Outtakes with Pearl Shek

There was a time, BC (before Covid), when we were having lunch weekly at Apinara - co-founder and director Pearl Shek above. Photographs by Olivier Yoan.

Apinara at Pacific Place, Admiralty Hong Kong is one of my top three fav Thai food hot spots in Hong Kong.

Quote, unquote

James Wong in Fendi

Actor and model James Wong snapped in Fendi. Photography by Samuel Salvadore aka Sammi!

Check out his website: https://www.samuelsalvadore.com/home

Dogue

We had a open door policy for pets back in the day. Made every day at work better. All the dogs were rescues from either LAP or PUC in Hong Kong. 

Cat. Plants. Sworn Enemies

During self imposed quarantine during covid lock-down, we got a little over zealous with home decoration with frequent trips to the local flower shop to buy natural air filters, plants that would help clean the muck of living in an urban concrete jungle.

In an inspired move, the largest potted Areca Palm was bought and somehow brought into the house (getting it into the lift was a misadventure I care not to repeat).

The cat - the notorious Billyjean - was in fear of the large green stalks and hid from it on day one. Day two, she was endlessly fascinated and decided biting (off more than she can chew! literally) leaves is her new fav hobby. We found spat out, shredded leaves and stalks each morning.

Bought her a little plant of her own - she's supposed to chew on that to help her digestion -  to misdirect my little lioness.

As the look on her face says, "What dafaq is dis?"

Another fail in training.

Aliya Zaidi

'Tis the birthday of my lovely friend Aliya Zaidi!

She's my go-to model when I need someone tall, photogenic and can fit into sample sizes from Western brands and Eastern with equal ease.

She was introduced to me by a horrible person - who has mercifully fled the city - but every dark cloud has a silver lining; and my silver lining was the enduring friendship of this long limb'd, gorgeous gal!

Happy days Ms Z. An archive of nearly all shoots and features in the past decade here.

Above: Aliya Zaidi in Armani

Below: Aliya Zaidi in Ralph Lauren

Note to Self

Outtakes: Mayaoo

Outtakes from a shoot with Mayao

Dino Busch photography.

Was an interesting chat with him about the business, esp as a KOL in Hong Kong.

Sets Appeal: Behind the scenes of a feature shoot: Diamonds, gowns and a pool

Making a splash for a feature shoot! With my favs photographer Ruby Law, Hong Kong KOL and personal trainer Utah Lee and this amazing crew.

On a very cold day in the middle of winter, we made Utah jump into a pool with a gown on and dripping with diamonds. Literally dripping. 

Good times. 

Behind the scenes of a feature shoot for my monthly column First Person. 

More about Utah Lee in the archives here.

First Person: Kayla Wong

First-born to actor Michael Wong and Hong Kong's supermodel Janet Ma, Kayla was one of our early features for the column First Person. Was getting a haircut and found this ol' issue that made me smile.

She's wearing her own designs for the shoot and feature.

Shot by Olivier Yoan.

Relatable.

Quotable

Word. 

Cat tales

Relatable! 

TBT: Cartier

Gala days and gala nights with Cartier.

Calvin Klein and Asian Celebrity Models

Taiwanese model turned actor Greg Hsu joins a long, long list of celebrity “ambassadors” for Calvin Klein this summer. The American designer brand has a rich history of famous spokes-models – from Marky Mark in the 1990s to 50 Shades’ Jamie Dornan and let's not forget the likes of Justin Bieber, Nick Jonas, to the Kardashian-Jenners, young stars of all stripes have donned the famed underwear, jeans and ready-to-wear collections in ad campaigns strewn around the globe.  

The brand has been tapping the shoulders of celebrities who’ve captured the zeitgeist with alarming alacrity, the symbiotic relationship between fashion and celebrity stitched seamlessly since the brand’s inception; back in 1983, Olympic pole vaulter Tom Hintnaus was the first male model in the iconic advertising campaign. Did the brand make him famous or vice versa? Who’s to know, but for the past 37 years, fortuitous fame and fashion have been interlinked.  

Tom Hintnaus

As the American behemoth expanded into Asia, the powers that be at the designer house have cleverly picked up notable names from the East with equal ease to showcase their wardrobe and accessories; including Chinese supermodel Liu Wen, Japanese footballer Hidetoshi Nakata, Korean stars Sung Jin Park, Ji Hye Park and of course K-pop star Lay Zhang of EXO’.

