET OUT!
If you think shopping is boring now, these five brick-and-mortar businesses in Singapore, all of which opened in the past year or so, will make you change your mind.
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
If there's one designer who seems to know how to get women shopping, it's Han Chong, the founder and creative director of London-based fashion label Self-Portrait. Here, he tells Noelle Loh how he and his brand are keeping the joy of dressing up alive.
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.
