Life Begins at 40!
When Hong Kong Tatler was launched in 1977, it was a quaint and quirky little journal. Looking back through the dusty archives, I found one particularly eye-catching Christmas issue with a trio of lute-playing troubadours strumming away on the cover. Quite what these merry musicians had to do with Hong Kong in the 1970s, I have no idea. Maybe the editor had succumbed to the psychedelic stimulants of the day. Covers back then were also home to an illustrated gentleman dressed in Georgian-era attire—knee-length buckled pantaloons, a shirt with frilly cuffs, a high collar and a tailcoat. This dapper chap was a link to the Tatler brand’s history, which dates back to 18th-century England, where a high-society gossipmonger named Richard Steele published scandalous stories in a publication titled The Tatler. The wigwearing, cane-waving Tatler Man was eventually replaced by a more appropriately robed and moustachioed Mandarin Man, who stood watch over our front page until his retirement in 2007.
Four decades since Hong Kong Tatler’s inception, the brand is as strong as ever. We mark our 40th anniversary this month with an issue that celebrates the past, present and future. For example, Kimberly Hu, our director of VIP relations, editorial and events, trawled through the archives to find images that captured moments in time. She then worked with the original subjects and our creative team to recreate these photographs in a heart-warming feature that highlights the Tatler community’s enduring friendships and evolving families. Turn to page 184 for Now & Then.
Fashion director Justine Lee also took a stylish saunter down memory lane to discover looks from the past that still rock the catwalks today. Enjoy her Fashion Flashback on page 80. Also celebrating their 40th birthday this year, our friends Carmen and Samuel Lee share some of their best lessons from life—turn to page 178 for 40 Things We’ve Learned Now That We’re 40.
In its four decades, Hong Kong Tatler has undergone a total transformation to become the prestigious multiplatform publication spanning print, digital and social media that it is today. So who better to help us celebrate change than Sabrina Fung-lam, a high-flying mother of three who recently transformed both her body and mind with an extreme exercise regime that took her out of the boardroom to climb mountains and run marathons. Read her inspirational story, which saw her shed more than 21 kilograms in six months, on page 170.
Sabrina is also the star of our first augmented reality cover. Download the free Awethentic app from the Apple App Store, then use your phone to scan our cover and see Sabrina spring into action. The app was created by entrepreneur Sean Lee-davies who, as a former Tatler cover star himself, knew exactly how to bring Wing Shya’s striking portrait of Sabrina to life.
Hong Kong Tatler couldn’t have made it to our 40th birthday without the support of great friends like Sabrina, Sean, Wing and so many others in our wonderful city. We look forward to celebrating our milestone with you all at the Tatler Ball this month, when we will raise a glass to the past—and our next 40 years.
—Jakki Phillips Editor-in-chief