HAKKEN

Meet HAKKEN, the model, cosplayer and sartorial savant who is redefining gender norms. For their first Vogue cover shoot, the Malaysian enigma showcases an all-new side by transforming into revered American model and fashion icon TINA CHOW, intertwining their shared facets of duality, valor and inimitable grace.

To call Hakken misunderstood feels like a stretch. Unlike most public figures, they are not interested in embodying a persona when they are in the spotlight, preferring to present their most authentic, unguarded self to the masses. Still, that is not to say that misinterpretations about them don’t arise. “People don’t believe me when I say I’m an extrovert,” Hakken says over Zoom one Thursday afternoon. They have just returned to Malaysia after a trip to Japan and is on the precipice of another trip. This time, to Singapore for their Vogue Singapore shoot where they will be tackling a different dimension of dress-up as a modern-day version of model and fashion icon, Tina Chow. “I’m just sitting there, chilling,” they continue. “I’m quietly enjoying myself, but no one believes it. They think that I must be an introvert. It might have something to do with me being a Taurus. All that grounded, practical energy.”

There is a likelihood that the stars have something to do with it. The other possibility, however, seems more probable—that is, the misconstruing of Hakken’s personality by mistaking them for the characters they choose to portray. After all, the Malaysian cosplayer has a penchant for dressing up and melding into suave, self-possessed archetypes from their favourite animes and games.

“I love to cosplay as characters that are mature and elegant,” Hakken elaborates. “Like Zhongli from Genshin Impact, for instance. They are assertive and strong, and that resonates with me.” They grin: “And of course, I love my villains as well. They know what they want even though they’re screwed up in their own way, but I think that’s what makes them different and interesting.”