EDITOR’S LETTER
By a stroke of fortune, this month coincides with not only St Valentine’s Day, but also the beginning of the Year of the Ox in the Chinese Zodiac. And as this particular bovine happens to be the Metal Ox, it marks the commencement of a year that should be especially propitious for relationships, whether romantic or otherwise. It’s thus an ideal time for us to focus on love and friendship, which we’re celebrating this issue with the publication of a 48-page supplement dedicated to the subject in many of its aspects.
For our main cover story, too, we’re introducing the Thai-born designer Jane Kitakkaranan and her close friend, the millionaire Chinese investor Wendy Yu, who are together making bold inroads into the arena of fashion. The two young women met while attending the London School of Fashion – and such is the depth of their friendship that Kitakkaranan recently created a capsule collection for her L’Astelle couture label with Yu as her muse. Indeed, the designer says that as soon as they’d met, she “could tell instantly that Wendy represented everything that the L’Astelle brand stands for – classy, elegant and somewhat royal. Wendy really plays into that.”
With Kitakkaranan confined to Bangkok because of the Covid crisis and Yu likewise in her home city of Shanghai, putting together our story and accompanying photoshoot required negotiating several hurdles
– but the results, as we’re sure you’ll agree, are well worth the effort, with Yu looking dazzling in the creations that her former college pal made especially for her. You’ll be hearing much more about these two women in the future, so remember that you most likely heard about them first in the pages of Prestige. The story begins on page 86.
We’re bringing you more stunning women’s looks in our 10-page spread of spring/summer styles (page 40), and meet Hong Kong model Louise Wong (page 56), who tells us how she got started in the world of fashion, how she stays lithe and beautiful, and where she hopes to find herself in 10 years’ time; her answer may not be quite where you’d expect. We also bring you the pick of the luxury watches made to commemorate the Ox’s arrival (page 58) and offer tips on how to make yourself glamorous at this most special time of year (page 80). And if your finances in 2020 didn’t head in quite the direction you’d been expecting at the beginning of the year, our new Wealth column, in association with EFG Asset Management, plots a course that’s likely to be much more realistic for the 12 months ahead (page 100).
Which only leaves us to wish all our readers a prosperous Year of the Ox, one that’s packed full with good fortune, and a happy and romancefilled Valentine’s Day.