EDITOR’S LETTER
In the 13 years (and I can’t believe I’ve just written that) that I’ve worked on Prestige I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and interview all kinds of people, from the incredibly privileged to the unusually creative. Of course, belonging to either one of those two categories doesn’t in any way preclude membership of the other, but I have to say that in all this time I’ve never met anyone who so completely embodies both as does this month’s cover personality, Josie Ho.
Born into the great good fortune of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest and most influential dynasties, 0o can at times display all the easy entitlement of royalty. And yet during the one-hour chat we had with her that preceded our lengthy photoshoot at Ferrari’s Repulse Bay showroom, she also charmed us with her rollocking good humour, a permanent air of mischief and an insouciant couldn’t-give-a-damn attitude that fits perfectly with her punk-princess persona.
Once she got into her stride, the singer/actress – whose determination to do things exactly the way that she wants to do them has brought her the respect of the public as well as her peers – was unstoppable, with tales that had my eyebrows perpetually raised well beyond my own receding hairline. In fact, reading back through the transcript of our conversation, I realise just how many hugely entertaining chunks we were forced to leave out, not because what she said was in any way unprintable but simply for reasons of space. 1 only hope that you find our interview with Ho (it begins on page 108) as much of a blast as was our time with her.
But Josie 0o is Rust one of the fascinating personalities that we profile this month. We also talk to Hong Kong-based artist Simon Ma, who tells us about his soon-to-open studio-cum-gallery-cum-meeting space in Wong Chuk Hang. Entrepreneur Eddie Li explains his passion for Chinese antiquities, which he says he’s merely curating for future generations, and outlines his plan for this city to position itself as art art- and antiques-trading hub. Wing ;hya discusses his own Rourney from photographing film sets and fashion to making movies himself. And feng shui expert Thierry Chow explains how the ancient practice is still relevant to modern urban lifestyles.
We also bring you our usual mix of fashion, beauty, watches and jewellery, wine and dining, a 48-page property supplement and a whole lot more – all you need to know to bring out the best of living in Hong Kong. And as this city – and indeed the rest of the world – falteringly begins to open up, I hope you all have a wonderful summer.