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...

Galaxy magazine, Fall 2015

Galaxy magazine, Fall 2015 cover shoot.

 

Play List: David Elliott

5 things about fine art photographer David Elliott

What I’m listening to: music is usually playing when I’m working, so the likes of Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Andrew Bird and James Blunt, among others, are on a loop. My favourite male singers include Frank Sinatra and his modern counterpart, Michael Bublé, and my favourite females are Sarah McLachlan, Eva Cassidy, Alicia Keys and Norah Jones. Plus, doesn’t everyone love Adele?

What I’m reading: over the years, I have enjoyed Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Photography books such as Genesis by Sebastião Salgado, The Earth from the Air by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Manufactured Landscapes by Edward Burtynsky.

What I’m watching: I liked Birdman, Chef and even the soppy The Fault in Our Stars. The last great TV series was Breaking Bad. One of my favourite films is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

What artists I’m following: Christoph Niemann has a unique ability to visualise and create. He can take something simple and transform it into something inspiring. Steve McCurry is also inspirational. I like illustrator Tanya Piratay and painter Simon Birch, whose vision and drive are a great model for aspiring artists.

Where I’m surfing: apart from the obvious Facebook, I’m often on Instagram to see what the creative folk are doing, and on YouTube for music and comedy stuff like Jimmy Fallon. I’m a massive sports fan, so I regularly log on to ESPN.com to keep up on basketball, hockey, American football, tennis and golf.

As told to P. Ramakrishnan. Portrait by Jesper McIlroy   

Play List: Thomas Ng: Hong Kong Actor and Model

Portrait: Dino Busch Photography
Outfit: Calvin Klein Jeans
Accessories: L. Luminous, at Joyce

Hong Kong model turned actor Thomas Ng. Chat with South China Morning Post for the column. Set q's each week. 

  Below: Outtakes from the shoot.