Perhaps most notably, the brand has a diverse, well-researched portfolio of pan-Asian influencers and celebrities, including Anjali Lama (transgender Indian model), Bonnie Chen (Chinese model), Shiori Ito (Japanese filmmaker), and Victoria Loke (Singaporean actress). 

Greg Hsu for Calvin Klein - SCMP 

Relatively new to the fame game, young Greg Hsu is the latest spokesperson for the greater China region for the Spring Summer 2020 Jeans collection. Unless you’re a tween tik-tokian, perhaps you’re unfamiliar with the work of this actor who looks, like many in that celebrity ilk, a good decade younger than his 29-year-old self. Here’s a quick recap on young Hsu; 

The millennial was born on 31 October 1990, as Hsu Kuang-han in Taipei, Taiwan. Though he came to fame with dramas Love of Sandstorm (2016) and Someday or One Day (2019) that topped television ratings, the then-cherubic Hsu first appeared in Jay Chou's "Class 3-2" music video at the tender age of just 13. In 2011, he participated as a contestant in the reality TV show "Finding Mr. Right" on Channel V (V NEWS) by Kuo Shu-yao.   

His rabid fan club has been leaping in numbers consistently, while his Instagram account carries a respectable 734,000 following, on Weibo, where the star is far more active, over 4 million fanatics stalk his every television, movie, music and media movement.  

Testing his acting chops, he had a challenging role in the 2017 television show Have You Ever Fallen in Love, Miss Jiang? (now available globally on Netflix), where he picked up a Best Supporting Actor nomination in the 52nd Golden Bell Awards, a gala awards-night held annually in Taiwan. He lost out but earlier this year, he was the audience favourite at the Faro Island Film Festival, where he picked up a trophy.   

Good thing he changed tracks so successfully, as back in 2012, he originally ventured out to be a pop star, trying his luck in the highly competitive music market. There are conflicting fan reports on why it didn’t work out – something to do with contract disputes with music companies, branding issues and what not, but all that’s buried way in the past as his acting career could not be hotter. Hsu has been known to carry a tune and sing on the behest of fans on stage at various venues, so many predict there’s music in his future, albeit in a different avatar.  

Currently, Greg Hsu is in China, waiting for film production to start up again, after the pandemic that has put global film production on pause. His next big outing is the romantic Chinese film On Your Wedding Day with actress Zhang Ruonan, the official remake of the 2018 Korean blockbuster of the same name.  In the film, the leading man receives a wedding invitation from his first love whom he met in high school and memories of young love and old flames mingle, as the film spans the 15-year relationship of the protagonists. The buzz on the romantic comedy has been high on Weibo as audience awaits its release... post pandemic!  

Currently you can watch Greg Hsu on Calvin Klein billboards across the region - and on Netflix’s Nowhere Man.   


Words: P. Ramakrishnan 

Hong Kong Housing:

Hmm. 

Fit and fabulous: Utah Lee

That rare occasion when I accidentally took a cool pic of Utah Lee at an event. Can slice paper with those chiseled cheekbones...

Follow the fit n fab KOL of Hong Kong at https://www.instagram.com/utahlee/?hl=en

Fashionable Friday: Barney Cheng

Wowsa. I've been working with and featuring Barney Cheng for the past 16 years. He's always a joy to work with - but especially to talk to. So funny and fun.

Have featured Barney Cheng Couture (Yenrabi Ltd) in several cover shoots, feature shoots and more too. Some of that here below from google search!

Indubitably, Hong Kong's most famous designer, did an anniversary special feature on him for Prestige magazine. Our longest chat and longest feature and shoot, and Celina Jade popped by for support.

Good times.

TBT: Eye of the Tiger: Donnie Yen

My one rare moment of taking a great shot of Donnie Yen in the middle of throng of fans.

This was at the launch of his eye-wear brand, DonniEYe, at Victoria Dockside.

Yen collaborated with Parisian designers Livia Stoianova and Yassen Samouilov of On Aura Tout Vu.

Was at the afterparty making faces with my fav Jessica Jann at the event.

The DonniEYE collection is available at Lane Crawford. 

Cat: New Yorker

Relatable. 

TBT: The Hermes show in Hong Kong

One of the most gorgeously mounted shows in Hong Kong - back in 2019 (or was it 2018?!) - Hermes did just a splendid job (as always) in showcasing their finest wears and tears. In a post covid world, wonder if it was the last of its kind?!