JOIN THE CLUB
With the aid of their teams, our Asia’s Most Stylish awardees dazzled at Macau’s latest luxury landmark, Morpheus, during our stay for the cover shoot
obody move,” booms photographer Joel Lim’s voice in Art on 23, an exhibition space containing Morpheus Macau’s remarkable collection of contemporary art. “Let me just take a test shot, then you guys can do touch-ups.” He is addressing what looks to be 50 or more people on the set—lighting assistants, security guards, editors, but mostly hair and make-up stylists hovering with brushes and combs at the ready to tend to their charges.
They suddenly move obediently to stand, albeit restlessly, out of sight of the lens, like horses before a race. As Joel instructs each woman on how to position herself on the winding bench, a giant Kaws sculpture looms just out of frame. The subjects work hard to hold their poses elegantly, smiling despite the uncomfortable positions. Then Joel’s camera clicks and everything falls silent as he reviews the photo. After a beat, he declares, “Okay, go.”
The beauty experts rush to their mistresses’ sides, dashing to and fro, fluffing up a tulle skirt here, touching up brows there and tugging at loose strands. Everyone giggles at the frantic scene.
These are, indeed, most stylish women. Some wear heavily beaded couture gowns by local designers, others sweeping trains from top European brands. As they smile gratefully at their teams, they would have no problem admitting that when it comes to looking picture-perfect, it takes a village.