An inside look at the first instalment of Front & Female
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at a discussion featuring ten of Hong Kong’s most fearless women at an intimate dinner at The Upper House hotel. To mark the release of Tatler’s June issue, which featured actress, musician and lifelong rebel Josie Ho on the cover, we threw a gathering unlike any other. The event was cohosted by Ho and Tamara Lamunière, founder of Generation T and Front & Female, Tatler’s new women’s platform. “Front & Female is a safe space for influential women to come together to feel empowered and supported,” says Lamunière. “This is the first of a series of closed-door roundtables, experiences and eventually conferences we will be staging, and we couldn’t have started it better than with Josie, whose unconventional life is really the cornerstone of tonight’s conversation.” On the evening of July 2, the table was set in a private dining room at Café Gray Deluxe, where the diverse group of women shared a four-course meal while exchanging personal anecdotes on subjects including their journey to self-discovery and sacrifices they have made along the way, overcoming gender stereotypes, the notion of power and the evolution of feminism. The first part of the evening started with Ho sharing her life story, which later led into a wider discussion and conversation on the key themes that affect women in modern society. The guest list featured prominent women from Hong Kong society, including culture writer and rock singer
Diana d’arenberg and architect and founder of Collective, Betty Ng. Other notable women included sex educator Vera Lui, forest therapy expert Jasmine Nunns, and model and entrepreneur behind refugee curated social enterprise, Harmony “Anne-marie” Butundu Ilunga. After a round of bracing espresso martinis ended the meal, the group was ushered to Tatler’s newly opened lifestyle venue, Tatler House. Here, the women let loose—loud and unapologetic, listening to a playlist of rock and punk music assembled by Ho, including tracks by Iggy Pop, Juliette and the Licks, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Clash. In the spirit of the evening, cocktails were prepared by another accomplished woman, Natalie Lau, the mixologist formerly of award-winning bar The Old Man. Revelry continued long past the stroke of midnight as the lights went low and conversation continued to simmer and the Hong Kong skyline twinkled outside. When it was time to go, the women signed off on a high, saluting new-found friendships and leaving the spirit of camaraderie buzzing in the air.