Milles of the Hour

For AMANDA and ALEXANDRE MILLE, the brand their father built is a meeting point for their meandering personal journeys - and now they embark on a new adventure, hand in hand.

- KOH YUEN LIN

There are heirs apparent. Then there are Amanda and Alexandre Mille. The eldest and third of Richard Mille's children, respectively, the siblings have lived a life far from the world of luxury. They never saw the powerhouse their father built as a place where they would someday belong. "We grew up very separate from this side of our father's world. In fact, I was oblivious to the significance of the brand before I started working in the company," recalls Alexandre, who wore G-Shocks and Flik Flak watches in his youth. The watchmaking company was simply Dad's "secret garden", in Amanda's words. "He never spoke about it while we were spending time together."

"We were lucky," says Amanda. She has seen how the burden of legacy weighs on others. "The brand was never waiting for us, and we weren't waiting for the brand. Our involvement just happened naturally." In the first instance, Amanda was carving out her own career in various areas of the hospitality trade by the time her father founded the company in 2001. Despite being the eldest, joining - let alone leading the company never crossed her mind. Alexandre, who holds a degree in law and political science, went to film school, inspired by the films of Stanley Kubrick to specialise in directing.

Their separate journeys leading towards the management of their father's eponymous company - with Amanda as the brand and partnerships director, and Alexandre as the brand director - are not directed by a lust for power or wealth. "We were encouraged to live our own lives, discover more about ourselves, and find out what we want in life - what makes us happy," shares Alexandre. And it is precisely this pursuit of happiness that brought them, albeit in a roundabout way, to their father's company.

COME AS YOU ARE