The New Look Of Couture

Among couturiers, Cristobal Balenciaga was the master whose tailoring wizardry and radically modern silhouettes redefined elegance up till the late ’60s when he closed his namesake atelier. Now the man at the helm of his rebooted maison, Demna Gvasalia, continues his legacy of haute dressmaking with a collection that marks his debut foray into couture and the brand’s first in 53 years – albeit with modified gowns, jeans and parkas. Gordon Ng reports.

Five Photographers Who Represent A Diverse Generation Of Cultural Tastemakers

In the century since Cartier first launched the Tank in 1917, the watch has been continually adopted as the horological uniform of choice by GOATs across fashion, design and art. Andy Warhol, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford – you get the idea. And why not? Its elegantly geometric case was a deliberate rejection of the organic shapes favoured at the time of its debut and remains instantly recognisable. Its combination of clean lines and old-school Roman numerals also made for an equally prescient, gender-neutral aesthetic, picking up fans among creative and stylish women spanning the late Princess Di to Patti Smith. Here in an exclusive showcase, five photographers who represent a diverse generation of cultural tastemakers capture their own love affair with the timepiece through intimate self-portraits.

5 Women Creatives Give Us A Sneak Peak Into Their New Realities

The pandemic has no doubt affected everybody, altering lifestyles and reminding us that often, what was once considered ordinary cannot be taken for granted. From a hyper-stylish content creator to a botanical designer who just uprooted to Europe, five women creatives give Keng Yang Shuen a peek into their routines to show us how they live now.

Oyster Perpetual Explorer By Rolex Enters A New Generation

One of the most iconic designs in horology, the Oyster Perpetual Explorer by Rolex enters a new generation with a whole lot of cool and elegance. Gordon Ng reports.

Alek Wek On Finding Style And Beauty In One's Self And Everyday Life

If there’s anyone who can tell us about being comfortable in one’s own skin, it’s Alek Wek: South Sudanese refugee-turned-supermodel who broke boundaries as one of the few women-of-colour in fashion in the ’90s. Besides remaining a runway icon, the 45-year-old is a best-selling author, artist, activist and now designer with A.W.orld by Alek Wek, her capsule collaboration with Weekend Max Mara. Gordon Ng gets the exclusive from Wek on finding style and beauty in one’s self and everyday life.

The Latest Fragrance Collection From Cartier Is A Scent Composed For The Times

The latest fragrance collection from luxury jeweller Cartier, Rivieres de Cartier, is supposed to bottle the powerful essence of water and all its symbolic connotations to life – all while being its most sustainable yet. Keng Yang Shuen speaks to Mathilde Laurent – the maison’s resident nose since 2005 – on why it’s a scent composed for the times.

THE MISSING LINK

Bringing new order to Fendi this season is not just debuting womenswear artistic director Kim Jones and his collection of sizzlingly sensual wardrobe staples, but also Delfina Delettrez Fendi – daughter of long-time brand matriarch Silvia Venturini Fendi as its creative director of jewellery. Gordon Ng speaks to the fashion scion on joining – and getting a new generation hooked onto – the family business.

SPEAK EASY

A club might connote glitz and glamour, but for Virginie Viard – artistic director of Chanel where effortlessness has always been a cornerstone – it’s also a space that allows one to be informal and truly free. Presented at the French nightlife institution Chez Castel, the brand’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection is an ode to “cool Parisian chic” spanning the ’70s to now. Here, an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at its make and low-key magic.

HIDDEN FIGURE

The 1947-born Miss Dior fragrance is turning a page this year – first with an updated look and formulation; and second with the publication of a biography that tells for the first time the overlooked tale of the perfume’s namesake Catherine Dior. Author Justine Picardie gives Gordon Ng the exclusive on her place in beauty, fashion and a turbulent world.

Why Gabriela Hearst's Good For The Planet And The Fashion Industry!

In a world where things are spinning out of control (seen the wild weather grabbing global headlines?), Gabriela Hearst is making a different kind of mark with her appointment as Chloe’s latest custodian. Keng Yang Shuen reports on why it’s good for the planet and the industry.

Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2021

For Louis Vuitton fall/winter 2021, Nicolas Ghesquiere mines an eclectic range of historical references spanning greco-roman antiquity to the archives of 20th-century italian ceramic atelier fornasetti to forge a new fashion odyssey. Female pairs up with the french luxury maison for this journey towards brighter days ahead.

Where The Wild Things Are

With a love for nature, things from a time past and the surreal, Korean artist-slash-photographer Giseok Cho creates imagery in the pursuit of fundamental beauty. We asked him to conjure up a story for this edition of female centred around navigating the ambiguous state of the world today. His response: send us back into the realm of childhood dreams and nightmares where, with the power of imagination (and some of the season’s most fantastic clothes and fine jewellery), anything is possible.

