From Brooke Shields to Kendall Jenner, why Calvin Klein uses celebrity models to sell clothes

Francisco Costa, creative director of the American fashion label, says Calvin Klein himself began the use of actresses to raise its profile and sales, and sees the worth of dressing ‘really smart women’.

Words: P. Ramakrishnan
Portrait: Jason Capobianco

Read the full feature here at SCMP. com

Play List: Jennifer Van Dale, Lawyer

What I’m listening to:  Bruce Springsteen. There are always several hundred Springsteen songs on any device I own. If I had to choose a favourite song it would be "Mary Mary," mostly for the strings. It was released on an EP in 2014 to support Independent Record Store Day. I also love side B of The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. AC/DC has also been involved in every speeding ticket I've been issued. The rest of my ipod ranges from Duke Ellington to Queen Latifa, to classic rock to Johnny Cash. I like clever lyrics and love Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

The other thing that is always on my ipod are podcasts. I have been listening to them since  2007.  Whenever I got my first ipod. I listen to work-related things in the morning (Harvard Business Review, Get It Done Guy, Planet Money) and fun stuff on the way home (The Moth, This American Life, The Splendid Table, and StoryNory, which is a story telling podcast for kids, but they serialize books as well. I'm currently waiting for the next installment of the Hounds of the Baskervilles.

What I’m reading: There are about five real (i.e. paper) books on my bedside table at any one time, but it might take me months to get through them all because I tend to fall asleep within 10 minutes. Right now I've got an O Henry collection, Poor Richard's Almanack (yes, the one by Ben Franklin and yes that's how it's spelled), One Night at a Call Centre, Humans of New York (the first one), a Lou Reed biography and Peter Carlin's Springsteen biography. I'm also re-reading "Redefining Girly" by my friend Melissa Atkins Wardy and The Gift of Fear (both highly recommended for all parents).  My favourite authors are Elmore Leonard and JK Rowling for their ability to tell a good story and their use of language.

My favourite books are There was a Horse, which is a collection of Russian and Eastern European fairy tales with horses that was published in the 1950s. I grew up with it in the house and at some point it went missing. My sister and I searched for over 15 years for it but it was out of print. I finally found a copy online and gave it to her for her birthday. Best.Gift.Ever! The Education of Little Tree, which is the story of a part Native American boy growing up in the 1930s. It's presented as semi-autobiographical and I was hugely disappointed when I found out the author was in fact a white supremacist, because the book and its lessons are anything but.

What I’m watching:  I loved Justified (based on an Elmore Leonard story). I blew through five seasons of Downton Abbey on some long plane rides this year. Last week I watched Season 1 of Les Revenants and loved it, which is funny because technically it's about zombies and I hate zombie anything. I have zero interest in the Walking Dead.



What artists I’m following: My favourite photographer hands down is Gordon Parks. His work records such an important part of US history that's often suppressed, and his fashion photography is some of the most elegant art you'll ever see. Unfortunately he died about 10 years ago, but his works are very re-visitable. I follow two south African theatre and TV actors: Chantal Herman and Jai'Prakresh Sewram, who are also friends. I love live theatre and will try to see a show whenever I can. I also follow Bastian Baker, a Swiss singer who was performing in a town square one Sunday in Bern once when I happened to be having lunch outside. The tunes were catchy and I've followed him ever since. I have a very dear relative, John Murdock, who performs comedy and political theatre in NYC whose day job is a balloon man in the park. I see him perform every chance I get.

Where I’m surfing: I spend way too much time on Facebook. I control my news-feed very tightly and I use it as a source of alternative news that I wouldn't get through most newspapers or TV news. Its also very useful for monitoring Sai Kung Traffic! Tumblr has great memes. I also spend a lot of time looking at food websites. I subscribe to the Cooks Illustrated site, and regularly check The Kitchn (not a misspelling)


As told to P. Ramakrishnan
Portraits by Tse-Wei (http://www.limtsewei.com)
Tse-Wei is a Photographer/ Video Director based in SG/HK

 

UPDATE: It is with such grief that I end my run with the column - I always got to meet and chat with interesting people in Hong Kong via Play List (and earlier in the column 'Almost Famous' that ran in SCMP years ago).

