WELL-GROOMED, WELL-GROUNDED

The Chandran brothers emerge as trailblazers of modern masculinity, effortlessly navigating their careers in finance amidst their family’s fashionable lineage

- Lynette Ow

There are certain sartorial expectations when you belong to a fashionable family, and if you’re a Chandran, there is no escaping some serious glitz and glamour. Clothes, costumes and dressy ceremonies are all part of the family’s rich tapestry. “My dad used to dress us in very crazy outfits—we used to think we were like clowns walking anywhere, right?” Trunan Chandran asks his older brother, Terimunite Chandran, who nods and smiles back at him. “Back in the day, we’d be dressed in all his fashion outfits, like sequins and stuff. I think I was 12 or 13… I’d be thinking, among my friends, no one ever wears sequins—it’s so uncomfortable,” Trunan adds.  

Their dad is designer extraordinaire Dato’ Sri Bernard Chandran, who is also an honouree of Tatler’s Asia’s Most Stylish. This year, both Terimunite and Trunan have been added to the prestigious list, alongside 48 other fashionable personalities from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong. With hindsight, the brothers acknowledge that those sequins they were once forced to wear maketh the stylish men they are today: their father’s approach has encouraged them to try anything once when it comes to style. It has also taught them the power of fashion, which Terimunite first experienced when he was 12 and won best-dressed at his prom. “My dad dressed me… It was so different from what everyone [else] wore. Instead of a tux, I wore a torn-up jacket, plaid pants and Converse, and I had eyeliner on. I felt like a rockstar.”