Deep in the southwest of France in the village of Gaujacq lies camellia country. It is a wet and cool region where rain falls throughout the year; where the summer and winter temperatures are balanced; and where the soil is deep and the winds are described as almost non-existent. Wedged an equidistant of 50 kilometres between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees mountain range, this part of France receives roughly 1,000 millimetres of rain each year - around half the amount that Singapore experiences annually. All these conditions are ripe for camellia plants to thrive.
A member of the tea family, the plant - which bears lush flowers with folds of silky petals in colours ranging from creamy white to blood red - is in fact not native to the region. Rather, it is indigenous to eastern Asia in countries such as Japan and China, as well as southern Asia, where they grow from the Himalayas to the Philippines. It was only in the 17th century that the plant arrived in France via the ancient Tea Road.
As of last count, there are between 100 and 300 recorded species of camellias in the world, as well as more than 3,000 hybrids. The hardiness of the plant is even more fascinating: Its flower blooms in full glory during winter - when most plants go into hibernation mode - and its petals and leaves are not ravaged or affected by frost or water.
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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 PARTY EDIT
Club-appropriate hits from the Resort 2025 collections
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.
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.
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.