Jen is one of my favourite people in Hong Kong - and after the above, I think I know her a lot better. Or she wants me to think I know her better... all a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, packed in a puzzle.

The Business of Beauty: Cara Grogan: Australian Supermodel in Hong Kong

The folks in the ensuing pages have made the machinations of what’s considered inner and outer beauty their business, writes P. Ramakrishnan. Portraits by Until Chan

Cara Grogan-McIlroy, 

Genie Juicery

Tell us how you decided to launch Genie Juicery.

I’ve been modelling for 15 years now, but I always wanted to have my own business and I was always very healthy and doing cleanses and interested in health-related products, so it seemed like the perfect business to start. I felt there was a big gap in the market at the time I started Genie Juicery. There were no other

cold-pressed juices in Hong Kong when we launched.

What’s the lasting power of juicing? There are so many diets and trends that come and go each year, but this seems to have survived. 

Juicing is a simple way to get maximum nutritional benefits from fruits and vegetables. Your body easily absorbs them and much faster, and the amount of nutrients you get at one time is a lot bigger and a lot quicker than if you’re eating fruits and salads at a meal. So it’s the perfect way for people to get minerals,

vitamins and enzymes quickly. That being said, cold-pressed juicing isn’t anything new, it’s been going on for a long time now, but we here are just waking up to it now. I don’t think it’s a trend, I think it’s a lifestyle change as people want long-term health goals. 

What do you recommend from your menu?

It’s not one particular product but a combination of fruits and vegetables and ingredients in each drink that are beneficial to different parts of the body. Depending on what you’re looking for, a combination of

lemon, lime, ginger and turmeric is immune boosting because of all the vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties. Drinks that contain chia seeds are great for weight loss, energy levels and cleaning out your colon. Look for the ingredients – which is true for all products. What are you putting inside you?

What’s been a really popular product?

People really love a drink called The Master as it’s fat burning. It has chia seeds and cayenne pepper. That helps to eliminate toxins, break down fat cells and helps you go to the toilet and poo-poo (can you tell I’m

constantly with kids now?)!

What’s your favourite?

My favourite might be Green Dream. I really like the green ones. I also like Smooth Operator in the morning as it’s a great smoothie – what I pick depends on what time of day you ask me. A smoothie when I’m really

hungry, when I haven’t had a chance to eat. 

Come on now, there must be one drink that’s difficult to swallow.

There’s none that I can’t bear – I came up with all the recipes so there’s not one that I don’t particularly love, but for first-timers to juicing, I might not recommend Hulk. It’s one I like but it’s spicy, it’s very green and it’s a bit harsh as it has no fruits.

Tell us about your beauty regime, and how you stay in shape after having children.

My regime at the moment is non-existent; I don’t have time to brush my own hair. But I am very diligent about moisturising, and making sure I use a lot of oils in their most organic form so they are really beneficial for your face, especially as I have really dry skin. I do a good scrub when I have time. Eating healthy, drinking lots of water and jucies, that’s pretty much it for now. 

What are your go-to products?

I have to say, I do love all Fresh products. I’d never heard of them before I started working

with them but I was lucky enough to get all these products from them, and now I’m completely obsessed. My skin’s been amazing since I started using them. I also love Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair cream and Shiseido has a really great eye cream I really love.

What have you seen recently that made you go, wow, that’s really beautiful?

That’s easy – that would be my two daughters and how they interact together. My youngest is starting to get a little bit older now so she’s a bit more fun to play with for my older daughter India. I’m just blown away by how amazing India is with her so I’m constantly counting my blessings. It’s not the products that I own

that are beautiful, it’s the people in my life.


For this and more interviews, pick up Lifestyle, by PRESTIGE HK. On newsstands now. 

Read the Cover Story with Rosamund Kwan and Helen Ma here at Prestige Online.

Previous interview with Cara Grogan here

Lifestyle, 2016: Cover with Hong Kong icons Rosamund Kwan and Helen Ma

In the Eyes of
the Beholder

Stress and delight reared their heads in equal measure as we put together this year’s edition of Lifestyle, the annual tome published by Prestige Hong Kong. Though, with the theme of this year’s issue centred on our modern vision of beauty, both outside and in, we’ve tried our best to present to you only the glamorous final product, rather than the sweat, tears and deadline discussions endured in achieving it.

