NEWS MODELS AGENCIES MAGAZINES FASHION

THE STORY OF VOGUE SINGAPORE ANDASIA'S FIRST SUPERMODELS

APRIL 11th, 2018

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BREAKING MODELS FASHION BUSINESS

by Reilly Sullivan

Singapore is a style and luxury capital home to a plethora of fashion magazines.Less known is the existence, albeit briefly of a local edition of Vogue - Asia's first.Now, through the power of Instagram Vogue Singapore has been unearthed.These remnants reveal more than just a treasure trove of mid-nineties chic and

illustrate an almost parallel universe where Asian models took center stage. Amoment in Vogue history when the rules of the Caucasian-centric world of highfashion were discarded in favor of something more representative.

Published between September 1994 and January 1997, Vogue Singaporebegan as an offshoot of Australian Vogue and produced 29 issues. Its first coverfeatured Chinese born Twin Peaks star Joan Chen, lensed by leadingSingaporean photographer Russel Wong. Wong vividly remembers thatauspicious moment. 'I was the first photographer they approached. The editorknew that I was close to Joan and did most of her photography so they asked meif I could ask her to do a cover for them. She was Asian of course, a big moviestar and this was a perfect choice for everyone. I will always remember that coveras it was the first one for Singapore and also for me. What better than to share itwith a close friend and make history together.'

Sadly, no comprehensive archive of the magazine exists and some issues areconsidered lost. Although the magazine failed to find a foothold in the competitivefashion magazine market, its legacy is now being carefully documented by theInstagram account voguesg. Behind this effort is Warren Hallett, who hasuncovered many of the magazine's long-lost covers and editorials. The goal forthe account is simple he says, 'I set up the Instagram account to find all 29 covers.It would be nice to have all of them in one place.'

Hallett was surprised to learn that Vogue was ever published in Singapore, 'I'msure many Singaporeans, young ones especially, don't know that once upon atime, they had Vogue - the first in Asia.'

Joan Chen. Photography Russel Wong. September 1994. (image courtesy ofWong)

From scouring fashion forums and blogs to the occasional tip-off by a collector,Hallett's commitment to archiving the title has won him fans within the fashioncommunity. Among them, Malaysian born model Ling Tan, who at 43 recentlymade a splash at Alexander Wang's Fall show in New York. She fondly recalls'my memory of the Vogue Singapore photoshoot was the photographer teachingme to swear!' The photographer? British born Tom Munro, who has since lensedcampaigns for Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana. Model Natane Boudreau, an

industry veteran by her teens and a regular for Calvin Klein throughout the 1990sfeatured on Vogue Singapore's cover twice. She recalls 'I remember shootingwith Tom Munro who was emerging as a young talented photographer and weshot two cover tries that both ran! I loved wearing that iconic red silk shirt for theMarch cover from Tom Ford's breakthrough Gucci Fall 1995 collection.'

Irina Pantaeva Vogue Singapore September 1996.

Early issues heavily betray the magazine's lineage to Australian Vogue, although

as it progressed a distinct aesthetic began to emerge. Fresh faced Asian modelsbeam out from covers. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the short-livedmagazine was its dedication to promoting Asian and Eurasian faces, thenconsidered a novelty in high fashion. This well preceded the more recent push fordiversity according to Boudreau. 'Vogue Singapore was actually ahead of thetimes by having ethnic diversity on their covers since the beginning.' Long beforethe likes of Devon Aoki and Ai Tominaga, Vogue Singapore bestowed covers onmany leading models from across Asia, often their only instance as a Voguecover girl. Among them, Thai model Rojjana Phetkanha, the first Asian face ofChanel, and Jenny Shimizu, the Japanese American model, and actress favoredby Calvin Klein and Prada. Wong explains 'It was a conscious decision to useAsian models as that set us apart from the other editions of the magazine in otherregions.'

Tellingly, when Vogue was eventually launched in Taiwan, South Korea, andJapan, their covers were normally reserved for more famous western models. Itwasn't until the launch of Vogue China in 2005 and the arrival of editor AnjelicaCheung that the concept of Asian supermodels was truly revived. Sensing theneed for more models who represented Asian concepts of beauty and Asia'sgrowing importance in the luxury goods market, Cheung made it her mission tocreate what she considered to be China's first supermodels. She diligentlychampioned local models in the magazine's pages and strongly encouragedinternational photographers to shoot them for it. This initiative helped launch theinternational success of Du Juan and China's highest-paid supermodel - Liu Wen.What Cheung might not have realized was, over a decade earlier a smallmagazine in Singapore was making similar strides to promote models who betterreflect the region's identity.

By early 1997, the sun finally set for Vogue Singapore. 'The main reason forclosing Vogue Singapore was poor sales, as the locals preferred the long-established women's magazines,' Hallett says. Still, elements of why themagazine failed to gain traction remain unclear. New international glossieslaunched in Singapore to great fanfare, while Vogue Singapore quickly left publicconsciousness and became almost an urban legend.

Daniela Pestova Vogue Singapore November 2002

Fast forward to today and over 40% of luxury retail turnover now comes fromAsia, though Asian models are still largely underrepresented in high fashion. Nowat least, thanks to dedicated archivists like Hallett, the surviving issues of VogueSingapore remain, a memento of a largely forgotten but extremely significantmoment in fashion. As current stars like Wen, He Cong, Fernanda Ly and Issa Lishcarry the torch for Asian and Eurasian models and continue to break barriers andscore Vogue covers, Boudreau sees a tangible shift. 'Since the early nineties, Ithink there has been a drastic change. We've come into a time of consciousnessin embracing and standing for diversity. I believe and trust our voices will continueto be even more inclusive in fashion.'