Digitised dreams
WE’RE SHAKING THINGS up this issue. Let go of any preconceived notions of what you think about our magazine. As we move forward, rather than resisting the shift from print to digital, we’re embracing it with full momentum and providing you with a seamless bridge between paper and screen through 360° multimedia integration.
From the September/October 2018 issue onwards, you’ll want to keep your phone by your side at all times while reading the magazine (speaking of which, we should really include a built-in pouch for your phone in the next issue). As you flip through the articles, you’ll find that many of the pages will contain that black-and-white box of mystery, formally known as a QR code. If you have an iOS device, simply turn on the camera on your phone and hover over the code, or if you’re on Android, snap the code using a designated QR code reader on your phone and away you go!
We’ve embedded a whole lot of extra goodies for you throughout our exciting issue. Back in August, we went to Seoul to meet up with Korean rapper Jessi and created a steamy, digitalexclusive shoot and video that you can only see on hashtaglegend.com.
Features editor Marta Colombo dives into the world of online dating with Sean Rad, the co-founder of Tinder. Scan the QR code within that article to see a list of some of the best – and worst – Hong Kong dating stories that we’ve wrangled up. Moving onto all things beautiful, Alex Lim Tse-Wei lenses our first fashion shoot of the season in his native Singapore, staged in the Chinese nightmare theme park Haw Par Villa. Watch the models from the images come to life in a choreographed duet when you scan the codes on each page.
Need a great investment piece to elevate your look for the season, but sick and tired of seeing the same boxy bags time and time again? For autumn/ winter, we’ve curated a selection of bags with the most interesting silhouettes – with an animated light show for mobile viewing. Olivia Tsang amps up the shine factor in a jewellery shoot dedicated to symbolic talismans and yes, you guessed it – the images start to razzle-dazzle on your phone when you scan them. Besides, the lustre and sparkle of jewellery can never truly be captured by a still image.
Fresh off the runway, you’ll find our picks of the trendiest, most daring and experimental men’s fashion for the spring/ summer 2019 season, as well as veteran Chinese supermodel Du Juan, captured beautifully by Harrison Tsui in Macau’s newest architectural behemoth, the Morpheus hotel, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
On a more serious note, we take a peek at the dark side of beauty, specifically in China, as a byproduct in the overuse of beautification apps that are creating unrealistic standards in women. But women aren’t the only ones in distress. Editorial intern Yukki Leung speaks with WWF tiger conservationist Michael Baltzer about the troubling reality of the extinction of the species and what we can do to prevent their doom.