Fashioning Hope's Legacy

Senior fashion model YAN ONG transforms her grief into a force for good. In this ELLE special, she discusses coping with loss, the generosity of spirit shown to her, and her dream of bringing light and joy to others with Fashion for Cancer.

- JASMINE ALIMIN

“I MISS HIM EVERY DAY” says 68-year-old Ong Bee Yan (better known as Yan Ong), her voice tinged with a mixture of sorrow and fondness. Her son, Rong Liang, passed away last September at 38 from pancreatic cancer but he remains a constant presence in her life. “As creatures of habit, we go to places that remind us of him. Even when we visit new cafés or restaurants, we imagine what he would order and how he would critique the food. Some days, I still wonder if all this was real,” she muses.

You may recognise Yan as the sexagenarian model (@grey_evolution) in commercials and editorials. Going against fashion and beauty norms, the grandmother of three embraces her silver tresses—now lavender as a result of purple shampoo and blue pea flower water—and lives passionately by her motto, “It’s never too late to try something new”. She fell into modelling by accident at the age of 63 after retirement, and went on to grace the pages of fashion magazines and become the inspirational poster girl who defied stereotypes about aging. In 2023, she founded Fashion for Cancer (FCC), a charity fashion show aimed at raising funds to support cancer patients in Singapore.

The annual event, now in its second edition, germinated from a simple idea to create an event that would give her son one day of happiness. “We took a family trip to Kyoto to celebrate my birthday, and when I saw Rong strut along the streets, I had a lightbulb moment: What if I could organise a fashion show that he could be part of? And what if this event could benefit the larger community of cancer survivors?” shares Yan.