That said, it was a joy to interview and watch Hong Kong beauties Rosamund Kwan and Helen Ma at work in front of a camera. On the eve of Christmas Eve, as the skies showed us 50 shades of misery, the ladies brought their own brand of sunshine to our set. Former film star Kwan will be no stranger to cinephiles, and there are reels aplenty revealing her talent, none of which are able truly to capture her self-effacing demeanor in person. Ma, a charming presence on the society circuit, is such a picture of elegance that it’s a rare month we don’t see her within the pages of Prestige. Flip to page 66 for stunning portraits of the duo by our photographer Olivier Yoan. His French lilt applied to our leading ladies’ names had them in giggles, though his work is certainly no laughing matter – and neither is theirs. They tell us the story behind their brand, RK Beauty, in “The Power of Two”.

It turns out there’s no shortage of beauty-business entrepreneurs within Hong Kong society, though lining them up for “The Business of Beauty” (page 80) came with its own rewards and challenges – particularly over the Christmas season, with our subjects scattered around the world enjoying holidays in Aspen and Singapore, California and Sydney.

We have also, but naturally, the usual suspects lined across the pages: the ever-popular “A List”, our editors’ top recommendations for hotels, spas, bars and restaurants (page 132), our dreamy destination and travel features (page 168 onwards) and features highlighting the most glamorous of jewellery and watches, wheels and whisky. We also reminisce over the top events that we attended in 2015.

I hope you find the beauty we witnessed captured within our pages, and in the year ahead.


Read the cover story here: Prestige Online

A Beautiful Journey: Gaile Lok

A quick chat with Hong Kong model Gaile Lok while she was in Galaxy Macau. Sweet gal.

Galaxy magazine: My Last Issue in Macau

And just like that...  my chapter with Galaxy magazine ends. The elegant lifestyle glossy magazine of Macau, five years, 20 issues (we were a quarterly), three awards. 

Publisher Anne Lim Chaplain changed the course of my life and career when she hired me five years ago. 

With the top models of Hong Kong on my final cover, it's one hell of a way to go. And the ladies were exquisite. 

The Fab Four celebrity models on cover; ‪Danni Li‬, ‪Gaile Lok‬, ‪Marie Zhuge‬ and Jennifer Tse 謝婷婷.

40 under 40! The Movers and Shakers of young Hong Kong

Earlier this year Prestige Hong Kong did a feature and shoot with some of Hong Kong's top movers and shakers under 40.

Among a whole list of them, I had the joy and privilege to submit a list of notable names; people I've worked with in the past, interviewed, met on multiple occasions. There were 40 people, but a special shout out to rugby player Jonny Rees, race car driver Dan Wells, dancer Faye Leung, documentary maker Sean Lee Davies and designer Harrison Wong. All of whom are seen here in pics.


Portraits by Until Chan.
Creative direction and styling by my fav stylist Tasha Ling, assisted by Amber Choy!

All jewels and watches by Tiffany & co. 

Shot on location at URA Japanese Delicacy!

You can check out the launch party at PrestigeOnline.com here and the full feature is up at PrestigeOnline.com 

UPDATE: 

An initiative launched by Prestige Singapore in the summer of 2014, Prestige Singapore's 40 Under 40 first started with a humble list of young entrepreneurs, artists, chefs, restaurateurs, businessmen, women and so on shaking up who were shaking up their industry, all full of youthful zest, new ideas, fresh takes and unpoppable enthusiasm. 

Prestige relaunched and expanded regionally around 2022, but the 40 Under 40 list for Singapore predates that as a local initiative and has remained a mainstay across the board on all Prestige/Burda titles. 

Hong Kong Tatler (now under Tatler Asia) launched Gen.T (Generation T, the Leaders of Tomorrow list) soon after in 2016. The inaugural list debuted in 2016 across Asia (including Hong Kong), with 2016 honourees highlighted retrospectively, and by 2025 it reached its 10th edition (aligning with a 2016 start: 2016 + 9 years = 2025 as the 10th). It began as a Singapore Tatler project but quickly became regional, including a dedicated Hong Kong focus from the outset or very soon after.

The Hong Kong list has such humble beginnings, images taken from social media (with the approval of the honourees obviously), and soon became this behemoth that means something to people. So much so, we've had people lie about their age to make the cut. You know who you are...