Faith & Facets

Vivacious GRACE CHNG is the opposite of her daughter, COCO, who is more relaxed, but when you see them together, it is obvious they are cut from the same cloth. They also share a passion for Jesus and a weakness for jewellery. They are the first in Singapore to model the Cartier Collection.

- Lionnel Lim

Fashion and style come naturally to Grace Chng. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she modelled from a young age. Her mentor: Grace Yu, who was one of the first Asian models who worked extensively in Paris for Givenchy and as Dior’s in-house mannequin. Grace transitioned to being a model trainer when she reached her mid-20s. With much pride, she reveals that she had trained 4,000 modelling students in the past – one of whom was former-model-turned-actress Kathy Chow.

“Unlike today, models then were not famous, but we were seen everywhere. I might not have been as tall as the international girls, but I did land a lot of jobs for both catwalk and photography. I especially love being on the catwalk, as I turn into a different person; it’s like a spirit has taken over me. With every outfit, I change character. That’s why I love Anita Mui so much – she constantly changed and reinvented herself ! Strangely enough, though, I don’t even enjoy being photographed now!” she says with a laugh.

Thrust into the glamorous fashion world at a tender age, Grace learned early on that all is not what it seems; the glitz and glamour are only the veneer to blind the naive. Using her street smarts to navigate the murky modelling world, she worked hard and saved, eventually putting aside enough to open a small fashion boutique in the basement of the New World Hotel in Hong Kong. Although she closed it later when she got married to a Singaporean and relocated, the mother-of-two – her daughter Coco is 19 while her son Marco is 16 – shares that she enjoyed the freedom that setting her own schedule gave her and “had so much fun being my own boss”.