Baby Love
good magazine cover surprises, sometimes shocks, but always connects with the reader in a nanosecond. Olivier Yoan’s image of Claudine Ying beautifully bursting with impending motherhood may not be as controversial as Demi Moore’s 1991 culturebusting cover for Vanity Fair, but it’s a first for Hong Kong Tatler.
As I was reviewing the growing number of followers that Hong Kong Tatler has across social media platforms—more than 15,000 on Instagram, 7,000 on Twitter and 29,000 on Facebook—i realised that in today’s digital era, our magazine is more relevant than ever. People still want a voyeuristic look into the private lives of those people who are defining society. This particular symbol of female empowerment conveys a message that not only challenges the norms of the society she was raised in, but provides a very personal look at Claudine’s future.
In Sweet Child O’ Mine (p.168), Claudine talks frankly to features editor Madeleine Ross about her upbringing, the man in her life and how, contrary to her society image, she has had to find an inner strength and work harder than we may have thought for everything she’s accomplished. The key to her success is not birthright, nor privilege, nor luck; it is, as she puts it, independence. That’s something we can all take to heart.
Elsewhere, features writer Chloe Street profiles intrepid French-canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan. At just 27 years of age, the Louis Vuitton brand ambassador is making waves in both fashion and film, so don’t miss Reel Deal (p.116).
Fashion comes into frame again in Frontier Territory (p.178). Contributing editor Gemma Soames delves into designers’ ever-growing obsession with technology ahead of a new exhibition of machine-forged finery at The Met.
When it comes to hair, however, no machine can match the mastery of human hands. In Mane Attraction (p.186) Kimberly Hu and Christian Barlow meet Hong Kong’s gurus of good hair (Roland Boutin, David Gouygou, Joey Li and Marek Wan), and their well-tressed muses Angie Ting, Miriam De Riu, Amishi Sani and Audrey Savransky. The black and white portraits by Nic and Bex Gaunt are striking and dramatic. Nanosecond connection? Tick.