Family First

A new era for the 96-year-old roman luxury house of Fendi is here: the debut ready-to-wear collection from its new head of womenswear Kim Jones. Gordon Ng reports on how the designer known for his forward-thinking ways is remaking history

The Girl Who Fell To Earth

Morphing effortlessly between her roles of honey-voiced chanteuse (she releases her first vinyl this month), actress (her next show: a zombie-themed miniseries also out in september), fashion plate and all-round cool chick, aisyah aziz has the art of daring reinvention down pat. So who better to embody miu miu’s fall/winter 2021 collection that puts a wryly romantic spin on mountaineer dressing to salute bravery in these tough times? Together with the italian label, female casts the powerhouse entertainer as today’s ultimate heroine.

Keeping The Faith

When you’re tasked to carry on the legacy of one of modern fashion’s most revered and revolutionary womenswear designers in the face of an industry in flux, sometimes the bravest move forward is to go back to its fundamentals. Gordon ng reports on the debut of pieter mulier at the house of alaia.

Higher State Of Consciousness

Bodycon returns to the runways though – in these times ripe for social change – it seems to be more about endowing a sense of strength and protection than outright seduction. Gordon Ng reports on the surprising ways designers have embraced the female form this season

A Mini Encyclopaedia Of Future-Proof Curios

AKA the fall/winter 2021 trends that foretell what’s going to matter most in fashion (and the world)

...BABY, ONE MORE TIME

IT’S SEXY (CROPPED TOPS, LOW-SLUNG WAISTS, MICRO-SHORT HEMLINES). IT’S “AESTHETIC” – THINK A MISH-MASH OF INFLUENCES, POPS OF COLOUR, AND IRREVERENT ACCESSORIES AND LAYERING.

Just Perfect

Eight of our favourite home-grown models show off the pre-fall collections in their natural beauty – no hairstyling, no makeup needed.

A Safe Space

In recent years, some of the local fashion labels that have found the most popularity and commercial success might seem to share some things in common: designs that are minimalist and practical, and an emphasis on versatility and comfort. In fact, so consistently do these terms pop up across interviews with their founders that we can’t help but think: is this the emergence of a definitive singapore style? Rebecca Rachel Wong finds out from four names putting their own spin on the genre.

The Joys Of Being Pure At Heart

The definition of “diversity” according to the Cambridge dictionary: “the fact of many different types of things or people being included in something; a range of different things or people”. In collaboration with chanel fine jewellery, female shows how the brand’s signature coco crush collection – now expanded to include pretty, diamond-studded toi et moi rings made up of two overlapping “c”-shaped bands with the line’s distinctive quilted pattern – stacks up.

So You Say You Want A Revolution?

For anyone who’s said that the local fashion design scene is staid and conservative, meet the emerging labels that are upending streetwear, how it’s retailed and the face of singapore style with their punk attitude – as sported here by their very own muses and fresh faces on our modelling scene.

Somatic Therapist Chole Chotrani On The Healing Power Of Dance

The Manila-born, Singapore-based Chloe Chotrani is a practitioner of somatic therapy – an increasingly popular alternative form of healing that’s premised on how past traumas can inflict stress and pain on the body. She was also formerly trained in ballet and involved in the street hip-hop scene back home in the filipino capital for over a decade. Here, she tells us how dance can be good for one’s physical, mental and emotional well-being especially during manic times like these.

Fredrik Tjaerandsen, Catching The Eye Of World's Most Directional Luxury Fashion Houses

Fluidity, constant movement, no boundaries. Meet the Singapore creative who’s been catching the eye of some of the world’s most directional luxury fashion houses with her moves.

The Club Is Not Dead

The pandemic’s put a pause on nightlife here, making many hang up their dancing shoes for now. It’s hard to deny though how its institutions are also creative spaces where fashion, music, art and design intersect; and many influential ideas, collaborations and cultural movements have been born. Keng yang shuen gets industry veterans and scenesters from across generations to pay ode. Now, who’s ready to dance again?

Play '90s Guitar With Beabadoobee

She’s the Filipino-born British musician (real name: Beatrice Kristi) who – with only one self-written album and a whole lot of self-possessed cool – has helped to reintroduce the decade’s alternative sound and style into the mainstream. To think she was born only after it had ended, what with her turning 21 this month. You ready to rock?

Self Made

Self Made

DIY Style

Crafting (be it professionally or as a hobby) has become one of the biggest trends since the onset of the pandemic: we’ve been spending more time in; its elements of tactility and slowness soothe in a manic world; and have you seen the amount of crochet on the runways recently? Here, four Singapore artists – each with her own fashion-related discipline – share a project that lets one create something to add to the wardrobe at home.

Finding Fido (Sorta)

The great outdoors remain a respite in these times and Fendi’s latest capsule line Vertigo – a collaboration with the New York artist Sarah Coleman – seems tailor-made to quench that thirst.

Pick A Character

There’s a pragmatic quality to the trans-seasonal pre-fall 2021 collections, but inspiring some of them are figures – real or imagined – whose lives are the stuff of fantasy. Who do you want to play?