Eight glamorous women jetted off to Park Hyatt Beijing for a weekend of photo shoots for our annual Asia’s Most Stylish feature. Melissa Twigg and Esther Wong talk to them about couture, careers and everything in between. In the first of this two-part series, we turn the spotlight on Tan Min-Li, Jiang Zaozao, Olivia Lee-Davies and Ira Kwa. 

Tan Min-Li, Singapore

Lawyer and businesswoman Tan Min-Li has undoubtedly a meticulous eye for designer suits, vertiginous heels, vintage dresses and luxury bags, with a wardrobe—and career—most people can only dream of. “I would say that there are many facets to me,” she says. “And although it’s not the first thing that would jump to mind, my love of fashion and style is a facet that I am proud of, particularly since I’m in a job that demands I dress very conservatively.”

To combat the difficulty of expressing a personality sartorially while climbing the corporate ladder, Tan designed a capsule collection of eight essential pieces for the working woman, which she launched in Singapore in November last year. “I did it because I wanted to get more out of my interest in fashion than just shopping—I can express my sense of style in a different way.”

Tan travels constantly for work and her wardrobe is filled with an eclectic mix of couture from all over the world. “I’m a fan of Oscar de la Renta and Lanvin. I like Dion Lee a lot, too, because he’s versatile and sophisticated in a very Australian way. I’m very open-minded and travel has broadened my horizons a lot. My experiences shape me and the way I dress because I am so influenced by different cultures.”

Jiang Zaozao, China

Kate Moss isn’t short of fans, but Jiang Zaozao must be one of the model’s most prominent admirers. Like her idol, Jiang is a fixture in the front rows of the shows at Paris, Milan and New York Fashion Weeks, and a trendsetter in her own right. “Kate Moss is definitely a style icon for me,” she says. “I learned not to wear one brand from head to toe from her; instead, I always try to mix high and low fashion. For example, I’ll wear a Zara skirt with a Chanel jacket—that’s so much more chic than top-to-bottom designer dressing, which can look really unoriginal.”

As one of Beijing’s most celebrated gallery owners, Jiang is an important member of the city’s high-society art scene, hence her need for distinctive pieces to wear to her illustrious parties. “There are a lot of different facets to my career that I dress for. I help with my husband’s auction business and I have recently opened my own gallery, which is among the 10 largest in China. It’s a wonderful world to work in.”

Like her love for art, Jiang’s passion for fashion runs deep. “I was always interested in style when I was growing up,” the entrepreneur says. “Even as a child, I was an icon among my friends—I think pursuing beauty has always been, and will continue to be, an essential part of who I am.”

Olivia Lee-Davies, Hong Kong

"Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak,” says Olivia Lee-Davies with an engaging smile. “It’s a quote by Rachel Zoe that I’ve always loved because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from being brave—so challenge yourself to wear something different. If you don’t look good one evening, who cares?”

This light-hearted approach to life and fashion is not what one expects from Lee-Davies, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent socialites and a leading figure in a number of fields. But she got to where she is today by thinking outside the box. Coming from a big family with nine children, Lee-Davies has always believed she was different from her sisters, both physically and mentally. “I don’t have the look of a typical Asian woman and
I think I rebelled because I always felt I wasn’t the same as the others,” she says. “I started a career in advertising at 18 and married the following year, so I suppose you could say I was very busy from a young age.”

A few years later, Lee-Davies took a pause from advertising to look after her four children. After the children had started school, she opened a series of boutiques called Peggy Boyd and dabbled in interior design. “A few friends came to my apartment and loved it—and begged me redesign their places,” she says. “So I did one or two as a favour, and suddenly I had 10 people ringing me up asking me to give them styling advice.”

After building a successful career in interior design, Lee-Davies was approached by Barrie C Goodridge, the chairman and 

CEO of Edipresse Asia, who asked her to join the Hong Kong Tatler team as social editor. “I arrived at Tatler in mid-August 2006 and I had five weeks to organise the annual ball—so it was a busy time as we had no venue or guest list,” she says with a laugh. “But someone asked me the other day which of my careers I enjoyed the most and I instantly said media—and I have Barrie to thank for that. It was lovely working there because everybody would come into the office in beautiful designer outfits and we’d chat about clothes on our coffee breaks. That’s something I don’t have access to in my new job.”

Lee-Davies is currently flaunting her skills in the wonderful world of television at TVB, but giving up her post at a fashion magazine hasn’t stopped her from wearing all her favourite designers to the office. Currently, they include Roland Mouret, Giambattista Valli, Mary Katrantzou and Esteban Cortázar. 

After all her years at Tatler Towers, Lee-Davies also has some expert style advice to share. “The first thing every woman needs to understand is her shape,” she says. “For example, if you’re busty, then show your neckline or you’ll look matronly. By contrast, if you’re slim with long hair, then round necks look beautiful. You also need to know what works for your age, and then you can look to different cultures and eras for inspiration.
But most of all, remember that fashion is fun—so always enjoy yourself.”

Ira Kwa, Indonesia

Ira kwa was supposed to be a banker. She studied finance at university and her family assumed she would follow them into the wonderful world of numbers. “When I first told my parents my plan to open a store, my mother said no, because she believed there was no future in fashion in Jakarta. In New York or Paris, things would have been different, but she was worried I would never be able to work in my own country,” says Kwa.

Luckily for the fashionable women of Indonesia, Kwa proved all the naysayers wrong. Today she’s the owner of Jade Boutique, Jakarta’s most prestigious clothing shop. “I was working for Citibank for two years but I always knew it wasn’t for me, so I left to open the boutique. We started with just jeans but, 14 years later, we have built it into a serious company. Indonesia isn’t as fashion-literate as somewhere like Hong Kong, and most boutiques focus on designer bags and shoes. But I decided to do something different and emphasise clothes over accessories.”

The gamble paid off and today her store is a haven for the best-dressed women in the city. To ensure her lines are constantly updated, Kwa travels constantly to all the fashion capitals. But when she’s in Jakarta, she divides her days between trying out new brands in her store—her favourite recent additions include Azzedine Alaïa and Missoni—and looking after her two children. “I love being in the store,” she says. “And I never shop anywhere else—why would I need to?”

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