Survival of the Fittest
From fashion entrepreneur to fitness symbol, Sherlyn Tan of Twenty3 enlightens Jessica Liew on finding the chic in perseverance
She danced, she twirled and she blossomed, right before our very eyes. To nail the perfect shot, Sherlyn Tan was in full perfectionist mode—the exact attitude that launched her small online business into a multi-million ringgit fashion label, and one of Malaysia’s biggest brands for fashion, in just three years. Although she had never been photographed by anyone except her own photographer for her clothing catalogues, she soon warmed up and even indulged us a few impressive pirouettes in her pointe shoes. “It’s been years since I did ballet. This year is really about stepping out of my comfort zone,” she revealed, adding that at the urging of her team, she was finally ready for her magazine debut. For a self-professed introverted girl, Tan has grown exponentially as a person and an entrepreneur since her days of singlehandedly running Twenty3, named after her age when the company was registered. Today, she leads a team of 35, has opened her fifth store in Penang, and has grossed a total of RM10 million in revenue thus far. “When I first started my business, I set targets so that I could hit them and sustain myself. I’m constantly working on improvement and progress,” she divulges the key to her success. Tan is not one to be thrown off by the tough road entrepreneurs face. In fact, one of the collections showcased at Twenty3’s Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2016 was ‘Sher,’ conceived as her alternative persona at her lowest point in life, characterising her rise above adversity. And rise she continues. Now that Twenty3 has found its footing, Tan can finally move on to nurturing her other passions in life—fitness being one of them. “Fitness is a big part of my lifestyle today. To me, it means self-improvement, continuously pushing myself to be stronger, faster and fitter,” she says, with a perseverance blazing stronger than ever. Tan’s road to fitness began over a year ago, marked by a tearful experience at the gym. The next day, she resolved not to give up, and bought new, pretty workout clothes which helped to build her confidence. This was what inspired the Move by Twenty3 collection. Not only does she hope to motivate her customers with comfortable and flattering workout attire, she and her team aim to create sleek and stylish activewear that is functional and also fashionable. Instead of portraying an unattainable image, Tan hopes to inspire women to create time for health and the strength to focus on feeling better and more energised. “Fashion is more about what it does for yourself than for others. When I look good, I feel good, and I perform better because I am confident,” she says, affirming fitness as a fashion statement. Tan has even gone the extra mile, motivating her followers on their fitness journeys through Move workout meet-ups and social media posts, like the #80dayschallenge to promote eating healthy and working out; so much so that her fashion persona has now evolved to also become a prominent fitness influencer. There’s no stopping Sherlyn Tan on her quest for world domination, be it in fashion, business or fitness. “Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. You just have to make time for the things you want to achieve,” she declares with feeling.
“Everyone has the same 24 hours. Make time to achieve what you want”