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.

- YANG SHUEN AND NOELLE LOH

RITZ LIM & BOBBY LUO WHO THEY ARE: By day, both are co‑owners of Super Freak, the madcap multi‑label boutique in Stamford Court that stocks colourful, progressive brands such as Pleaser and Bernhard Willhelm (Lim’s namesake salon, Ritz Salon, shares the site). By night, they’re icons of the Singapore nightlife scene – a role they’ve held unofficially since they were legal to club. THEIR PARTY CRED: They co‑founded the seminal and wildly fashion‑forward hip‑hop and electroclash club The Butter Factory, a go‑to joint in the 2000s for those in the fashion, creative and queer communities. And while that shuttered in 2015, both are continuing their joint life mission of sprinkling fairy dust on Singapore’s party culture through an assortment of pop‑up parties that cater to various facets of the queer community.

These range from the monthly R&B night Baby Boy to the quarterly techno rave Miss Homo – a collaboration with the independent party organiser Fomohomo – and after‑parties for the Crystal Ball and Pinki Kiki Ball – both led by Vogue In Progress, a group that has been pivotal in popularising ballroom culture here and that Luo is a part of. FUN FACTS: Luo cut his teeth in nightlife as a part‑time lighting controller at the restaurant‑by‑day, nightclub‑by‑night Rasa Sayang – located in the now‑defunct entertainment complex Tropicana – in the 1980s, then became a set designer for the original Zouk on Jiak Kim Street in the ’90s. The latter nightspot was also where he met Lim in 1991, and they’ve been partners in work, life and love since.