Home Grown
Cover star Dick Lee and Singapore Tatler’s Gen T tribe demonstrate the art of juggling their multifaceted lifestyles
rriving for a 10am shoot after touching down from Colombo in Sri Lanka the night before is no mean feat. Singapore music icon Dick Lee, however, appeared on the set of our cover photo shoot promptly, looking fresh and ready to go. One would expect Dick to be battling fatigue from his continuous jet-setting, yet he seemed to be full of enthusiasm while working the poses that contributing fashion director Desmond Lim requested of him. Lying in a bathtub inside the Penthouse Room at The St Regis Singapore with green tea in hand and Desmond prepping him in between shots, Dick quips, “I feel like Cleopatra.” Years of showbiz experience translated into swift performance in front of the camera, with Dick working his multiple expressions effortlessly. He also had no qualms about getting his signature silver coiffure wet for the perfect close-up. In between shots, he spoke about Home, the iconic national song he composed in 1997, and the fond memories of working alongside the late Cantopop star Leslie Cheung. From Singapore’s music icon, we move to the young movers, shakers and disrupters, whom we call Generation T. After months of preparation, 43 of the 50 personalities in Singapore Tatler’s inaugural Generation T list were photographed over four days. Located within an industrial area outside the city centre, the photo studio was far from a glamorous location. But as we dressed the young changemakers in stylish threads by Berluti and Christian Dada, with timepieces and jewellery by Richard Mille and Damiani, respectively, there was no shortage of sophistication in the room. Interestingly, many of them were friends who reunited on set—proof Living’s Yung Ong and scion of the Eu family, Rebecca Eu, were spotted taking a wefie before the latter greeted chef Andre Chiang with a warm bear hug. New friendships emerged too. By the end of their session, we could barely get a word in edgeways between Manor Group CEO John Lim and poet Cyril Wong, who had just met only an hour before. As Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick in Casablanca says, “Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”