Editor’s Letter
... if not a gloriously exuberant approach to life? In this age of the self, it’s characterised even more by expensive possessions and postcards of moments—yesterday’s private island is today’s polar adventure—almost to the compromise of that finer elegance we once imagined of a life well lived. Is it enough to “customise” everything with your initials, to seek 2,567 likes as validation, or to fake it till you make it? For me, the true value of luxury is the feeling for aesthetics, the appreciation of ingenuity, the desire for experience ... it simply cannot be just stamped “limited edition”, rather it encompasses a wide and beautiful life of exceptional quality. Luxury fashion today is more elusive, than it is exclusive. It’s beyond the brand and object, toward a certain kind of knowing, which is also constantly evolving. The recent haute couture shows, the highest form of luxury, was an exercise in the notion. Front row at Fendi Haute Couture, now rebranded from Haute Fourrure in line with the times, I couldn’t quite tell the “guessing game” that I was in for until I was up close and personal with every creation at the next day’s re-see. What I saw as multicoloured fur was actually frayed chiffon, the chiaroscuro effect of astrakhan was made with densely sewn sequins, and plastic was improvised into truly fantastic as the new couture fabric. Karl Lagerfeld’s discourse on luxury today is so relevant and pertinent. I share my experience in the cover story ‘Masters The beauty industry of Illusion’ on page 125. And in the spirit is also where these dichotomies of the hottest movie of 2018, we have exist, where the thousand-dollar “hope in none other than Kevin Kwan a jar” has been challenged by the little organic talk about his time at Paris product that could. Talking to this year’s panel of Couture Week with the Harper’s BAZAAR Beauty Awards judges has really been real-life Crazy Rich an eye-opener in how the market really responds to beauty Asians (page 66). products. They are looking beyond the big name labels, towards natural ingredients, ethical status, value-formoney, and real approachability. It was interesting to hear the views of aesthetician Dr Teh Jia Li, as well as celebrity make-up artist CK Bong, who brought so much dimension to the project. We announce the Hot 100 award winners, with the personal, honest reviews by the judges—befitting the beauty philosophy of today, of being life-enhancing and made with kindness.